Optional Fumble Rules

Sometimes during combat events may conspire against a character - his finger may slip off the trigger, his weapon might jam up with dirt, or he might just simply fumble his weapon and drop it. To represent this nature of combat we include the Fumble Rules as an optional rule set to govern these random moments of bad luck.

Whenever a character rolls a natural 1 as an attack roll, the character must make a second roll and add his total Concentration skill bonus. The result of the fumble depends upon the weapon being used (see table below). A natural 1 always results in a 1 regardless of Skill Bonus.

Unarmed or natural weapon attacks can not be fumbled, instead the character must make a Dexterity check verses DC:14. If failed the character has stumbled and gains -2 to attack rolls and defense until his next turn. If successful the character has simply hesitated and missed the opportunity to get his attack in.

Damage to fumbled and dropped Weapons - Most objects don’t like to be dropped or thrown around unless they are designed for it - this is especially true for firearms or other devices with technical moving parts.

Type of item/weapon	DC to Break
Item designed for throwing	- ¹
Fragile item designed for throwing	16 ²
Medium size with no moving parts (eg: a sword).	18
Medium size with moving parts (eg: a rifle).	14
Large size with no moving parts (eg: halberd)	16
Large size with moving parts (eg: machine gun).	12

To reflect this any time an item is dropped the Game Master may roll to see if the item is damaged by the fall, The Game Masters DC is displayed on the following chart.

Thus if the Game Master rolls equal to or over the Items Break DC the item loses half its hit points, plus a damaged weapon does not handle or function to the same level as when it is undamaged, thus all attack rolls and skill checks with the weapon are at -2 until all damage is repaired.

Weapon Type	Result: Natural 1	Result: 2-17	Result: 18+
Bows & Crossbows	The character has dropped the bow or crossbow into one of the surrounding character squares.	The character has dropped the arrow into one of the surrounding character squares.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Melee weapons	The character harms himself with the weapon.	The character has dropped the weapon into one of the surrounding character squares.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Pistols, Rifles, & Sub-machine Guns.	The character has dropped the weapon into one of the surrounding character squares. The weapon sustains 0-9 (1d10, treat the 10 as 0) points of damage as it is dropped.	The weapon has jammed; a move action is required to clear the jam.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Machine Guns	The ammunition belt or feed for the weapon has fouled, a full round action is needed to clear the foul.	The weapon has jammed; a move action is required to clear the jam.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Rifle Grenades	The wrong bullet is fired and the grenade explodes on the rifle. Damage is dealt to the rifle & character.	Cartridge was not loaded properly, requires a move action to reload.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Signal Pistols	The character has dropped the weapon into one of the surrounding character squares. The weapon sustains 0-9 (1d10, treat the 10 as 0) points of damage as it is dropped.	Cartridge was not loaded properly, requires a move action to reload.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.
Thrown Grenades	The character has dropped the grenade into one of the surrounding character squares, it is live and will active as per the grenades trigger.	The grenade has been thrown, but the character forgot to pull the pin.	The character came close to fumbling his weapon, but recovered quickly.