Lucky 7: Crits & Fumbles

Every time you roll the dice in an RPG, you are determining the answer to a question:

• Did I hit the monster with my sword?
• Did I climb the castle wall?
• Was I able to sneak past the guard?
• Was I able to avoid the dragon’s flame?
• How much damage did I take from the dragon’s flame?

Other than the last one, notice how all of these are “yes/no” type questions.

Expanding the Yes/No Paradigm

It wasn’t long after the hobby started that people started expanding the rules. Even though it was never an official rule, a common house rule was that rolling a natural 20 indicated a “super success.” In combat, not only did you hit the opponent, but you hit this in a critical organ for bonus damage. From this the term “critical hit” (or “crit”) was born. A crit is kind of like answering the question with “Yes, and more!”

Of course, that was followed almost instantly with the thought that if a natural 20 was a critical success, then a natural 1 must be a “critical failure” or a “fumble.” A fumble is the yes/no equivalent of “Not only no, but…”

(On a side note.. the “6” roll in Lucky 7 is the “Yes, but…” answer.)

Fumbles in L7

Lucky 7 will not have fumbles.

The main reason for that is because it would be very unfair to the players. Because L7 is a “only the players roll” game, there’s no change that a monster or NPC would ever fumble. Giving the players a one-sided risk seems unfair.

Crits in L7

Lucky 7 will have crits.

This is still one sided, but it’s one sided in favor of the players. When the rest of the world is out to get them, giving them this advantage is the least we can do.

There are people that think a 1:20 chance is too high for a crit, and I agree with them. It’s even worse for L7, because we use a d12. So (sadly) crits in L7 will (possibly) require a second roll.

If you’re rolling one die, and you roll a 12 you may roll a second die. We’ll call this the “crit die.” If the crit die is also a 12, then your result is a critical success. That’s a 1:144 (or 0.7%) chance. If you (as a GM) think that’s too rare, feel free to change the what is needed on the second die. This chart is provided for your benefit:

Crit range	Odds	% Chance	Notes
12	1:144	0.7%
11 & 12	1:72	1.4 %	Probably what I will use at my table.
10 — 12	1:48	2.1%
9 — 12	1:36	2.8%
8 — 12	5:144	3.5%
7 — 12	1:24	4.2%
6 — 12	7:144	4.9%	About the same as a simple crit d20.

If you’re making a bonus roll, you’re already rolling two dice. In that case, if both dice are “12” (or, if using a different crit range, if the high die is a “12” and the second die in in the crit range)), then you got a crit.

If you’re making a penalty roll, then both dice have to be a 12—there’s no way around it. This is because in a penalty roll, the lower die is the one that counts. So in order for the roll to be a “Natural 12,” the lower die has to be a 12 and that can only happen if both dice are 12’s.

If you’re using a different crit range, this means that crits will be more common if you’re rolling with bonus, and less common if rolling with penalty. This seems fair to me.

Epilogue

Posts might be scarce for the next month or so. I usually write my posts during the weekend, and I’ll be away on vacation for the next two weekends, and working my second job the weekend after that. I will try to post something but no promises.