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Critical failures in combat - what do you do?

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Tue, 2014-01-28 07:58
#1
Smokeskin Smokeskin's picture
Critical failures in combat - what do you do?
What do you people use for critical failures in combat? I don't think EP guns would jam much, and there's only so often that something you don't want to hit is in the line of fire. My main go tos would be: - poor positioning: loss of cover bonus until next action - tunnel vision: loss of Fray rolls until next action - slip: must spend a Complex action to regain footing Does anyone have some good ideas?
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Tue, 2014-01-28 08:04
Leodiensian Leodiensian's picture
As Always: Context
This is one of those questions that is hard to answer in anything other than generalities and contexts because criticals are meant to make dramatic turns - so obviously that's entirely up to the precise combat situation you're dealing with. For instance, a fight in a crowded room might have critical failures hit team-mates or civilians, while something on a space station might cause you to accidentally puncture the hull. It's really something I leave up to the moment rather than have planned in advance.
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Tue, 2014-01-28 08:35
Smokeskin Smokeskin's picture
I have two players with 4
I have two players with 4 pistols. If they're shooting 8 times per Phase at an effective skill of 50 after modifiers, there's a 56% chance each Phase that at least one of them is getting a critical failure. And then there are the other players. There's going to be a lot of critical failures. I agree that in some cases there can be stuff you really don't want to hit, but if there are no bystanders in the line of fire and your bullets can't puncture the hab, then what do you do with a critical failure? Are my suggestions too mild?
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Tue, 2014-01-28 09:00
ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture
Having people shoot members
Having people shoot members of their own team because of critical failures is kind of mean, in my opinion, and EP guns should probably not be terrible prone to jamming or exploding. A good standby for a critical failure is accidentally ejecting the weapon's magazine/putting it into a maintenance cycle (for energy weapons.) Nothing that can't be corrected, but it costs them the action they were trying to use to take the shot and the action they have to use to replace the magazine. Alternatively, mistakenly believing they have the enemy dead to rights and switching into a more spendy firing mode, only to miss completely and waste a burst/long burst of ammo. And of course, environmental damage, shooting out machines and beakers and test tubes, windows, etcetera... Just remember, a critical failure shouldn't mean game over. So puncturing a hab in space is okay, because everyone is - or should damn well be - wearing a vacsuit. Puncturing a hab on Europa is not, because that kind of instant pressure change gibs everything and everyone.
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