Critical glitch and how you handle them?, First up snap-blades Options

[naga-nuyen]

So looking at the Street samurai catalog got me thinking about how GM's handle their critical glitches...would you break a PC's arm if they were using snap-blades and rolled the glitch on their attack role/parry?

Also any other examples of what you have seen on critical glitch results are welcome, and funny (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Prime Mover]

Honestly I can count the number of critical glitches we've had since we started playing 4e on 2 fingers. It's just so rare, both times I went all out to a serious fubar result. Of those two times edge ended up being spent as I began to describe a horrific accident. Hmmm

On a minor I make it a nuisance for a major I will destroy a device if being used, possibly result in harm to the user if it's a dangerous item. "Don't shoot your eye out."

[Neurosis]

Honestly I can count the number of critical glitches we've had since we started playing 4e on 2 fingers.

Dice at your table sing a different tune than dice at mine, Prime Mover!

[Kagetenshi]

I don't play SR4, so I don't really have a feel for how rare critical glitches are, but breaking an arm sounds excessive; I'd probably break the blade at the extreme (requiring replacement) and more likely just cause them to come loose, disarming the character temporarily. Maybe add some other minor penalty for being off-balance and adjusting until their next action.

~J

[Badmoodguy88]

It is like rolling a 1 on percentage dice but can be much more rare.

[Summerstorm]

I have a similar experience. No critical glitches on PC side for one and a half years gaming. (Maybe like 15 8-hour sessions and a few 4 hour ones). Only critical glitch i remember was on npc-side... perception test with too many dice penalty.

[Megu]

My group tends to have low dice pools and thus crit-glitches are not so rare. Usually I have it be a comedically epic failure rather than bullet-to-the-head damaging, unless they were trying to do something very high risk.

[ShadowPavement]

I've had two critical glitches so far in my game, and an uncounted number of regular glitches. The first one was on a test to get a lone star uniform and LD lights to put on the PC's car. I think he spent edge so I downgraded it to a regular glitch and when LS caught him he just had some holding time and a hefty fine since he rolled well on his Ett test to convince the cops that it was for a batchelorett party.

The second one came on a reaction test for our wep specialist to avoid an SMG burst from a bad guy. She didn't spend any edge to get rid of it so I had the shot blow her hand off, which she had to get a cyber replacement for. The replacement included a cyber gyromount in it so she ended up happy with it in the end.

[wizwyrm]

I had one crit on an npc who was firing a tazer at someone....he instead shot his foot and incapacitated himself. I also have crit glitches on damage resistance tests that caused part of the PC's armor to become useless, resulting in a -2 to armor until it was repaired.

[Warlordtheft]

I had an NPC fail his perception check to notice that the document saying the PC's were here to inspect the security on the premises. The end result was that he firmly believed them and let them "inspect" the security room. Resuting in what could have been a very deadly/hot run, to one where the players had a cakewalk. Though they did plan the subterfuge very well via social engineering.

[ShadowPavement]

Oh! I just remembered a con game I ran last January where the BBEG was a troll mage. At the climactic end fight the BBEG dropped his invisibility right in the middle of the team and started off with a power ball. The PC's were scared shitless.

The ork samurai was the first PC to act next. She rolled to shoot him with her predator and I crit glitched the mage's soak roll.

Needless to say it was over pretty much right there, as she forces the barrel of her predator through his armor spell and blows his face off. Shortest boss fight ever.

The players loved it!

[Neurosis]

I had one crit on an npc who was firing a tazer at someone....he instead shot his foot and incapacitated himself. I also have crit glitches on damage resistance tests that caused part of the PC's armor to become useless, resulting in a -2 to armor until it was repaired.

By book, critical glitch on damage resistance can/does (don't remember which) results in a cool sounding permanent injury/missing limb requiring replacement.

Sometimes I have that shit happen just because I like the drama and flavor of it, although the rules for replacing an eye or arm with a cloned replacement are annoyingly hard to find in SR4. (That shit was right up front in previous editions.)

[Angelone]

I would probably say something silly happened, such as they somehow cut their pants/shirt whichever is more appropriate and it rips off or falls down. The pants thing would be funnier and they might end up tripping.

You could also say it wasn't strapped on properly and it ended up getting launched across the room.

[Stahlseele]

Well, we are playing SR3 and i'm usually a player, not a GM . .
One of my Crit Glitches broke the weapon i was using completely.
Fucking expensive type of argumentation enhancer too . .
Other time it happend when trying to throw a grenade . .
I asked the GM if i forgot to pull the pin.
His answer was:"No, nothing that dumb. The pin is still in your hand, the grenade is not."
So i asked WHAT happened. Answer:
"Well, the pin is in your hand, the grenade is not. It is half past one in the morning. Do you know where your grenade is?"
Cue panic reaction on my part. basically using karma on a perception test to find the damn thing. It had been cought by the sleeve of the mantle the character was wearing.
Much cursing and more karma spent to ged rid of the grenade, including the mantle.
More karma spent to throw the bundle of grenade and mantle. THIS time, it flew where i wanted it to flow to. FAR AWAY from my character.
If i had been playing one of my usual trolls, i would not have cared as much . . i could have taken the hit . .
But noo . . i had to prove that i am indeed capable of both creating and playing an elf character, even though i fucking HATE elves . .
And this did NOT help with that either!

[Yerameyahu]

At most, I don't think a critical glitch with a weapon should do more than (base weapon damage) to that character.

[AKWeaponsSpecial...]

At most, I don't think a critical glitch with a weapon should do more than (base weapon damage) to that character.

Ah, but then you don't get such hilarious moments as the PC failing their Unarmed Combat test so hard that they break their own leg. While punching. (As a side note, my group loves these moments :JD)

[naga-nuyen]

I agree, I was just wondering after reading the Jackpointer quote at the bottom of the snap-blades.

It makes me think of a Comic were all the super heroes have one critical Flaw with their powers. Wolverine with all his abilities but brittle Arm bones!

[Yerameyahu]

Heh. Wolverine's second-most important ability *is* his indestructible bones. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[jaellot]

Generally no crit. glitches, and when they do they get the downgrade to plain ole glitch. And for some reason my players only seem roll them on Initiative rolls...

[Sixgun_Sage]

Working on a chart for this, the type of action and item (by object ratinf) will determine base dice, with optional modifiers statted.

[Yerameyahu]

Eh. That seems overboard. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It's simple: a glitch inconveniences (variably, based on net hits), and a critical glitch endangers. The GM should handle it dramatically, when it comes up (i.e., never).

[Whipstitch]

Yeah, it's either going to be overboard via having modifiers and charts for every situation or be very imprecise. Device rating simply wasn't designed with this kind of use in mind. A commlink is a much higher rating device than a fertilizer bomb, but as a general rule I'd still rather critical glitch with the former.

[Sixgun_Sage]

Doing it more to try out than anything. Figure it might be a fun exercise and if it works well at my table would be a good piece of "kit" to hand over to one of my players when they want to start gm'ing.

[Yerameyahu]

Well, I'm certainly not discouraging you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I just meant that it's a very… human process? Very drama-oriented.

[Sixgun_Sage]

Well, I'm certainly not discouraging you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I just meant that it's a very… human process? Very drama-oriented.

I whole heartedly agree, but then again my players seem to think I get carried away by drama at times, pehaps a system of levels to guide me isn't a bad idea.