D&D 5E How fantastic are natural 1's?

[rgoodbb]

How fantastic are natural 1's? I am a firm believer that they are better than natural 20's.

Very few players remember when the Rogue succeeds on a Sleight of Hand check when pick-pocketing the Watch Commander to filch a couple of SP.

However, Everyone remembers the ensuing shenanigans when the same skill check resulted in a natural 1!

So how great are natural 1's?

What are your wonderful stories when the campaign goes off-script with an almighty fail?

Both for Players and of course DM's...Awesome anecdotes required.

 

[Charlaquin]

Natural 1s don’t mean anything special. Contrary to common misconception, a natural 1 is not an automatic failure, nor does it lead to any additional consequences beyond the normal consequences of failure. Natural 20s, likewise, are not automatic success, nor do they result in any bonus effects, except in the specific case of attack rolls. You can house rule otherwise if you wish, but personally I think the designers made the right call on the matter.

 

[Arvok]

Natural 1s don’t mean anything special. Contrary to common misconception, a natural 1 is not an automatic failure, nor does it lead to any additional consequences beyond the normal consequences of failure. Natural 20s, likewise, are not automatic success, nor do they result in any bonus effects, except in the specific case of attack rolls. You can house rule otherwise if you wish, but personally I think the designers made the right call on the matter.

Personally, I hate the idea that a natural 20 is always a critical hit on an attack roll or an automatic success on saving throw but a natural 1 is no different than missing the AC or DC by 1. I play with critical failures (fumbles) on attack rolls and saves for players and NPCs/monsters.

I probably have a dozen or more hilarious stories about fumbles, but here is my most recent:

I was playing with my 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter; my son was DM. My daughter was playing a bard and wanted to use animal friendship against a young red dragon. I started to explain to her that it couldn't work because a dragon isn't a beast when my son said she could try but it would only work if the dragon rolled a natural 1. I tried to warn him about the possible hazards of that but my son was having none of it. Of course the dragon rolled a natural 1 and now my daughter's (5th level!) bard has a young red dragon for a friend.

 

[zarionofarabel]

Nat 1s aren't Crit Fails?!?!? Pffft, lame.

I like the Critical Failure, especially when the player takes it upon themselves to narrate the outcome!

 

[Charlaquin]

Personally, I hate the idea that a natural 20 is always a critical hit on an attack roll or an automatic success on saving throw

Well, it isn’t an automatic success on a saving throw. It’s only ever anything special on an attack roll.

but a natural 1 is no different than missing the AC or DC by 1. I play with critical failures (fumbles) on attack rolls and saves for players and NPCs/monsters.

You do you, friend.

 

[robus]

Natural 1s don’t mean anything special. Contrary to common misconception, a natural 1 is not an automatic failure, nor does it lead to any additional consequences beyond the normal consequences of failure. Natural 20s, likewise, are not automatic success, nor do they result in any bonus effects, except in the specific case of attack rolls. You can house rule otherwise if you wish, but personally I think the designers made the right call on the matter.

Ok but not sure why you felt the need to be an instant killjoy on this thread.

For myself I also very much enjoy using nat 1s and nat 20s to inject some interesting narrative developments into the story when the players attempt ability checks. I treat them like triumph and despair from Star Wars RPG.

 

[Charlaquin]

Ok but not sure why you felt the need to be an instant killjoy on this thread.

For myself I also very much enjoy using nat 1s and nat 20s to inject some interesting narrative developments into the story when the players attempt ability checks. I treat them like triumph and despair from Star Wars RPG.

Because I think crit fumbles are a bad idea and I thought it was important to point out that it’s not a normal part of the rules like the OP took for granted that it was. If you like them, great.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

A natural 1 is one point less than a natural 2, no more and no less. It is absolutely not an indication of any sort of crazy shenanigans that could otherwise never happen. That would be ascribing far too much weight to random chance, and away from things that should matter, like the choices we make while creating the character and playing the game.

There's a reason why critical fumbles aren't in the rule book. A narrative where something crazy happens 5% of the time would quickly turn into a joke.

 

[Charlaquin]

A natural 1 is one point less than a natural 2, no more and no less. It is absolutely not an indication of any sort of crazy shenanigans that could otherwise never happen. That would be ascribing far too much weight to random chance, and away from things that should matter, like the choices we make while creating the character and playing the game.

There's a reason why critical fumbles aren't in the rule book. A narrative where something crazy happens 5% of the time would quickly turn into a joke.

I don’t agree with you about much, but on this matter I wholeheartedly do.

 

[jayoungr]

A rogue PC in my Curse of Strahd campaign has a magical quiver. It adds poison damage to each arrow, but the flipside is that when the player rolls a 1, the whole quiver explodes into a swarm of poisonous snakes. This has happened twice so far, always in the midst of massive fights.