Critical Failures - Revision history

Staffan Björk at 12:20, 2 January 2015

2015-01-02T12:20:54Z

Staffan Björk at 13:46, 1 January 2015

2015-01-01T13:46:28Z

Staffan Björk at 12:39, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T12:39:52Z

Staffan Björk at 12:39, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T12:39:14Z

Staffan Björk at 12:29, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T12:29:25Z

Staffan Björk at 12:19, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T12:19:08Z

Staffan Björk at 11:54, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T11:54:11Z

Staffan Björk at 11:48, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T11:48:02Z

Staffan Björk at 11:43, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T11:43:16Z

Staffan Björk at 11:42, 31 December 2014

2014-12-31T11:42:25Z

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 == Consequences ==
-[[Critical Failures]] are a type of [[Critical Results]]. Rather obviously, they are in conflict with [[Critical Successes]], and make [[Predictable Consequences]] less likely. Since they are based on [[Randomness]] rather than how well players' perform, they also work against [[Performance Uncertainty]].
+[[Critical Failures]] are a type of [[Critical Results]] and can become [[Exceptional Events]]. Rather obviously, they are in conflict with [[Critical Successes]], and make [[Predictable Consequences]] less likely. Since they are based on [[Randomness]] rather than how well players' perform, they also work against [[Performance Uncertainty]].
 == Relations ==
 === Can Instantiate ===
 [[Critical Results]],
-[[Penalties]]
+[[Penalties]],
 === Can Modulate ===

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 == Consequences ==
-[[Critical Failures]] are a type of [[Critical Results]]. Rather obviously, they are in conflict with [[Critical Successes]].
+[[Critical Failures]] are a type of [[Critical Results]]. Rather obviously, they are in conflict with [[Critical Successes]], and make [[Predictable Consequences]] less likely. Since they are based on [[Randomness]] rather than how well players' perform, they also work against [[Performance Uncertainty]].
 == Relations ==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 === Potentially Conflicting With ===
-[[Critical Successes]]
+[[Critical Successes]],
 == History ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Category:Mechanical Patterns]]
 [[Category:Patterns]]
 [[Category:Needs revision]]
 [[Category:Needs examples]]
 [[Category:Patterns created on the Wiki]]
 [[Category:To be Published]]
 ''Predetermined negative effects that occur due randomness when trying a game action which don't occur during normal failures.''

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ''Predetermined negative effects that occur due randomness when trying a game action which don't occur during normal failures.''
-The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.''
+Many games require the outcome of player actions to be determined by a combination of randomness and the diegetic skill of the agent the player is using to perform that action. [[Critical Failures]] are specifically bad results that occur randomly which have (bad) effects beyond those possible through ordinary failures.
 TV Tropes have an entry for ''Critical Failure''<ref name="tvtropes"/>.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 === Examples ===
+[[GURPS]], [[Hârnmaster]] and the [[World of Darkness]] games are examples of [[:Category:Tabletop Roleplaying Games|Tabletop Roleplaying Games]] that make use of [[Critical Failures]]. Performing magic in both [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] and [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] has a certain risk of causing supernatural being to take notice to the action and react to it.
 == Using the pattern ==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 [[Category:To be Published]]
 [[Category:Staffan's current workpage]]
-''The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.''
+''Predetermined negative effects that occur due randomness when trying a game action which don't occur during normal failures.''
-This pattern is a still a stub.
+The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.''
 === Examples ===
 == Using the pattern ==
 Designing [[Critical Failures]] in a game have three main components: deciding which actions can result in [[Critical Failures]], what the effects are of those failures, and what should be the probabilities of such failures. [[Combat]] is probably the most common case where [[Critical Failures]] are used through the most specific pattern [[Critical Misses]] but actions requiring the use of [[Skills]] are also common since these [[Skills]] allow easy ways to construct algorithms that decide the probabilities of [[Critical Failures]] (meaning that these two patterns modulate each other). The negative effects of [[Critical Failures]] can be described as simply attributing specific [[Penalties]] to those suffering from them, but these [[Penalties]] are typically ones that one cannot get through ordinary failures. As just mentioned, [[Skills]] can be used to calculate the probabilities of [[Critical Failures]], but these can also be modified by [[Tools]] ([[Weapons]] in the case of [[Critical Misses]]). Regardless of how the probabilities are determined, [[Randomness]] needs to be used to create [[Critical Failures]] since by definition the pattern does not depend directly on players' performances.
@@ Line 51: / Line 50: @@
 == References ==
+<references>
 == Acknowledgements ==
+-