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Pathfinder Unchained / Spell Alterations / Active Spellcasting

Spell Fumbles

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 149
Spells have a chance to automatically miss, just like any other attack. Normally, this is represented by the target rolling a natural 20 on its save. However, you might be interested in a more dramatic “fumble” result. If an enemy rolls a natural 20 on its save, it rolls the save again. If it succeeds at the second save, then the spell was fumbled, resulting in an accident similar to a scroll mishap (Core Rulebook 491). Roll 1d10 and consult Table 4–6: Spell Fumbles. You can fumble only once per spell cast. If more than one target rolls a 20, only the first target rolls to confirm the fumble.

Table 4-6: Spell Fumbles

d10Fumble Result
1A surge of uncontrolled magical energy deals 1d6 points of damage per spell level to the caster.
2The spell strikes the caster or an ally instead of the intended target.
3The spell takes effect at a random location within the spell’s range.
4The spell’s effect on the target is contrary to the spell’s normal effect.
5The spellcaster suffers some minor but bizarre effect related to the spell in some way. Most such effects should last only as long as the original spell’s duration, or 2d10 minutes for instantaneous spells.
6A random innocuous item or items suddenly appear in the spell’s area.
7The spell’s effect is delayed. Sometime within the next 1d12 hours, the spell activates. The spell goes off in the general direction of the original target, up to the spell’s maximum range if the target has moved away.
8The caster can’t cast or concentrate on spells for 1 round.
9The caster is dazed for 1 round.
10The caster takes 1 point of Constitution damage.


With the Critical Fumble Deck: If you’re using the Pathfinder Cards: Critical Fumble Deck in your game, draw a fumble card and apply the Magic result instead of rolling on the fumble table. You can use the Critical Fumble Deck for spell fumbles in your game even if you aren’t using it to add other fumbles.

With Wild Magic: You can use Table 4–4: Wild Magic Surge instead of Table 4–6: Spell Fumbles. If you use that table, roll 1d20 instead of d%.

With Spell Attack Rolls: When using the spell attack roll variant, a fumble might occur if you roll a natural 1 on the attack roll. Roll the attack roll a second time—if it would miss again, the spell has fumbled.