Partial Failures

Failed saves can be divided into partial failures and full suffering, encouraging players to take more risks by making their saving throws be something besides a 25/75 between safety and doom.

“If the adventurers attempt to use the decrepit rope bridge during the windstorm they must Save vs. Paralysis.

If they succeed they are able to cross the bridge safely and without incident.
If they fail their saving throw with a 1-5 they have fallen from the bridge. They plummet to their death on the rocks below, and their body is eaten by jackals.
If their save is failed by rolling a 5 or higher the adventurer has nearly, but has not yet, fallen. They lose 1d8 items from their person, determined at random. These items have fallen into the canyon of jackals 270’ below, and will be incredibly difficult to retrieve.”

“If the adventurers are bitten by a two-headed baby cobra they must Save vs. Poison.

If they succeed the area of the wound is numb and inflamed, and they take 1d3 damage, but they otherwise suffer no ill effects.
If they fail their saving throw with a 1-4 they fall to the ground as their lungs and heart are paralyzed by the toxins. They are dead.
If they fail their saving throw with a 6 or above they lose function of the limb which was bitten (determined at random) for 1d12 hours, and suffer 1d3 damage”

“Goatmorph: This spell causes any human target within range to become a goat. Upon a successful casting the target must Save vs. Magic.
If they succeed they have resisted the effects of the spell and are unchanged.

If they fail their saving throw from 1-12 they are permanently transformed into a goat. Their items have vanished, returning into existence only upon restoration of the target to their previous form using Dispel Magic, or a similar method.
If they fail their saving throw with a 13 or higher roll 1d6.

1-2. They are still transformed into a goat as before, but for only 1d6 days.

3. They now have the legs of a goat, and will perceived by many as a mythical satyr. They move as if they had two more levels of Encumbrance at all times, as these legs are poorly suited for the rest of the body.

4. They have the arms and upper torso of a goat, which means they have goat legs for arms and cloven hooves for hands, making most hand based tasks impossible, or at best extremely difficult.
5. They have the head of a goat, and may only speak in strange monosyllabic bleats.

6. They have the mind and soul of a goat, and may only speak in goat-like noises, and will eat only plant matter such as hay or grass, unless provided with a large amount of more flavorful vegetable matter such as apples or carrots. Subsisting on grass and so on does not provide adequate nutrition despite the preference, and the target may suffer from starvation during this time.”

“If examined, there is a large guillotine style blade above the door. If the door is opened without the trap being disarmed the blade will fall. The adventurer who opened the door must Save vs. Devices.

If they succeed they are narrowly missed by the razor sharp blade, which stuttered and stuck for a moment before falling down as it should have.
If they fail their save from 1-12 roll 1d4.
1-3 The lower half of their dominant arm, halfway to the elbow, is effortlessly sliced off by the blade. They suffer 1d8 damage.

4 Their dominant hand falls off, severed by the blade. They suffer 1d6 damage.

If they fail their save with a 13 or higher they are only barely sliced by the blade, and only lose the tips of some fingers on their dominant hand. They suffer 1d2 damage.”

In LotFP a level one Fighter has got a 16 save in Paralyze, Poison, and Breath, a 15 for Devices, and an 18 for magic.

So, on the rope bridge they would have a 25% chance of success, a 25% chance of death, and a 50% chance of losing something to the canyon below. Normally it would be 25% Life, 75% Death

If bitten by a two-headed baby Cobra they would have a 20% chance of death, a 25% chance of only taking 1d3 damage, and a 55% chance of painful limb paralysis and damage instead of a 25/75 with mortality.

If subjected to the Goatmorph they would have a 10% chance of resisting, a 60% chance of being fully and permanently engoated, and a 30% chance of something else: roughly 33% of the time temporarily being a goat, the other 66% a temporary partial transformation. A much wider spectrum of possibilities than the 10% or else they had before.

If they foolishly open the trapped door they will lose a limb or hand 60% of the time, just the tips of fingers 15%, and 25% of the time realize how foolish they were without suffering a scratch, giving them a bit more to avoid full mutilation than before without simply giving them a bonus to the save.