Quote Originally Posted by P.F. View Post
Is there a simple mechanic that preserves the fun of having (on average) a fumble or two in each session, without having a disproportionate effect on aficionados of the gnome hooked hammer?
You could always re-roll the attack after a natural 1. On a FAILED attack for the re-roll it's a fumble (a successful re-roll attack is still a miss, just not a fumble). That way you lower the odds of a fumble and it's reduced proportionate to skill/chance-to-hit.

We used something similar for crits in an older version of D&D. On a natural 20 you re-roll your attack. If you HIT on the re-roll, it's a critical hit (a missed re-roll is still just a normal hit).