History Main / EpicFail

* Creator/DannyKaye's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmCOYS_9bIM Dodgers song]] is from the the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Los Angeles Dodgers']] perspective, but the bottom of the ninth inning is EpicFail from the San Francisco Giants' perspective. The Dodgers are up to bat and the Giants lead 4-0. Two consecutive fielding errors land Maury Wills and then Jim Gilliam on base. Jimmy Davis gets a single, as does Tommy Davis (bringing Wills home). Then a third fielding error with implied major confusion turns Big Frank Howard's apparent sacrifice bunt into another four runs, and the Dodgers win it 5-4.

* ''Radio/TheNavyLark'' gives us [[BeyondTheImpossible an example of epically failing trying to fail]]. Captain Povey was stuck with his mother-in-law for the weekend, when he desperately wanted to go out with the rest of the unit to a pub. So he "arranges" for Sub-Lieutenant [[CaptainCrash Phillips]] to take HMS Troutbridge out for a run, with the confidence that Phillips will inevitably crash the ship, giving Povey the excuse he needs to escape. For once, Phillips can't hit anything, even with the rest of the crew trying to help by sabotaging the steering. He ends up circling another destroyer 42 times flawlessly. Then, Povey's mother-in-law gets laid up with the flu, and he is free to go. [[EpicFail THEN, and only then, does Phillips manage to crash the ship]].

This is when a task that should be fairly straightforward and typical for a character [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes HORRIBLY wrong]] in a manner that defies the laws of probability, and occasionally the laws of physics. It's when a character seems to be facing a pass-or-fail situation, a do-or-die type of test, and then fate hands them a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]]: failing in a manner that's so bizarre, it's almost impressive.

Compare CriticalFailure (a game mechanic meant to represent the normal ever-present danger in any action), FromBadToWorse, ForWantOfANail, and WhatAnIdiot. TooDumbToLive is for when a character dies (or nearly dies) because of their own stupidity. This trope is the norm for StupidCrooks, and a hallmark of the DisastrousDemonstration. If the Fail is so Epic that ''reality itself'' breaks trying to process it, then you've managed to make a RealityBreakingParadox. Contrast FlawlessVictory.

* The entire reign of the Roman emperor Didius Julianus, as portrayed in ''Podcast/TotalusRankium'' (and their historical sources). Julianus [[WhatAnIdiot purchased the Imperial title from the Praetorian Guard, who had just murdered his predecessor,]] and spent his short reign panicking as the general Septimius Severus marched on the capital to take it off his hands. Several [[ZanyScheme ZanySchemes]] (including, but not limited to attempting to train circus elephants to fight and hiring magicians to curse Severus) utterly failed, and Julianus was killed only two months into his reign. AndThereWasMuchRejoicing.

[[caption-width-right:350:H-How did you even ''do'' that?!]]

We're not talking "[[BadBoss villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking "villain tries to shoot one of his mooks, misses, ricochets the shot off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, causes said Doomsday Machine to topple into a structural support inches from the mook's head, [[DisasterDominoes breaks the structural support]], brings down the whole base in a massive collapse that destroys the villain's lair entirely, and [[{{Irony}} the mook that the villain shot at is the only survivor]]." It's a failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly bizarre that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

'''[[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease No real-life examples]] due to its [[NoRealLife/TooControversial controversial nature]], it's for Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly!'''

If you're looking for the trope that [[Administrivia/TropeTransplant used to have this name]], it's now OffscreenMomentOfAwesome. Since this title refers to a [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece dated meme]] from the early 2010s, it's unlikely to be used much anymore.

[[caption-width-right:350:H-how can one even ''manage'' that?!?]]

This is when a task that should be fairly straightforward and typical for a character [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes HORRIBLY wrong]] in a manner that defies the laws of probability, and occasionally the laws of physics. It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]]: failing in a manner that's so bizarre, it's almost impressive.

We're not talking "[[BadBoss villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking "villain tries to shoot one of his mooks, misses, ricochets the shot off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, causes said Doomsday Machine to topple into a structural support inches from the mook's head, [[DisasterDominoes breaks the structural support]], brings down the whole base in a massive collapse that destroys the villain's lair entirely, and [[{{Irony}} the mook that the villain shot at is the only survivor]]." It's a failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

* At the climax of season two in ''Podcast/AcquisitionsIncorporated'', Binwin and Jim are down and the party is barely alive. Omin, as a final resort, tries to use an encounter power. [[CriticalFailure And proceeds to roll a one.]] With some divine intervention from Aeofel he gains a re-roll and try to attack again. And the rolls another one.

** The Virus in game 2. Seems like a great idea, it gives the [=AG=]s a fair boost... and then gains self awareness. And decides it wants to kill everything.

** Xanesha blinding herself, swinging the CurbStompBattle the other way.

** Halek the barbarian knocking himself out and forcing the bard to risk his own life to pull him to safety. Honorable mention to the four trolls who rolled a combined six on their stealth checks, which the GM ruled consisted of covering their heads with fungus thinking "If I can't see you, you can't see me!"
** A trio of annis hags blowing their saves and concentration checks when Hi's Fireball interrupted their Forcecage.

** A lich's right-hand zombie failing a save-or-die, which scared the lich so badly he didn't dare confront the party.

** His ''I Lost On Jeopardy'' also counts as two other contestants mop the floor with him on the show. Al doesn't even get a copy of the home game.

** And then there's ninjatwist's Blood Pact charge, also from the second game. It would allow the godmodder a heal of 1 HP for dealing 150,000 damage to his own side and giving the player in question a permanent +1 bonus to his charges. This was done after [[TooDumbToLive the Game Master told him it wouldn't work and during Act Four, where the godmodder was invincible to attacks and capable of summoning and attacking that in one turn]]. It says something when the Game Master not only instantly gave a player a fourth action to kill him, but ''allowed everyone else to do so'', marking the first time in the ''entire series'' a player was directly attackable outside of summoning themself.

** The Virus in game 2. Seems like a great idea, it gives the AGs a fair boost... and then gains self awareness. And decides it wants to kill everything.

* In [[https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ohja&page=1?NobodysHomes-RotRL-Campaign NobodysHome's]] run of the ''TabletopGame/Pathfinder'' Adventure Path Rise of the Runelords, two natural ones and a CriticalFailure deck resulted in Tsuto Kaijitsu knocking himself out with his own Stunning Fist and provoking opportunity attacks from the PCs. The group ended up painting Tsuto's miniature silver and giving it as an award to the worst fail of the session. Some recipients include:

[[caption-width-right:350:Sometimes, there's just no excuse.]]

We're not talking "[[BadBoss villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking "villain tries to shoot one of his mooks, misses, ricochets the shot off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, lands in a structural support inches from the mook's head, [[DisasterDominoes breaks the structural support]], brings down the entire base in a massive collapse, and [[{{Irony}} the mook that the villain shot at is the only survivor]]." It's a failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

We're not talking "[[BadBoss villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking "villain tries to shoot a mook, misses, ricochets the shot off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, lands in a structural support inches from the mook's head, [[DisasterDominoes breaks the structural support]], brings down the entire base in a massive collapse, and [[{{Irony}} the mook that the villain shot at is the only survivor]]." It's a failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

We're not talking "[[BadBoss villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking "villain tries to shoot a mook, misses, and the shot ricochets off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, lands in a structural support inches from the mook's head; [[DisasterDominoes breaks the structural support]], causing the whole base to come crashing down, and [[{{Irony}} the mook is the only survivor]]." It is a failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

[[caption-width-right:350:Because sometimes in life, there is just no excuse.]]

When a normal, run-of-the-mill failure just isn't enough.

This is about something that should be fairly straightforward and typical for a character but then [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly, HORRIBLY wrong]] in a manner probably thought impossible. It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]]: fail in a manner that's so bizarre that it's impressive. We're not talking, "[[BadBoss Villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking, "Villain tries to shoot a mook but misses — and the shot ricochets off two walls, smashes the control panel of his Doomsday Machine, and lands in a structural support inches from the mook's head; [[DisasterDominoes breaking it]], causing the whole base to come crashing down, and [[{{Irony}} the mook is the only survivor]]." A failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

At its best, the trope can give the viewer a much needed jolt out of a sense of boredom, it can produce a laugh out of something you wouldn't think could, it can inspire a temporary sense of fate or dramatic justice. At its worst, it can become a DeusExMachina, rescuing the writers from the fortress of logic they have enclosed themselves within with a HandWave of "luck".

Compare CriticalFailure (a game mechanic meant to represent the normal ever-present danger in any action), FromBadToWorse and ForWantOfANail. This trope is the norm for StupidCrooks, and a hallmark of the DisastrousDemonstration. If the Fail is so Epic that ''reality itself'' breaks trying to process it, then you've managed to make a RealityBreakingParadox. Contrast FlawlessVictory.

'''Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly'''

This is about something that should be fairly straightforward and typical for a character but then [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly, HORRIBLY wrong]] in a manner probably thought impossible. It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]]: fail in a manner that's so bizarre that it's impressive. We're not talking, "[[BadBoss Villain tries to shoot one of his mooks]] but misses." We're talking, "Villain tries to shoot a mook but misses — and the shot ricochets off two walls, smashes the instrument panel on his Doomsday Machine and lands in a structural support inches from the mook's head, [[DisasterDominoes weakening it structural support]], causing the whole base to come crashing down, and [[{{Irony}} the mook is the only survivor]]." A failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

This is about something that should be fairly straightforward and typical for a character but then [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly, HORRIBLY wrong]] in a manner probably thought impossible. It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]]: fail in a manner that's so bizarre that it's impressive. We're not talking, "[[BadBoss Supervillain decides to shoot a random minion]] but misses." We're talking, "Supervillain decides to shoot a random minion, but misses — and the bullet ricochets off two walls, smashes the instrument panel on his Doomsday Machine and ends up inches from the minion's head, [[DisasterDominoes weakening a structural support]] and causing the base to come crashing down. And [[{{Irony}} the minion is the only survivor]]." A failure so ludicrously, unexpectedly awesome that, despite its status as a failure, it manages also to be admirable for its uniqueness and irreproducibility.

Compare CriticalFailure (a game mechanic meant to represent the normal ever-present danger in any action), FromBadToWorse, ForWantOfANail. This trope is the norm for StupidCrooks, and a hallmark of the DisastrousDemonstration. If the Fail is so Epic that ''reality itself'' breaks trying to process it, then you've managed to make a RealityBreakingParadox. Contrast FlawlessVictory.

[[caption-width-right:350:One might wonder how someone could accomplish this.[[note]]Because sometimes in life there's just no excuse.[[/note]]]]