The downside is that if it’s a brand new one, it may take a while to become useful.
Rectal intake, got it.
He knew the risks.
Hypertellurians is pretty flexible and the default setting already takes fantasy into account (Fantasy in Space). Flexible enough that you can skin it any way you want. Plus, rules are free!
I understand. I like playing characters that take themselves seriously, but you still have to RP a failed roll. In any case, I think the one embracing the goof should be the player, not the character.
For example, if I fumble while trying to stealth, I could say that my character is impatiently shushing the group or that an alarm on his phone goes off or something like that. Not absolute incompetence, but something that could have been avoided.
If your character thinks it’s could not be their fault, you could have him point fingers at someone else or some other thing. Needless to say, don’t actually blame other players and know your table.