I broke two spokes on the rear riding home from work. The wheel was 36 spokes. The wobble was too bad to let the wheel spin through the chain stays. Luckily I had a spoke wrench, and I was able to get it straight enough to spin. Otherwise, it would have been a long, uphill walk with the heavy bike on my shoulder.

And yet, I once broke a spoke on super light 24-spoke rear wheel. I didn't have to do anything to get home except pedal. I don't know why the 36-spoke wheel deformed more than a 24-spoke wheel. It's probably because of differences in rim stiffness.