Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Novacat Aug 01, 2008 21:33:08	I'm having an issue in my game, and I fear there is no way to solve it except by house-ruling it. So I'm running a conspiracy-themed campaign. There are several bad-guys out there, some of whom are corrupt public figures. There are secrets, there are spies, and there are names that can be tracked. The party has developed the habit of knocking out any enemy who seems like he might know something, and spending half and hour interrogating him (usually ending in the NPC's death). Some enemies have displayed such loyalty to their cause as to commit suicide before being captured, but most are unwilling to do so. The knock-out rules are easy, streamlined, and well-designed, but in this campaign, where controlling the release of information is so vital, it does prove a bit of a difficulty. I would like some of the villains to be too powerful to easily knock out, and therefore the party has no choice but to kill rather than capture. So, I propose this house-rule: When you choose to knock out an opponent when you reduce them to 0 hp, the creature makes a saving throw. If successful, it takes half-damage from the attack (which may kill it). On a failure, it is knocked unconscious. Foreseen consequences: Normal NPCs will still be relatively easy to capture, but elites and solos will be harder, due to their bonuses to saves. Also, the chance of failure may discourage the players from trying at all, if they are unwilling to risk allowing the enemy another round. Does this sound reasonable to you people, or should I try to find some other way to prevent the anti-cinematic interrogation sequence?
#2 catbond Aug 01, 2008 22:59:56	The only problem I can see with your current solution is that it may instead be TOO hard to capture an enemy. They would already have a 55% chance of avoiding knockout (and most likely dying) without any saving throw bonuses. Instead you might want to apply a penalty to the heroes' attacks. Say, for example, a knockout attack has to be a basic melee attack with a -2 to hit modifier that does half damage. If the attack does enough damage to bring the enemy to 0 hp they are unconscious. This way, if they wanted to the team could take their time trying to knock the enemy out (most likely they would need 3+ successful knockout blows) at the risk of taking more hits from the enemy. It would still be relatively easy to take out weaker NPCs, but the escalated risk presented by an elite or solo NPC would make this a more exciting method. As a sidenote: I purposely avoided letting my players know of the new knockout mechanics because I agree, WAY too easy. (They found out anyways tho /sadface)
#3 neechen Aug 03, 2008 15:56:59	I like both of your ideas. Novacat, your idea is more like real life. When people take a blow to the head that knocks them out, there is a very real chance for them to die. So I'd just make all victims of a knockout blow make a Death Save. And Catbond's idea is also good. It is tougher to pull your punches (unless specially trained). -2 to attack, may be enough to deter PCs from trying it when they are attacking tougher opponents. Use both rules. Cheers.