D&D 5E Werewolves/rats and damage immunity

[Galendril]

Well, in my game, players can use rope to restrain a lycanthrope, but they would be unpleasantly surprised if they thought they kill one with non-magical/non-silvered rope.

 

[iserith]

Well, in my game, players can use rope to restrain a lycanthrope, but they would be unpleasantly surprised if they thought they kill one with non-magical/non-silvered rope.

I guess lycanthropes in your game don't need to breathe to live? That's pretty cool.

 

[Galendril]

I guess lycanthropes in your game don't need to breathe to live? That's pretty cool.

So, you don't follow the RAW on lycanthropes? That's pretty cool too!

 

[iserith]

So, you don't follow the RAW on lycanthropes? That's pretty cool too!

Sure I do. It says "Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered."

Strangulation by rope doesn't fall into that category in my view so the damage immunity doesn't come into play. I think instead the rules for suffocation come into play. Lycanthropes aren't immune to that, according to the rules, anyway.

 

[Galendril]

Sure I do. It says "Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered."

Strangulation by rope doesn't fall into that category in my view so the damage immunity doesn't come into play. I think instead the rules for suffocation come into play. Lycanthropes aren't immune to that, according to the rules, anyway.

Rope is most certainly a weapon.

But, if you want to go with the suffocation rules, please refer to page 183 of the PHB: "A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + its Constitution modifier (minimum of thirty seconds). Given that a combat round is 6 seconds, good luck on keeping the lycanthrope restrained for the 20 rounds it will take to suffocate it. At the very least, a wererat could shift into rat form to get free of the rope.

 

[iserith]

Rope is most certainly a weapon.

Where does it say that in the rules? What's the damage type of rope? How much damage does it do?

That sounds more like a ruling to me than "RAW." Which is fine, of course, but you seemed to indicate that you followed "RAW" and I did not.

Edit: I suppose you could say that the rope is an improvised weapon and then draw upon the improvised weapon rules, but that's a ruling on its own. And still doesn't address the player's stated goal and approach of strangling the wererat which doesn't necessarily include reducing its hit points via physical damage with the rope.

But, if you want to go with the suffocation rules, please refer to page 183 of the PHB: "A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + its Constitution modifier (minimum of thirty seconds). Given that a combat round is 6 seconds, good luck on keeping the lycanthrope restrained for the 20 rounds it will take to suffocate it. At the very least, a wererat could shift into rat form to get free of the rope.

I refer you to my post #20 where I said: "It won't be easy to pull off and it won't be as fast or sure as a pile of silvered weapons, but if the players can manage to set it up to happen, then good for them."

 

[ad_hoc]

I started a campaign in a small silver-mining town. In the town square was a big statue of a town hero holding a large silver pick. I introduced this setting and came back to it several times so the players would remember it.

You have to set it up ahead of time, though. Introduce the statue early and mention it a few times and make sure the players know about it, because sometimes they tend to zone out when you describe scenery.

That is a good example of Chekhov's Gun.

 

[JasonZZ]

Well, the game isn't called Anglo-Saxon Epic Literature & Dragons. The game has a set of rules and it cannot accommodate every type of literature out there.

And if strangling a creature is your idea of creativity, then you have a very low bar for imaginative problem solving.

How about drowning it in raw sewage?

 

[S'mon]

How about drowning it in raw sewage?

I think he's one of those GMs who can't stand Arneson-like players who use imaginative solutions to problems, and will even invoke incorrectly understood RAW to justify their railroading. Very bad IMO.

 

[Mirtek]

So, you don't follow the RAW on lycanthropes? That's pretty cool too!

RAW it that such creatures could driwn, starve, suffocate etc.

Only direct Hits by weapons are ignored