D&D General Groin punch/kick?

[abe ray]

Considering that I’m a man:in dnd(any edition) what damage would a groin punch/kick actually do? Would it cause extra damage to either a man or a woman?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Most armour, even leather, provides extra protection for vulnerable areas.

 

[Seramus]

That would be hitting 0 HP with the Non-Lethal option.

 

[R_J_K75]

Considering that I’m a man:in dnd(any edition) what damage would a groin punch/kick actually do? Would it cau extra damage to either a man or a woman?

I have an example where a PC critted on a groin shot.

I ran the Throne of Deceit adventure out the Spellbound boxed set. Travelling through Thesk the party come upon the strict and stern Lord Simgarde clad in +1 plate armor. He quickly recognizes the PCs as adventurers and gives them a quick warning not to cause trouble in the war torn area. After he walks away and is conversing with another member of his group one of the offended PCs picks up a good sized rock and throws it at his nuts and rolls a natural 20 on a called shot. Even with the codpiece I ruled that it dented it and stunned him enough to drop him to his knees for at least a round. In quick succession of the crotch shot, another PC who was wearing a ring of lightning blasted him with a lightning bolt. Needless to say, after that 1-2 punch Lorde Simgarde thought better to outright attack them and it was better off to keep his eye on them. So the groin shot didn't do actual damage in this case other than us laughing extremely hard.

I think any groin shot would be a called shot and non-lethal damage (maybe 1d3 thru 1d6) on a successful hit. Seeing as that is a sensitive area for both males and females, if they are expecting it and in melee I'd assume that a hit would be guarded against enough to only apply normal damage. If the person were unaware and caught off guard or hit with a crit I'd have them take double/max damage and stunned/prone (maybe allow a save) or something thereof.

 

[jasper]

NO called shots. No extra damage

 

[DammitVictor]

It's a good way to describe a critical hit with an unarmed strike. Otherwise, no extra damage, no stunning effects, none of that-- it's a difficult strike to land on a wary opponent, and opponents that are accustomed to pain are going to be able to fight through it.

Nobody talks about making called shots for punching people in the liver, and that's something trained fighters are trained to do to other trained figthers.

 

[Umbran]

D&D doesn't really support called shots.

You may figure that a particularly high damage roll in unarmed combat could be narrated as a groin shot, or a hit to another vulnerable spot.

Once you are working with weapons that rend flesh, I expect it is a rather moot point.

 

[Umbran]

Nobody talks about making called shots for punching people in the liver, and that's something trained fighters are trained to do to other trained figthers.

The liver? That's not sitting near the body surface, and is partially protected by the rib cage, so that sounds weird for an unarmed combat shot. The kidneys, though, are vulnerable, which is why you aren't supposed to use such a hit in professional boxing.

 

[Shiroiken]

If playing in a system with critical hits, I would allow such a thing on a critical hit. It wouldn't do any more than the regular critical hit would, but the story impact would be memorable.

 

[jasper]

I kick the dragon in the nads. NAT 20. Whoo Hoo!