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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Attacking defenseless NPCs
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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 7625891" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>It is an attack. The attacker is unseen by the target, so the attack is rolled with advantage. The PC is attacking with surprise.</p><p></p><p>The character gets to apply whatever benefits are within their power (like, Sneak Attack, if they have that ability). But there's no "perfect shot - instant kill". If you can't pull together enough hit points of damage... well, that shot wasn't as perfect as you thought. Maybe the target coughed after you loosed the arrow, or something.</p><p></p><p>In other systems, I might rule differently, but this is D&D's structure. If the players complain, ask them how they'd feel if you had NPCs get the same kind of instant-kill attack. They'll probably see the issue there, and let it pass.</p><p></p><p>D&D is really begging for this to be a team effort. You want to down that orc before the alarm is given? Scootch the party a bit closer, so the target is in range of Silence. Cast that, and follow with the attack on the surprise round. Win initiative, and you get a second shot on the target and kill it before they can manage to raise the alarm.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 7625891, member: 177"] It is an attack. The attacker is unseen by the target, so the attack is rolled with advantage. The PC is attacking with surprise. The character gets to apply whatever benefits are within their power (like, Sneak Attack, if they have that ability). But there's no "perfect shot - instant kill". If you can't pull together enough hit points of damage... well, that shot wasn't as perfect as you thought. Maybe the target coughed after you loosed the arrow, or something. In other systems, I might rule differently, but this is D&D's structure. If the players complain, ask them how they'd feel if you had NPCs get the same kind of instant-kill attack. They'll probably see the issue there, and let it pass. D&D is really begging for this to be a team effort. You want to down that orc before the alarm is given? Scootch the party a bit closer, so the target is in range of Silence. Cast that, and follow with the attack on the surprise round. Win initiative, and you get a second shot on the target and kill it before they can manage to raise the alarm. [/QUOTE]
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