Breaking Bones/Severing limbs Q&A's

[Flame Draconion]

Question: Now the rules for making a called shot against a body part are severly lacking in 3.5 as are ways to break bones. Has anyone else encountered this problem when you do not want to kill your pcs b/c of story but you do need them slightly incapacited. There really arent any guildlines other then a -4 to attack roll, and lets face it after lvl 8 that really isnt a problem. Any thoughts then just coming up with different hp totals and hardness checks?
Thinking on it, this would also be useful for monks and players after info rather then just slaughtering the foes. Fame and Infamy have better chances of coming up when things live to tell the tales, but cant use there sword arm as proof.

 

[shilsen]

I'd just allow the removal of limbs and other body parts when the enemy is helpless, rather than allowing that to be done in regular combat. Called shot rules usually tend to be heavily abusable.

Also, you may get more answers/suggestions in the House Rules section.

 

[dcollins]

There is nonlethal damage. Monks are especially talented at it. That's simply how the D&D rules are set up to handle this.

Nonlethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Lethal Damage: You can use a melee weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Usually a monk’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but she can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on her attack roll. She has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.

 

[Flame Draconion]

Yes, these are established rules, that I am not questioning. The question is breaking an oppenents arm/leg, or making the called shot to decapitate a foe. This is an area that is not covered by any rule, except they take a -4 to the attack. There has to be something more, something that would not be exploited at higher levels.

 

[Hammerhead]

Yeah, it's generally called "doing lots of damage".

 

[Tellerve]

Ya know, these are the times I wish I had a subscription to Dragon. In any case, I recall reading a Dragon off the shelf some time ago, maybe pre 3.5. In any case they had a PRC that was based aroung the idea of a Thug/Intimidator sorta legbreaker for the organized crime.

They gained the ability to do their sneak attack damage during grappling, representing snapping limbs and applying choke holds and such. It was a pretty neat class, but of course I don't have more to say about it as I don't have the magazine

Tellerve

 

[SidusLupus]

Closest thing would be Sundering the limbs, as per what is established with a hydra.

 

[Nyeshet]

Perhaps if one allowed Sunder to be used on Natural Weapons this could function as an attempt to attack an arm or leg - breaking it if the attack (which provoked an AoO) succeeded, severing it if a Critical occuring during a sunder using a slashing weapon? That would deal with the limbs, but it would not deal with the neck (or piercing eye shots, etc). Perhaps taking double penalty (-8 w/o improved sunder, -4 with it) when attempting to sunder a body part other than a natural weapon (ie: other than arms, legs, wings, tail, etc), and perhaps also doubling it if attempting it with a range weapon (thus -8 for a ranged eye shot with Impr Sunder, -16 without it).

Of course, size modifiers should probably also come into play. A neck is about 3 size categories down from a body (+4 size bonus to the creature's AC, effectively a -4 to hit), and an eye is yet another (4) size categories down (+8/-8), so the final penalty to hit would be tremendous, likely only attempted at higher levels. Sunder requires a standard action as I recall, so a multiattacking (ie: higher level) (N)PC could still not use it more than once per level.

I have no problem with called shots being used, but they should be difficult in the extreme considering the potential power they represent. Also, only a critical with a slashing weapon during a sunder should actually sever a limb / neck / etc. Anything else should only break it - perhaps. I would likely impose a duration penalty due to extreme bruising instead, allowing a broken limb only if the damage was truly significant - near maximum, or perhaps over a quarter of the creature's maximum in a single hit.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Funny how there is a Regeneration spell and ability that allows you to reattch limbs, but the only way to remove them (that I know of) is through a Vorpal weapon...

 

[Starglim]

What Hammerhead said.