"Called shots" within the rules -- breaking a leg

[Artoomis]

All excellent questions, and worth the effort to answer if it indeeds enhances the man's (or woman's) game.

The simplest answers are always the best, I think. How about this:

A helpless character may be given STR, DEX or CON ability damage. It takes 1 round to give 1 point of ability damage. This represents breaking limbs, knocking them out, etc., etc.

There - simple as can be. All the mechanics surrounding the effects and how to recover are already in the rules.

 

[Quasqueton]

I like to keep things within the existing mechanics if possible.

That's why I'm posting this in the Rules forum. But. . .

Instead of saying that the villian broke their legs, I'd just say they dealt subdual damage and tied them up afterwards.

Not all villains are in a position to tie them up afterwards. Such is the case in my example.

So you now have rules for breaking legs on helpless people. What about arms? Backs? Fingers? How do you heal from broken bones, if magic is unavailable? Can regular heal spells repair this damage, or do you need Healing or Regeneration or a DC25 heal check? What if you break the same leg in multiple places?

All questions I'm hoping to get answers for, within the rules as written.

Can I enchant a magical sword "Legbreaker" that has a chance to break the legs of my enemies if I hit them? What about if the creature has more than 2 legs?

Well, the precendent for specific injuries via magical enhancement has been set with the vorpal sword.

Quasqueton

 

[Artoomis]

Quasqueton, I think you missed my last post above, since we posted at the same time. What do you think? Would that solve your problem?

 

[Rel]

Here's my "off the cuff" answer:

I would not allow any specific targeting of limbs outside a "helpless target" situation. If the target is helpless, I'd allow coup-de-grace to break a limb instead of going for the kill. I'd note the damage inflicted by the strike. The effect of this would be that the target's movement would be cut by a fraction of 1/X where X is the number of ambulatory limbs. If the target ever has all ambulatory limbs broken then they can move 5' as a Full Round Action and remain Prone at all times.

This condition could be healed by normal means so long as the magical healing applied exceeded the damage that was dealt via the original coup-de-grace.

While Artoomis' suggestion is more elegant within the existing rules, the problem is that it is an all or nothing proposition with regard to the mobility of the target. You don't become incapable of movement unless your Dex or Str are reduced to zero and that affects a whole host of other things.

 

[Artoomis]

...While Artoomis' suggestion is more elegant within the existing rules, the problem is that it is an all or nothing proposition with regard to the mobility of the target. You don't become incapable of movement unless your Dex or Str are reduced to zero and that affects a whole host of other things.

True, but 1/2 your STR or DEX points taken away will leave you in fairly dire straits, and you are likely to gve up the chase until healed, which may take time as restorations are not always easily available - especially at lower levels. If that's all that's desired - then this is a great way to do it. At least I though so!

I thought it was truly inspired - a nice simple rule that's easy to remember.

 

[Rel]

True, but 1/2 your STR or DEX points taken away will leave you in fairly dire straits, and you are likely to gve up the chase until healed, which may take time as restorations are not always easily available - especially at lower levels. If that's all that's desired - then this is a great way to do it. At least I though so!

I thought it was truly inspired - a nice simple rule that's easy to remember.

I can't disagree that it is easy to remember or simple to implement. I just don't think it addresses the original question of whether you can break somebody's leg to keep them from escaping. It stays too far within the existing rules to accomplish that.

The fact is that there are no rules for broken limbs. So we're going to have to stipulate that it either isn't possible (which rather breaks my suspension of disbelief) or make up a house rule to simulate the situation.

I'd posit that it is simply impossible to swing a weapon with a broken or shattered (but not slightly fractured) arm and that it is impossible to run at full speed with broken legs. By using Str or Dex damage to simulate this, you put somebody at a penalty but they are still fully capable of doing those things. Moreover, a Dex penalty in particular doesn't in any way reduce someone's movement but it does reduce a whole host of other things that should, IMHO, not be affected by a broken leg (say, Open Lock for example).

I guess what I'm really getting at is that if you're going to the trouble to make up a house rule about the effects of a broken leg, it ought to reduce your movement rate.