Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Everyday Heroes Review
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="sigfried" data-source="post: 8873222" data-attributes="member: 1798"><p>Sorry to let you down on that account.</p><p></p><p>I think it's a tricky thing to balance in a game with levels and hit points. If you can do one-hit takedowns, then that becomes the best thing to do in every combat as it bypasses a lot of the defenses a target normally has. It also makes stealth the most valuable and powerful skill in the game for combat situations. If you are doing a very stealth-heavy game, then I think it would be fine, but with a rule like that, players can start to try and turn every game into a stealth-based adventure because it's simply the best and safest way to take down opponents.</p><p></p><p>I think using the base rules can work, so long as you make the guards a sufficiently low CR vs the level of the heroes. Heroes can do quite a bit of damage when they have surprise on their side. A level 1 scoundrel could sneak up and punch a guard for 1d4+1d6+3, and that's going to drop most 0 or 1/8 CR NPCs pretty reliably. (more if they were using some kind of weapon) A level 5 Brawler could pop someone for 1d6+3d6+12 unarmed (using power attack) which will on average drop a CR 1 NPC. </p><p></p><p>Tell you what, despite all that, when I get to Rambo in a month or so, I'll take a hard look at sneaking up and taking out targets in this kind of situation and see what I can come up with that won't have the balance issues mentioned above, or at least provide some rich guidance for GMs on how to use the rules to accomplish this with the right feel and balance. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sigfried, post: 8873222, member: 1798"] Sorry to let you down on that account. I think it's a tricky thing to balance in a game with levels and hit points. If you can do one-hit takedowns, then that becomes the best thing to do in every combat as it bypasses a lot of the defenses a target normally has. It also makes stealth the most valuable and powerful skill in the game for combat situations. If you are doing a very stealth-heavy game, then I think it would be fine, but with a rule like that, players can start to try and turn every game into a stealth-based adventure because it's simply the best and safest way to take down opponents. I think using the base rules can work, so long as you make the guards a sufficiently low CR vs the level of the heroes. Heroes can do quite a bit of damage when they have surprise on their side. A level 1 scoundrel could sneak up and punch a guard for 1d4+1d6+3, and that's going to drop most 0 or 1/8 CR NPCs pretty reliably. (more if they were using some kind of weapon) A level 5 Brawler could pop someone for 1d6+3d6+12 unarmed (using power attack) which will on average drop a CR 1 NPC. Tell you what, despite all that, when I get to Rambo in a month or so, I'll take a hard look at sneaking up and taking out targets in this kind of situation and see what I can come up with that won't have the balance issues mentioned above, or at least provide some rich guidance for GMs on how to use the rules to accomplish this with the right feel and balance. :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Everyday Heroes Review
Top