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Message: <blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7147731" data-attributes="member: 12377">To respond to the OP, here's what I'd do.1. Mechanical change: When you reduce an enemy to 0 hp, you decide what happens to them! Here are some options: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They fall unconscious and start bleeding out, per normal rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They just fall unconscious. It's OK if you knock them out with a fireball or something. I'm going for a slightly more narrative angle here.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They are at 1hp and conscious, but are Really Messed Up. I'd say, they are incapacitated (see appendix A), meaning they can move but not take actions. This means they can stumble around and talk, which is exactly how you want your enemies. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They are at 1hp and conscious -- but your sword is at their throat, or your arrow is aimed at their eyeball, or whatever. At any point in the future, you can just snuff them out. And they know it! Their choice, whether to cooperate or eat steel.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They are at 1hp and conscious -- but they have lost the will to fight, at least temporarily. They know you've beat the snot out of them and will either retreat or surrender or give you what you want (DM's choice, based on the NPC's personality). If the DM decides that the NPC really would never lose the will to fight, then they basically commit suicide-by-PC.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You capture them somehow; slap some cuffs on them, throw a net over them, push them into a paddywagon; whatever makes sense in the scenario. It helps to prep this (carry cuffs with you, set a trap, etc.).</li> </ul>Whatever you pick, it has to make sense. If it doesn't make sense, pick something else.2. Mechanical change: I really like Heat system from Blades in the Dark. It's an abstract way of tracking how wanted you are by the law. I'd probably adapt something like it to D&D. The easiest way would be some sort of Reputation system, where doing missions for the authorities increases your standing, while murdering people decreases your standing.The thing you want to avoid is, "Whelp, you killed somebody, now you are going to jail and you have to retire that PC and make a new one." Instead, I'd want a mechanic that provides a gradual descent into criminal status. Some sort of trade-off between doing heroic deeds and getting away with murder.Initial design of such a system might be: When you do a heroic thing, +1 standing (max +5). When you kill a person who you shouldn't have, -1 standing (max -5), and you must pay 1,000 gp weregild to their next of kin. Also the magistrates come around to question you, and if you can't talk your way out of it, they throw you in jail. The length of time is equal to your standing:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">0 or more: 1 week in jail (it's a humiliation more than anything else).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">-1: 1 month in jail.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">-2: 3 months in jail.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">-3: 1 year in jail.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">-4: Jailed for life.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">-5: Executed.</li> </ul>I'd make it relatively easy to talk your way out of it; your allies can help, and your standing would be a modifier to all the checks. Basically there are all sorts of extenuating circumstances that the PCs can call upon, or they could cast doubt upon the magistrates' evidence. The object here is to scare the players with the threat of jail time, not to actually jail the PCs.3. Most importantly, provide mission goals that don't require killing. There are volumes written on this subject so I'll leave this as an exercise for the reader. Even something as simple as a wanted poster that says, "Reward: 10,000 gp alive; 5,000 gp dead" will go a long way towards ensuring the players actually use all the mechanical options presented in #1.</blockquote>

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