Lethal and Nonlethal Combat

[mach1.9pants]

Yeah, the guys above have a great idea. It is a rule change but one for the better IMO, not something I have encountered my guys are too bloodthirsty! But I am going to **yoink** that ruling. I won't roll any stabilisation except retrospectively if they try and keep them alive...and my rolls are behind the screen so if I want them to die........

 

[Ryujin]

Yes. There is a ritual called Soulguard. You cast it on a willing target or yourself who then spends a healing surge. If this character dies before the end of the day, he instead regains hit points of his surge value. No you just need a delayed variant of this ritual. (lets say, after three rounds) Not unreasonable that a powerful guy tries to get this ritual or at least some scrolls of this to be prepared for a difficult fight.

The alternative: If the BBEG is just a henchman of another BBEG use another ritual. I call it "Dispose Minion". When the BBEG is interrogated, he can use a keyphrase (or the BBEG in the background, who watches the interrogation via another ritual) to instantly kill the prisoner. This way, the prisoner can give some hints, but before the important things he just dies in some spectacular way.

I used the "subconscious trigger" schtick on more than a few occasions. The party starts questioning the prisoner and can ask anything that they want, unless they ask one of the "guarded" questions. The prisoner tries to answer, then shudders and dies. Do that a couple of times and they just stop taking prisoners; for that adventure, anyway.

 

[Piratecat]

That's an interesting method, and I certainly expect to use it a few times. Thanks for the advice. I remember reading a story hour where they party faced assassins that had poison sacs at the back of their throats, and whenever captured alive they would just bite down and kill themselves.

Those are the sharshun from Sagiro's campaign. Those guys are jerks!

I love the idea of unconscious bad guys popping back up after a healing surge. Neat idea.

 

[ender_wiggin]

Those are the sharshun from Sagiro's campaign. Those guys are jerks!

Yeah -- probably my favorite story hour ever. He seems to have slowed down writing it though, and admittingly it's hard to get back into it once you stop reading it for a while (since I have to remind myself of who and what everything is).

I think the reason why Ryujin's idea is so good is because it doesn't introduce new rules to the game -- rather, it cleverly uses what's already on the table to subtly influence PC action. I think that's really what I'm looking for. If only there was something else to do about the big guy who fights until his last breath.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Other ways to deal with it:

- have them face monsters who don't speak the same language as the players, thus no real ability to interogate them

- have the captured monsters occasionally be resistive - have them try to escape, or make noise to attract other monsters, etc.


My own players tend not to take prisoners, as they don't like the moral conflicts that the question "what do we do with them after?" creates within the party.

 

[frankthedm]

Just put the -4 to hit back in for doing nonlethal with a lethal weapon.

 

[Akaiku]

You could also try asking them nicely to not keep doing that, if it's a problem.

 

[lukelightning]

I don't see what the problem is. So they want to beat up the baddies, take their stuff, and send them on their way with a kick in the pants. Most players I know are too paranoid to risk even a minor minion getting away alive, out of fear of retaliation.

Or just have more dangerous battlefields. Sure, you can choose not to kill someone when you reduce them ot 0 hp... but if they are on a narrow walkway over a chasm then they fall down to their death.

 

[webrunner]

BBEG doesn't want his minions spilling the beans.

Each one is given a magic item that, if an unconscious minion is brought conscious and helpless, it magically detects that and explodes in a burst 1 fire damage, killing said minion and hurting everyone around it.

The minions may or may not know about this effect.

 

[Regicide]

Let your players do it. This is 4E, where at level 1 you're ALREADY a hero on course for becoming an immortal God. Knocking someone out when they want to is in-line with how 4E is supposed to be played, and not particularly hard compared to the powers they use every round.