koesherbacon
First Post
When you take non-lethal damage, are you aware it's non-lethal? If not, is there a way to tell with a Heal check or something?
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Pathfinder 1E Non-Lethal Damage question
- Thread starter koesherbacon
- Start date
Tovec
Explorer
Things to ask about this question, I doubt there is an sort of official answer:
a. Can they tell when they are taking damage?
I would say yes, damage has a cause. Damage from a fireball burns; damage from a sword cuts; damage from a sap is non-lethal, it is still damage just damage that won't kill you. So, under that criteria I would say yes.
b. Can they differentiate between lethal and non-lethal?
This one is a bit trickier and I think depends on the metagame infiltration. Such as does the character know how many HP they take from falling off a cliff or from a greatsword roll? I would say the character probably has zero chance (or should have) of figuring out things like actual numbers. That said, the player certainly does track such things and so should know if damage is non-lethal or lethal. I would say yes, they can tell the difference. I would say so as the source that deals non-lethal vs. lethal is different.
c. What roll do they need?
See above. Keep in mind that most sources of non-lethal are from exhausting sources and not from weapons, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't know they are being harmed. If you push yourself when exercising you typically know you are, the side effect in-game is that you are accruing non-lethal damage. What roll do you need to tell if you are damaged by a sword? I would figure the blood trickling down your arm would suffice. What roll do you need to tell if you are damaged from the environment? I would imaging the sweat and diminished capacity to keep going would be a good indicator. For a sap? The bump on your head. I would say no (they don't need to roll) as people can innately feel damage regardless of source, it just feels different.
I mean in a certain metagame sense it makes sense to ask this question but I just don't get it entirely. I find this to be a bit of an odd question. I would similarly find 'When you take lethal damage, are you aware it's lethal? If not, is there a way to tell with a Heal check or something?' to be odd.
a. Can they tell when they are taking damage?
I would say yes, damage has a cause. Damage from a fireball burns; damage from a sword cuts; damage from a sap is non-lethal, it is still damage just damage that won't kill you. So, under that criteria I would say yes.
b. Can they differentiate between lethal and non-lethal?
This one is a bit trickier and I think depends on the metagame infiltration. Such as does the character know how many HP they take from falling off a cliff or from a greatsword roll? I would say the character probably has zero chance (or should have) of figuring out things like actual numbers. That said, the player certainly does track such things and so should know if damage is non-lethal or lethal. I would say yes, they can tell the difference. I would say so as the source that deals non-lethal vs. lethal is different.
c. What roll do they need?
See above. Keep in mind that most sources of non-lethal are from exhausting sources and not from weapons, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't know they are being harmed. If you push yourself when exercising you typically know you are, the side effect in-game is that you are accruing non-lethal damage. What roll do you need to tell if you are damaged by a sword? I would figure the blood trickling down your arm would suffice. What roll do you need to tell if you are damaged from the environment? I would imaging the sweat and diminished capacity to keep going would be a good indicator. For a sap? The bump on your head. I would say no (they don't need to roll) as people can innately feel damage regardless of source, it just feels different.
I mean in a certain metagame sense it makes sense to ask this question but I just don't get it entirely. I find this to be a bit of an odd question. I would similarly find 'When you take lethal damage, are you aware it's lethal? If not, is there a way to tell with a Heal check or something?' to be odd.
Vegepygmy
First Post
The rules are silent as to whether characters know whether damage they've taken is lethal or non-lethal, but I really can't imagine how they could not be.
Lethal damage heals naturally at a base rate of 1 point per level every day (twice that with complete bed rest). Non-lethal damage heals naturally at a base rate of 1 point per level every hour. It should be obvious to anything with an Intelligence score above 2 whether the injury they've just received will take them days to recover from, or mere hours.
Lethal damage heals naturally at a base rate of 1 point per level every day (twice that with complete bed rest). Non-lethal damage heals naturally at a base rate of 1 point per level every hour. It should be obvious to anything with an Intelligence score above 2 whether the injury they've just received will take them days to recover from, or mere hours.
RUMBLETiGER
Adventurer
Ohhh... great question.
To my knowledge, there is no in-game mechanic distinction to injury awareness. As already stated by Tovec, this is a sort of metagame awareness to tracking hitpoint loss.
If it helps, I've always conceptualized non-lethal damage as soreness, bruising, pain-without-injury and severe fatigue. If you consider a boxing match, a knock out occurs when one competitor has sustained enough non-major-organ-injuring (usually) pain and damage that they fall unconscious. A boxer would know the difference between 15 blows to the torso from a gloved fist and a single knife to the chest. Both would drop him to the ground, but as Vegepygmy said, one would be faster to recover from than the other.
my 2 cents.
To my knowledge, there is no in-game mechanic distinction to injury awareness. As already stated by Tovec, this is a sort of metagame awareness to tracking hitpoint loss.
If it helps, I've always conceptualized non-lethal damage as soreness, bruising, pain-without-injury and severe fatigue. If you consider a boxing match, a knock out occurs when one competitor has sustained enough non-major-organ-injuring (usually) pain and damage that they fall unconscious. A boxer would know the difference between 15 blows to the torso from a gloved fist and a single knife to the chest. Both would drop him to the ground, but as Vegepygmy said, one would be faster to recover from than the other.
my 2 cents.
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