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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 4533753" data-attributes="member: 12377">I use a system very similar to Skyscraper's.&nbsp; I don't track lethal vs non-lethal damage, but distinguish between lethal and non-lethal attacks:&nbsp; if you drop an enemy to 0 with a non-lethal attack, they are unconscious, and if you drop them with a lethal attack, they are dead.The catch is that most weapons and spells deal half-damage if you attempt to use them in a non-lethal manner.&nbsp; The exceptions are things like clubs, staffs, punches, bar stools, etc. that seem like they could cause blunt trauma without cracking too many bones.&nbsp; (This is based on &quot;action-movie physics&quot; so the fact that a master staff-fighter can split a skull in twain is irrelevant.)The reason I instituted this house rule is because otherwise, every single encounter, even a life-and-death struggle of epic proportions, would end with the PCs interrogating some prisoners.&nbsp; The half-damage rule means that capturing foes is generally harder than killing them, but is by no means impossible, especially if the group focuses on that goal; having prisoners to interrogate now has a moderate cost associated with it.&nbsp; If your players are more action-oriented and only capture foes occasionally, then the normal rules (non-lethal knockout blows deal full damage) should work just fine.&nbsp;-- 77IM</blockquote>

[QUOTE="77IM, post: 4533753, member: 12377"] I use a system very similar to Skyscraper's. I don't track lethal vs non-lethal damage, but distinguish between lethal and non-lethal attacks: if you drop an enemy to 0 with a non-lethal attack, they are unconscious, and if you drop them with a lethal attack, they are dead. The catch is that most weapons and spells deal half-damage if you attempt to use them in a non-lethal manner. The exceptions are things like clubs, staffs, punches, bar stools, etc. that seem like they could cause blunt trauma without cracking too many bones. (This is based on "action-movie physics" so the fact that a master staff-fighter can split a skull in twain is irrelevant.) The reason I instituted this house rule is because otherwise, every single encounter, even a life-and-death struggle of epic proportions, would end with the PCs interrogating some prisoners. The half-damage rule means that capturing foes is generally harder than killing them, but is by no means impossible, especially if the group focuses on that goal; having prisoners to interrogate now has a moderate cost associated with it. If your players are more action-oriented and only capture foes occasionally, then the normal rules (non-lethal knockout blows deal full damage) should work just fine. -- 77IM [/QUOTE]

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