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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 6863731" data-attributes="member: 16814">Nope and nope.&nbsp; My ghouls and ghasts tend to grab the fallen and drag it off in the middle of a fight.&nbsp; Not while being attacked, but if a one or two are otherwise not engaged with a paralyzed bit of prey, they're gonna have some dinner.&nbsp; Starving vampires aren't going to wait -- they get the chance it's yummy blood time.&nbsp; Long time veterans are going to make sure something's dead by giving it an extra poke before they move along -- all it takes is that one time that foe got back up behind you to teach that lesson.If the foe is being actively engaged, yeah, it takes a great big reason to go after a fallen character, but if they have a bit of space, there's lots of good reasons why they're not going to ignore a fallen character.&nbsp; Not every time do you do this, but you don't take it off the table.&nbsp; You should also occasionally add scavengers to a fight -- foes that are significantly weaker than either side, and avoid the direct fight, but lurk around to take advantage of the fallen on either side.&nbsp; The lurker from 4e, for instance.&nbsp; Not going to start a fight, will run if confronted, but figure that your stablized but unconscious friend's just going to be alright while you go haring off after those goblins and you'll regret not keeping an eye out for the stirge.If you don't occasionally go after downed characters, then the players start to count on 'unconscious but stable' as a safe space where they can't be harmed.&nbsp; Once the party gets revivify, they'll even count recently dead as a fixable condition.&nbsp; Add in a lowly crocodile lurking in the nearby creek while the party fights off the T-Rex Menace (tm) and they'll stop doing this after their 'safely dead' companion gets dragged off for lunch.&nbsp; Also, nothing drives home player hatred of a BBEG as when casually offs a fallen comrade right in front of them.&nbsp; So long as you telegraph that this can and will happen so that it's not a breach of understanding, there's nothing jackholish about attacking a downed character.&nbsp; Heck, a cleric with spirit guardians up is a death sentence to the fallen and you don't even have to do anything.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 6863731, member: 16814"] Nope and nope. My ghouls and ghasts tend to grab the fallen and drag it off in the middle of a fight. Not while being attacked, but if a one or two are otherwise not engaged with a paralyzed bit of prey, they're gonna have some dinner. Starving vampires aren't going to wait -- they get the chance it's yummy blood time. Long time veterans are going to make sure something's dead by giving it an extra poke before they move along -- all it takes is that one time that foe got back up behind you to teach that lesson. If the foe is being actively engaged, yeah, it takes a great big reason to go after a fallen character, but if they have a bit of space, there's lots of good reasons why they're not going to ignore a fallen character. Not every time do you do this, but you don't take it off the table. You should also occasionally add scavengers to a fight -- foes that are significantly weaker than either side, and avoid the direct fight, but lurk around to take advantage of the fallen on either side. The lurker from 4e, for instance. Not going to start a fight, will run if confronted, but figure that your stablized but unconscious friend's just going to be alright while you go haring off after those goblins and you'll regret not keeping an eye out for the stirge. If you don't occasionally go after downed characters, then the players start to count on 'unconscious but stable' as a safe space where they can't be harmed. Once the party gets revivify, they'll even count recently dead as a fixable condition. Add in a lowly crocodile lurking in the nearby creek while the party fights off the T-Rex Menace (tm) and they'll stop doing this after their 'safely dead' companion gets dragged off for lunch. Also, nothing drives home player hatred of a BBEG as when casually offs a fallen comrade right in front of them. So long as you telegraph that this can and will happen so that it's not a breach of understanding, there's nothing jackholish about attacking a downed character. Heck, a cleric with spirit guardians up is a death sentence to the fallen and you don't even have to do anything. [/QUOTE]

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