Hey, so I‘m planning on dming a campaign that is not very combat focused , for characters that are not very inclined to use violence. I still want to sprinkle in some combat here and there and I thoght it would be fun to give one player a weapon that doesn't cause physical harm or at least no critical injuries. So the struggle is to do that but still somehow make it effective in any way.
I've looked into homebrewed weapons and found some ideas, like: has a chance to restrain the enemy, or blinds them temporarily, it just pushes them back, it freezes them, you teleport away, or hides you in a way. But none of these made too much sense to me. I guess what bothered me was that there was never a discription of how that effect actually worked.
Ok, I wanted the weapon to be: a gift from their parents so that the character had something to protect themself, this weapon was previously used by the parents (who are also pacifists) in war times, it's something small like a dagger or a sickle that would be easy to wield for an unexperienced fighter, it can also be used for cutting or stabbing when the character actively chooses to do so. I would welcome minor magical abilities.
This rectangular device has two prongs on one end. It can only be used to make melee weapon attacks, and on a hit instead of dealing damage you force the target to make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, on a failure the creature is stunned until the end of your next turn.
Proficiency with a Dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
If you want something used specifically for defense, you could always use the net found in the players handbook. No damage, but can still be used as a means of stopping attackers.
You could also use the Iron Bands of Binding or a wand of web. Both would stop a creature in their tracks, but neither are technically weapons.
I also made a homebrew just now that might fit the bill:
A player can declare that their character is specifically dealing non lethal damage with any melee weapon attack they make. Your character could be using a longsword and deal nonlethal damage with every attack if you choose, simply describe it that they are using the flat of the blade or the pommel when they hit.
If you want something used specifically for defense, you could always use the net found in the players handbook. No damage, but can still be used as a means of stopping attackers.
You could also use the Iron Bands of Binding or a wand of web. Both would stop a creature in their tracks, but neither are technically weapons.
I also made a homebrew just now that might fit the bill:
A player can declare that their character is specifically dealing non lethal damage with any melee weapon attack they make. Your character could be using a longsword and deal nonlethal damage with every attack if you choose, simply describe it that they are using the flat of the blade or the pommel when they hit.
How exactly does non-lethal damage work? Like do you still subtract it from the hit points? Is it just the same damage it would have dealt normally but in nonlethal damage?
A player can declare that their character is specifically dealing non lethal damage with any melee weapon attack they make. Your character could be using a longsword and deal nonlethal damage with every attack if you choose, simply describe it that they are using the flat of the blade or the pommel when they hit.
How exactly does non-lethal damage work? Like do you still subtract it from the hit points? Is it just the same damage it would have dealt normally but in nonlethal damage?
Sorry if I'm just overlooking something
You understand it, more or less, yes. Any confusion you are having is my fault for the way I wrote my last post. Here:
See, there really is no “nonlethal damage,” it’s just a shorthand way some folks use to describe the intention to subdue rather than kill an opponent. It’s all still just regular damage, but if you got the final blow on a creature you can state your intent to K.O. It rather than kill it. You could make a blanket statement at the top of the campaign that that is always your character’s intention and not have to worry about it every time. That’s what I should have said before. My apologies.
A player can declare that their character is specifically dealing non lethal damage with any melee weapon attack they make. Your character could be using a longsword and deal nonlethal damage with every attack if you choose, simply describe it that they are using the flat of the blade or the pommel when they hit.
How exactly does non-lethal damage work? Like do you still subtract it from the hit points? Is it just the same damage it would have dealt normally but in nonlethal damage?
Sorry if I'm just overlooking something
You understand it, more or less, yes. Any confusion you are having is my fault for the way I wrote my last post. Here:
See, there really is no “nonlethal damage,” it’s just a shorthand way some folks use to describe the intention to subdue rather than kill an opponent. It’s all still just regular damage, but if you got the final blow on a creature you can state your intent to K.O. It rather than kill it. You could make a blanket statement at the top of the campaign that that is always your character’s intention and not have to worry about it every time. That’s what I should have said before. My apologies.
Oh, thank you, I didn't even know about this rule. That's really helpfull
If you want something non lethal and still fun change the damage dice on a staff or any weapon for that matter to the following - or something similar this way its fun and in the spirit of what the games intent is.
1-Just grazes the opponent
2 Knocks the opponent Prone
4 Gives the opponent disadvantage on all rolls for 1 Round
5 Knocks the opponent back 1d10 x 10 feet and the opponent takes the appropriate falling damage (1d6 per 10') up to 25% of their health - the 25% cap keeps this from ever being lethal
If you want something non lethal and still fun change the damage dice on a staff or any weapon for that matter to the following - or something similar this way its fun and in the spirit of what the games intent is.
1-Just grazes the opponent
2 Knocks the opponent Prone
4 Gives the opponent disadvantage on all rolls for 1 Round
5 Knocks the opponent back 1d10 x 10 feet and the opponent takes the appropriate falling damage (1d6 per 10') up to 25% of their health - the 25% cap keeps this from ever being lethal
6 Opponent is Stunned for 1 Round
What does the graze do, you didn’t say. The rest of those are all way too powerful for stuff that could happen every attack, especially with Flury of Blows.
It actually cant happen more than 1x per round there is no double prone double disadvantage double stun etc i mean i guess the knockback would need to state 1x per round but i was just thinking off the cuff for something interesting and non lethal.
Or just change the language to maximum of 1 effect per round if the concern is prone and disadvantage from multiple attacks.
Or just homebrew a rule that the weapon can never take an npc below 10% of their health and let it do normal damage upto that point.
Lots of ways to address this depending on the exact intent.
I would consider offering them non-lethal poisons as an option. Ones which slow, or put them to sleep, or disorient them. The question is, if one person is fighting non-lethally and another is stabbing to kill, how long will they be aligned in this goal? I would anticipate that a pacifist player would be more interested in a defensive item which has interesting effects, like a shield which you can use a reaction to knock someone prone if they attack you.
If you want to make things amusing, you can give them a Ring of Sanctuary (cursed). The ring lets them cast Sanctuary 3 times per long rest. The curse is that if someone redirects their attack because of it, you immediately make an unarmed strike against them, which doesn't cancel out Sanctuary, as the ring punches/slaps/generally taunts them for their trouble. In likelihood it'll be 2-3 damage at most, but worth a laugh at the table as they're forced to taunt their opponents. Could work for roleplay as they are easily dodging the barbarian opponent and slapping them, whilst apologising!
If you want something non lethal and still fun change the damage dice on a staff or any weapon for that matter to the following - or something similar this way its fun and in the spirit of what the games intent is.
1-Just grazes the opponent
2 Knocks the opponent Prone
4 Gives the opponent disadvantage on all rolls for 1 Round
5 Knocks the opponent back 1d10 x 10 feet and the opponent takes the appropriate falling damage (1d6 per 10') up to 25% of their health - the 25% cap keeps this from ever being lethal
6 Opponent is Stunned for 1 Round
There's a lot of inspiration in there, i'll definitly find something :)
I would consider offering them non-lethal poisons as an option. Ones which slow, or put them to sleep, or disorient them. The question is, if one person is fighting non-lethally and another is stabbing to kill, how long will they be aligned in this goal? I would anticipate that a pacifist player would be more interested in a defensive item which has interesting effects, like a shield which you can use a reaction to knock someone prone if they attack you.
If you want to make things amusing, you can give them a Ring of Sanctuary (cursed). The ring lets them cast Sanctuary 3 times per long rest. The curse is that if someone redirects their attack because of it, you immediately make an unarmed strike against them, which doesn't cancel out Sanctuary, as the ring punches/slaps/generally taunts them for their trouble. In likelihood it'll be 2-3 damage at most, but worth a laugh at the table as they're forced to taunt their opponents. Could work for roleplay as they are easily dodging the barbarian opponent and slapping them, whilst apologising!
That would be hilarious and also incredibly in character for them !
It actually cant happen more than 1x per round there is no double prone double disadvantage double stun etc i mean i guess the knockback would need to state 1x per round but i was just thinking off the cuff for something interesting and non lethal.
Or just change the language to maximum of 1 effect per round if the concern is prone and disadvantage from multiple attacks.
Or just homebrew a rule that the weapon can never take an npc below 10% of their health and let it do normal damage upto that point.
Lots of ways to address this depending on the exact intent.
No, but a player could apply multiple of those effects every round. Is too much.
I agree with Sposta, Fighters invest their subclass in Battlemaster to gain access to abilities like this, which have limited uses. The idea that someone could non-lethally knock people over left right and centre, and having one ability max out at 10d6 damage and the opponent is flung 100ft.?!? for a non-lethal swing with a club? Utterly unbalanced.
You could give them a semi-joke weapon, along the lines of the ring of attunement (gives you an extra attunement slot. Requires attunement.)
The club of Insensibility. This knobbly club of heavily varnished oak is imbued with the magical ability to render thy foes insensible by means of a swift crack about the bonce. When you hit a creature with the club of insensibility, if the damage roll for that attack would reduce them to 0hp, they fall unconscious and become stable.
Basically lays out the rules for nonlethal damage, and sounds like it's a magic item when really, it's just a club!
Now, if you want to give them something worth trying to make use of, then you could amend this to "If this attack would reduce the target to a number of hitpoint equal to or lower than your proficiency modifier...". At low levels this can help with knocking out goblins (sort of getting extra damage if it would knock them out) and at higher levels, it will come up occasionally.
Hey, so I‘m planning on dming a campaign that is not very combat focused , for characters that are not very inclined to use violence. I still want to sprinkle in some combat here and there and I thoght it would be fun to give one player a weapon that doesn't cause physical harm or at least no critical injuries. So the struggle is to do that but still somehow make it effective in any way.
I've looked into homebrewed weapons and found some ideas, like: has a chance to restrain the enemy, or blinds them temporarily, it just pushes them back, it freezes them, you teleport away, or hides you in a way. But none of these made too much sense to me. I guess what bothered me was that there was never a discription of how that effect actually worked.
Ok, I wanted the weapon to be: a gift from their parents so that the character had something to protect themself, this weapon was previously used by the parents (who are also pacifists) in war times, it's something small like a dagger or a sickle that would be easy to wield for an unexperienced fighter, it can also be used for cutting or stabbing when the character actively chooses to do so. I would welcome minor magical abilities.
Any tips/ideas are greatly appreciated :)
I made this as a joke:
Taser (dagger)
This rectangular device has two prongs on one end. It can only be used to make melee weapon attacks, and on a hit instead of dealing damage you force the target to make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, on a failure the creature is stunned until the end of your next turn.
Proficiency with a Dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
If you want something used specifically for defense, you could always use the net found in the players handbook. No damage, but can still be used as a means of stopping attackers.
You could also use the Iron Bands of Binding or a wand of web. Both would stop a creature in their tracks, but neither are technically weapons.
I also made a homebrew just now that might fit the bill:
Dagger Of Mercy: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/9034498-dagger-of-mercy
Best Spells: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2190706-applause, https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2047204-big-ol-switcheroo, https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2188701-cerwicks-copper-cables
Best Feats: https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/1512461-soapbox-revised
Best Monsters: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3775489-jar-jar-binks, https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3860024-spare-ribs
A player can declare that their character is specifically dealing non lethal damage with any melee weapon attack they make. Your character could be using a longsword and deal nonlethal damage with every attack if you choose, simply describe it that they are using the flat of the blade or the pommel when they hit.
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That is actually funny,
and I may also use this :)
That's genius, thanks so much :)
How exactly does non-lethal damage work? Like do you still subtract it from the hit points? Is it just the same damage it would have dealt normally but in nonlethal damage?
Sorry if I'm just overlooking something
You understand it, more or less, yes. Any confusion you are having is my fault for the way I wrote my last post. Here:
See, there really is no “nonlethal damage,” it’s just a shorthand way some folks use to describe the intention to subdue rather than kill an opponent. It’s all still just regular damage, but if you got the final blow on a creature you can state your intent to K.O. It rather than kill it. You could make a blanket statement at the top of the campaign that that is always your character’s intention and not have to worry about it every time. That’s what I should have said before. My apologies.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Oh, thank you, I didn't even know about this rule. That's really helpfull
Anytime man!
Best Spells: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2190706-applause, https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2047204-big-ol-switcheroo, https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2188701-cerwicks-copper-cables
Best Feats: https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/1512461-soapbox-revised
Best Monsters: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3775489-jar-jar-binks, https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3860024-spare-ribs
If you want something non lethal and still fun change the damage dice on a staff or any weapon for that matter to the following - or something similar this way its fun and in the spirit of what the games intent is.
1-Just grazes the opponent
2 Knocks the opponent Prone
4 Gives the opponent disadvantage on all rolls for 1 Round
5 Knocks the opponent back 1d10 x 10 feet and the opponent takes the appropriate falling damage (1d6 per 10') up to 25% of their health - the 25% cap keeps this from ever being lethal
6 Opponent is Stunned for 1 Round
What does the graze do, you didn’t say. The rest of those are all way too powerful for stuff that could happen every attack, especially with Flury of Blows.
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Graze would do 1 hp -
It actually cant happen more than 1x per round there is no double prone double disadvantage double stun etc i mean i guess the knockback would need to state 1x per round but i was just thinking off the cuff for something interesting and non lethal.
Or just change the language to maximum of 1 effect per round if the concern is prone and disadvantage from multiple attacks.
Or just homebrew a rule that the weapon can never take an npc below 10% of their health and let it do normal damage upto that point.
Lots of ways to address this depending on the exact intent.
Nonlethal is the basic way to go.
I would consider offering them non-lethal poisons as an option. Ones which slow, or put them to sleep, or disorient them. The question is, if one person is fighting non-lethally and another is stabbing to kill, how long will they be aligned in this goal? I would anticipate that a pacifist player would be more interested in a defensive item which has interesting effects, like a shield which you can use a reaction to knock someone prone if they attack you.
If you want to make things amusing, you can give them a Ring of Sanctuary (cursed). The ring lets them cast Sanctuary 3 times per long rest. The curse is that if someone redirects their attack because of it, you immediately make an unarmed strike against them, which doesn't cancel out Sanctuary, as the ring punches/slaps/generally taunts them for their trouble. In likelihood it'll be 2-3 damage at most, but worth a laugh at the table as they're forced to taunt their opponents. Could work for roleplay as they are easily dodging the barbarian opponent and slapping them, whilst apologising!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
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There's a lot of inspiration in there, i'll definitly find something :)
That would be hilarious and also incredibly in character for them !
No, but a player could apply multiple of those effects every round. Is too much.
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I agree with Sposta, Fighters invest their subclass in Battlemaster to gain access to abilities like this, which have limited uses. The idea that someone could non-lethally knock people over left right and centre, and having one ability max out at 10d6 damage and the opponent is flung 100ft.?!? for a non-lethal swing with a club? Utterly unbalanced.
You could give them a semi-joke weapon, along the lines of the ring of attunement (gives you an extra attunement slot. Requires attunement.)
The club of Insensibility.
This knobbly club of heavily varnished oak is imbued with the magical ability to render thy foes insensible by means of a swift crack about the bonce. When you hit a creature with the club of insensibility, if the damage roll for that attack would reduce them to 0hp, they fall unconscious and become stable.
Basically lays out the rules for nonlethal damage, and sounds like it's a magic item when really, it's just a club!
Now, if you want to give them something worth trying to make use of, then you could amend this to "If this attack would reduce the target to a number of hitpoint equal to or lower than your proficiency modifier...". At low levels this can help with knocking out goblins (sort of getting extra damage if it would knock them out) and at higher levels, it will come up occasionally.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Have whatever implement you choose bestow the Defensive Fighting feat.
On a crit, the weapon paralyses an appendage for one minute. (roll to determine)
OR
On a crit the target is subjected to the Slow spell until the end of the attackers next turn.
OR
On an attack roll that succeeds by 5 or more the target is pushed away from the wielder by 5 feet (or whatever).