Often my players will ask me if they can attempt to cut off a creatures head/arms/etc. I am never quite sure how to deal with this as such things would either instantly kill or make a monster too disabled to continue the fight. Often my players will ask to do this when a monster is already close to death so if they manage to roll enough damage to outright kill the monster I just let them do whatever. Sometimes they ask me when the monster is still just fine and no one hit is going to end it's life. Is there a rule for this somewhere? I am worried my players will just start lopping off limbs wildly effectively making encounters extremely easy. Any help is appreciated! <3
+1 to flavor only as mentioned above. This isn't a simulation game, and adding rules for this means that bad guys get the rules too. And it slows things down; its enough to keep track of status conditions across 8 plus characters/npcs in a fight. I really don't want to track all their limbs HP as well...(if you didn't skip leg day, your left leg would have leveled and would still work after that hit).
It also limits the utility of some classes/specs. Hit the leg? Isn't that the same as a Battle Masters Trip maneuver or a cantrip to reduce movement? And some items like a Vorpal Sword would be less epic. If everyone can go for the head, why have a sword for it?
Now, certainly I as a DM have inflicted grievous wounds on NPCs for players (hobbling, winging them in the arm so they drop something, etc) But I do that mostly for story reasons, and keep it rare. That, and if everyone had a final sword maneuver that disembowled an opponent, who are they going to question in the end?
So...keep it simple, and descriptive only. Anything more will lead to unintended consequences.
Well, you could always give them a Sword of Sharpness, which includes the possibility of severing a limb as one of the weapon abilities... essentially the player needs to roll two 20's in a row with the weapon, and on a success severs a limb, with the effects of the severed limb up to the DM's discretion.
If you want to just homebrew it, giving the limb severing possibility to any weapon that could reasonably accomplish this (essentially forcing the player to land two 20's in a row), is a rare enough occurrence that it wouldn't break the game to allow that option.
You're certainly free to let players narrate killing blows however they like. I wouldn't allow maiming living creatures at will; that's an attempt to bypass the monster's HP.
If the players are fine with the possibility of random injuries, the DMG has some rules you can use on critical hits or if someone takes large amounts of damage, but in my opinion that should go both ways.
I think for called shots like this, it's important to think of two things: how do AC and HP fit into the game narratively?
AC isn't necessarily just the armor you're wearing, it's your skill at defense. If an attack doesn't beat your AC, maybe you parry the blow with your sword, maybe you raise your shield and absorb the hit, maybe light or unarmored characters dodge the attack skillfully. It isn't as straightforward as "you hit" "ok I cut off his arm". You can hit, but not every hit kills, or even critically wounds like it would if you ran a sword into someone with no combat experience. A "hit" that does damage could look more like striking your enemy extra hard in the gut, their armor blocking it and winding them, or you going fo a killing blow and the enemy deflects your sword thrust just enough to graze them in the side. Basically, it's assumed that even if you score that hit, the enemy is likely still acting against you to the best of their ability, which is why not every hit with a deadly weapon in dnd is fatal.
That brings us to HP. Narratively, HP is not what we think it is. It's less of a health bar and more of a stamina bar. As I mentioned above, not all the damage you take in a fight is going to be of the "ouch I got stabbed!" Variety. Damage should more often look like "oof, that's gonna bruise under my armor" or even "whew! Dodging that hit took a lot out of me and I'm getting worn out! I don't know how long I can keep this up!" Because again, if every sword hit was a full-on stab, combat in dnd would be vastly different (shorter, for one).
All that is why a player can't necessarily just say "well I hit him, why can't I cut off their arm?"
I think for called shots like this, it's important to think of two things: how do AC and HP fit into the game narratively?
AC isn't necessarily just the armor you're wearing, it's your skill at defense. If an attack doesn't beat your AC, maybe you parry the blow with your sword, maybe you raise your shield and absorb the hit, maybe light or unarmored characters dodge the attack skillfully. It isn't as straightforward as "you hit" "ok I cut off his arm". You can hit, but not every hit kills, or even critically wounds like it would if you ran a sword into someone with no combat experience. A "hit" that does damage could look more like striking your enemy extra hard in the gut, their armor blocking it and winding them, or you going fo a killing blow and the enemy deflects your sword thrust just enough to graze them in the side. Basically, it's assumed that even if you score that hit, the enemy is likely still acting against you to the best of their ability, which is why not every hit with a deadly weapon in dnd is fatal.
That brings us to HP. Narratively, HP is not what we think it is. It's less of a health bar and more of a stamina bar. As I mentioned above, not all the damage you take in a fight is going to be of the "ouch I got stabbed!" Variety. Damage should more often look like "oof, that's gonna bruise under my armor" or even "whew! Dodging that hit took a lot out of me and I'm getting worn out! I don't know how long I can keep this up!" Because again, if every sword hit was a full-on stab, combat in dnd would be vastly different (shorter, for one).
All that is why a player can't necessarily just say "well I hit him, why can't I cut off their arm?"
Yeah, I don't think you're actually getting "hit" until you're down to your last 10-15 hit points or so. The character with 100 hit points isn't actually getting stabbed in the stomach with a dagger 35 times before they go down.
Yeah, in my opinion, your actual life totall is your death saves. You get a small number that start counting off when you can no longer defend yourself, and if you get hit while you're down you literally lose life.
Older editions of d&d had a mechanic where creatures didn't show signs of injury until half HP. Before then is might get a scratch or bruise but most loss of HP was wearing down its stamina and luck. So narratively, get used to the idea that attacks don't properly connect before then (be they blocked, shallow, or narrowly avoided).
Also consider that vitals like the neck are often going to be guarded.
Older editions of d&d had a mechanic where creatures didn't show signs of injury until half HP. Before then is might get a scratch or bruise but most loss of HP was wearing down its stamina and luck.
That's still the default assumption in 5e; see "Describing The Effects of Damage" in Player's Handbook chapter 9 (Combat). Not gonna quote the whole thing here since it's not part of the free rules, but the idea is that you're only hit directly by attacks that drop you to 0 HP.
Often my players will ask me if they can attempt to cut off a creatures head/arms/etc. I am never quite sure how to deal with this as such things would either instantly kill or make a monster too disabled to continue the fight. Often my players will ask to do this when a monster is already close to death so if they manage to roll enough damage to outright kill the monster I just let them do whatever. Sometimes they ask me when the monster is still just fine and no one hit is going to end it's life. Is there a rule for this somewhere? I am worried my players will just start lopping off limbs wildly effectively making encounters extremely easy. Any help is appreciated! <3
This is, in my opinion, the thing 5E doesn't do well. 5E (and even 3.5 or 4E) by default want to treat combat more akin to what we're used to in video games...characters and enemies basically have a life bar and its just ticking down...there's nothing dynamic or exciting about the core mechanics of combat. I think something that fixes this is what critical hit/critical fumble decks try to emulate with martial/magical combat and it would be neat for games to include those options by default. I think scars, injuries, etc make roleplay, combat, and immersion core parts of DnD and by default they are not.
I agree. If you want to remove a limb from a normal character (not some kind of Hydra that has rules for that), then you can only do so once you bring it down to 0 hp.
Now, you could make it more interesting by ruling that any attack that brings it down below 0 hp can remove a non-head limb EVEN if the character has Relentless Endurance/Undead Fortitude or similar abilities. Give them a Dex or Con save (their choice) DC of the damage done to avoid this effect.
Be cool to have a Half-Orc desperate for a 7th level Regenerate to get their left leg back.
I would imagine three possibilities in order of likelihood, the key word being “ripped”
Generic: No resistance vulnerability or immunity possible, just straight damage
Bludgeoning: Most unarmed strikes deal this damage and ripping an arm could be considered such an attack
Necrotic: Inflict Wounds?
If the proponent of the missing arm is the result of an attack of some kind, i.e. a dragon or shark bites the arm off, or a dwarf’s axe chops through your shoulder, the damage would be apparent. But if someone is just grabbing a limb with two hands and pulling? The above may be options.
>Yeah, I don't think you're actually getting "hit" until you're down to your last 10-15 hit points or so. The character with 100 hit points isn't actually getting stabbed in the stomach with a dagger 35 times before they go down.
What about a level 20 barbarian, unarmored, If they get dealt damage over a hundred times with a dagger, wouldn’t they be getting hit? This is partially why I dislike the health gaps between low level characters and high level characters.
That's still the default assumption in 5e; see "Describing The Effects of Damage" in Player's Handbook chapter 9 (Combat). Not gonna quote the whole thing here since it's not part of the free rules, but the idea is that you're only hit directly by attacks that drop you to 0 HP.
Not to be a jerk, but there is no such section in the PHB. There is a "Damage and Healing" section in Chapter 9, with the above referenced rule about loss of it points having no affect until the creature is reduced to 0 hit points.
>Yeah, I don't think you're actually getting "hit" until you're down to your last 10-15 hit points or so. The character with 100 hit points isn't actually getting stabbed in the stomach with a dagger 35 times before they go down.
What about a level 20 barbarian, unarmored, If they get dealt damage over a hundred times with a dagger, wouldn’t they be getting hit? This is partially why I dislike the health gaps between low level characters and high level characters.
At level 20? They're the kind of bruiser who can literally just tank being repeatedly shivved as nothing worse than an inconvenience. That classic action hero archetype of the guy who's running around with a dislocated arm, crushed foot, second degree burns, and six cracked ribs but still can mow through a room full of mooks. Along with the usual caveats of "not all hits means wounds", in D&D you can start applying more and more of that superhuman tanking factor at high levels. In other words, a level 20 barbarian is essentially the Hulk.
Yes, but the not getting hit thing still does apply. I think that they are just taking the health out of your armor, like how you use your skills to better us it. The barbarian doesn’t have armor so it would still be taking the health out of his body.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Often my players will ask me if they can attempt to cut off a creatures head/arms/etc. I am never quite sure how to deal with this as such things would either instantly kill or make a monster too disabled to continue the fight. Often my players will ask to do this when a monster is already close to death so if they manage to roll enough damage to outright kill the monster I just let them do whatever. Sometimes they ask me when the monster is still just fine and no one hit is going to end it's life. Is there a rule for this somewhere? I am worried my players will just start lopping off limbs wildly effectively making encounters extremely easy. Any help is appreciated! <3
I creature (rather than creative like attacking the rope they are climbing up) then I would let their words only affect flavor:
"I attempt to cut of the creatures head with my long sword" ....[Hit]
"Your blow hits the creature squarely on the neck, there is a decent amount of blood of blood coming out but the head is still very much attached"
+1 to flavor only as mentioned above. This isn't a simulation game, and adding rules for this means that bad guys get the rules too. And it slows things down; its enough to keep track of status conditions across 8 plus characters/npcs in a fight. I really don't want to track all their limbs HP as well...(if you didn't skip leg day, your left leg would have leveled and would still work after that hit).
It also limits the utility of some classes/specs. Hit the leg? Isn't that the same as a Battle Masters Trip maneuver or a cantrip to reduce movement? And some items like a Vorpal Sword would be less epic. If everyone can go for the head, why have a sword for it?
Now, certainly I as a DM have inflicted grievous wounds on NPCs for players (hobbling, winging them in the arm so they drop something, etc) But I do that mostly for story reasons, and keep it rare. That, and if everyone had a final sword maneuver that disembowled an opponent, who are they going to question in the end?
So...keep it simple, and descriptive only. Anything more will lead to unintended consequences.
Well, you could always give them a Sword of Sharpness, which includes the possibility of severing a limb as one of the weapon abilities... essentially the player needs to roll two 20's in a row with the weapon, and on a success severs a limb, with the effects of the severed limb up to the DM's discretion.
If you want to just homebrew it, giving the limb severing possibility to any weapon that could reasonably accomplish this (essentially forcing the player to land two 20's in a row), is a rare enough occurrence that it wouldn't break the game to allow that option.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
You're certainly free to let players narrate killing blows however they like. I wouldn't allow maiming living creatures at will; that's an attempt to bypass the monster's HP.
If the players are fine with the possibility of random injuries, the DMG has some rules you can use on critical hits or if someone takes large amounts of damage, but in my opinion that should go both ways.
I think for called shots like this, it's important to think of two things: how do AC and HP fit into the game narratively?
AC isn't necessarily just the armor you're wearing, it's your skill at defense. If an attack doesn't beat your AC, maybe you parry the blow with your sword, maybe you raise your shield and absorb the hit, maybe light or unarmored characters dodge the attack skillfully. It isn't as straightforward as "you hit" "ok I cut off his arm". You can hit, but not every hit kills, or even critically wounds like it would if you ran a sword into someone with no combat experience. A "hit" that does damage could look more like striking your enemy extra hard in the gut, their armor blocking it and winding them, or you going fo a killing blow and the enemy deflects your sword thrust just enough to graze them in the side. Basically, it's assumed that even if you score that hit, the enemy is likely still acting against you to the best of their ability, which is why not every hit with a deadly weapon in dnd is fatal.
That brings us to HP. Narratively, HP is not what we think it is. It's less of a health bar and more of a stamina bar. As I mentioned above, not all the damage you take in a fight is going to be of the "ouch I got stabbed!" Variety. Damage should more often look like "oof, that's gonna bruise under my armor" or even "whew! Dodging that hit took a lot out of me and I'm getting worn out! I don't know how long I can keep this up!" Because again, if every sword hit was a full-on stab, combat in dnd would be vastly different (shorter, for one).
All that is why a player can't necessarily just say "well I hit him, why can't I cut off their arm?"
Yeah, I don't think you're actually getting "hit" until you're down to your last 10-15 hit points or so. The character with 100 hit points isn't actually getting stabbed in the stomach with a dagger 35 times before they go down.
Yeah, in my opinion, your actual life totall is your death saves. You get a small number that start counting off when you can no longer defend yourself, and if you get hit while you're down you literally lose life.
Older editions of d&d had a mechanic where creatures didn't show signs of injury until half HP. Before then is might get a scratch or bruise but most loss of HP was wearing down its stamina and luck. So narratively, get used to the idea that attacks don't properly connect before then (be they blocked, shallow, or narrowly avoided).
Also consider that vitals like the neck are often going to be guarded.
That's still the default assumption in 5e; see "Describing The Effects of Damage" in Player's Handbook chapter 9 (Combat). Not gonna quote the whole thing here since it's not part of the free rules, but the idea is that you're only hit directly by attacks that drop you to 0 HP.
I once had a shark take a player’s arm:
Shark scores a critical hit and does a buttload of damage
Player rolls a 0 (1-1) on a Strength saving throw
Goodbye arm.
Theres an option in the DMG for addressing massive damage.
This is, in my opinion, the thing 5E doesn't do well. 5E (and even 3.5 or 4E) by default want to treat combat more akin to what we're used to in video games...characters and enemies basically have a life bar and its just ticking down...there's nothing dynamic or exciting about the core mechanics of combat. I think something that fixes this is what critical hit/critical fumble decks try to emulate with martial/magical combat and it would be neat for games to include those options by default. I think scars, injuries, etc make roleplay, combat, and immersion core parts of DnD and by default they are not.
Lingering Injuries (DMG 272) is good for DMs who want to introduces the potential for long-term injuries.
I agree. If you want to remove a limb from a normal character (not some kind of Hydra that has rules for that), then you can only do so once you bring it down to 0 hp.
Now, you could make it more interesting by ruling that any attack that brings it down below 0 hp can remove a non-head limb EVEN if the character has Relentless Endurance/Undead Fortitude or similar abilities. Give them a Dex or Con save (their choice) DC of the damage done to avoid this effect.
Be cool to have a Half-Orc desperate for a 7th level Regenerate to get their left leg back.
what type of damage would it do if an arm was ripped off
I would imagine three possibilities in order of likelihood, the key word being “ripped”
Generic: No resistance vulnerability or immunity possible, just straight damage
Bludgeoning: Most unarmed strikes deal this damage and ripping an arm could be considered such an attack
Necrotic: Inflict Wounds?
If the proponent of the missing arm is the result of an attack of some kind, i.e. a dragon or shark bites the arm off, or a dwarf’s axe chops through your shoulder, the damage would be apparent. But if someone is just grabbing a limb with two hands and pulling? The above may be options.
What about a level 20 barbarian, unarmored, If they get dealt damage over a hundred times with a dagger, wouldn’t they be getting hit? This is partially why I dislike the health gaps between low level characters and high level characters.
Not to be a jerk, but there is no such section in the PHB. There is a "Damage and Healing" section in Chapter 9, with the above referenced rule about loss of it points having no affect until the creature is reduced to 0 hit points.
At level 20? They're the kind of bruiser who can literally just tank being repeatedly shivved as nothing worse than an inconvenience. That classic action hero archetype of the guy who's running around with a dislocated arm, crushed foot, second degree burns, and six cracked ribs but still can mow through a room full of mooks. Along with the usual caveats of "not all hits means wounds", in D&D you can start applying more and more of that superhuman tanking factor at high levels. In other words, a level 20 barbarian is essentially the Hulk.
Yes, but the not getting hit thing still does apply. I think that they are just taking the health out of your armor, like how you use your skills to better us it. The barbarian doesn’t have armor so it would still be taking the health out of his body.