[CONAN] Helpless But Standing

[Supplement Four]

One situation that has bugged me for years, through several editions of D&D, is a circumstance where a guard has leveled a crossbow at a prisoner or a thief has snuck up behind a guard and tucked a sharp blade tight up under the guard's chin. I used to call this "getting the drop" on a character. It's a situation that the D&D rules have never handled well.

Why?

In real life, these situations are dangerous. The crossbow could incapaciate, critically wound, or even kill the target. The thief could slit the neck of the guard before the guard could move.

But, in D&D, the weapons do not do enough damage to pose the same risk to all but the lowest level characters.

Looking at the Conan RPG rules (and, thus, the d20 3.5 D&D rules), I think I've found a pleasing solution.

Using a version of the Helpless Defenders rule, consider the victim to be flatfooted, and if the weapon strike hits, it does maximum damage. If a critical hit is made, then the weapon does maxium critical damage. And, this makes it likely that the Massive Damage rule will be used.


I'll call this, the Drop Rule, where one character "has the drop" on another.

Notice in The God in the Bowl, Conan has a healthy respect for Arus, the guard who levels the crossbow at him.

In game terms, I would say that this is because the Drop Rule is in effect.

Thoughts?

 

[Spectator]

It was and still is a MAJOR problem in many RPGs.
I think they tried to address it with a potential fix, using the Assassin tables (maybe in a dragon magazine, maybe not).

I like the Drop Rule.
I like the max damage.
I think the Crit level should be automatic or be at least 50%, so you don't need to roll a 20 or whatnot.
The Arus/crossbow example is very good at illustrating the perilous nature of the situation.
For the Crossbow, if they are within 15' feet (like arus was) which is 1/2 the close range of 30' I'd give the TO HIT some superbonus like +5 or something really high.
For the thief with his stilletto already at the guard's neck, I'd give him an automatic hit or maybe make him roll a d20, just to see if he gets a 1, a crit failure.

One situation that has bugged me for years, through several editions of D&D, is a circumstance where a guard has leveled a crossbow at a prisoner or a thief has snuck up behind a guard and tucked a sharp blade tight up under the guard's chin. I used to call this "getting the drop" on a character. It's a situation that the D&D rules have never handled well.

Why?

In real life, these situations are dangerous. The crossbow could incapaciate, critically wound, or even kill the target. The thief could slit the neck of the guard before the guard could move.

But, in D&D, the weapons do not do enough damage to pose the same risk to all but the lowest level characters.

Looking at the Conan RPG rules (and, thus, the d20 3.5 D&D rules), I think I've found a pleasing solution.

Using a version of the Helpless Defenders rule, consider the victim to be flatfooted, and if the weapon strike hits, it does maximum damage. If a critical hit is made, then the weapon does maxium critical damage. And, this makes it likely that the Massive Damage rule will be used.


I'll call this, the Drop Rule, where one character "has the drop" on another.

Notice in The God in the Bowl, Conan has a healthy respect for Arus, the guard who levels the crossbow at him.

In game terms, I would say that this is because the Drop Rule is in effect.

Thoughts?

 

[Supplement Four]

I like the Drop Rule.

It still needs some tweaking, I think.

Maybe....any damage is considered Massive Damage under the Drop rule? That way, PCs still have a chance to take the guard, but it is a risky situation.

I'm moving away from the max damage because it's hard to hit 20 points when your stilletto does 1d4 (yet, you have it poking into a guy's neck, ready to do some serious damage).

So, my revamp of the Drop Rule is this: Consider the target Flat Footed. Roll attack and damage normally, but any damage is considered Massive Damage.

For the Crossbow, if they are within 15' feet (like arus was)...

Oh, that's a good addition! There needs to be a range specification. 15 feet sounds good to me.

 

[Supplement Four]

Maybe just using the Coup de Grace rule is the way to go.

But...I still want to have the PC have a better chance of evading than if he was completely tied up!