Let's Talk About Non-Lethal Damage in Pathfinder

Pathfinder is a game with a huge amount of options and diversity, and every time you think you've mastered everything it has to offer you turn over a rock and find yet another element you haven't really put to the test yet. This week I wanted to talk about one of the most basic elements of the game that seldom gets the love and attention it really deserves... nonlethal damage.

Often forgotten until the party is faced with a human shield, nonlethal damage is more than just an annoyance to be overcome. It is, in my opinion, something we should all be using a great deal more of in our games.

The champ's never lost a fight. Not only that, he's never killed anybody.

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How Does Nonlethal Damage Work, Again?

Most of us don't actually bother reading up on nonlethal damage, so a refresher is probably a good thing to have at this point. The short version is that nonlethal damage is its own category of damage, tracked separately from your lethal damage. When your nonlethal damage meets your current hit points, you are staggered, and when it exceeds your current hit points you fall unconscious.

So far so normal, right?

What you'll notice, though, is that non-lethal damage doesn't cause someone to bleed out. Additionally, nonlethal damage that exceeds a creature's current hit point total just rolls over and becomes lethal damage (barring regeneration, which is a special case). Additionally, nonlethal damage heals at a different rate than lethal damage does. Nonlethal damage heals at a rate of character level per hour, as opposed to per long rest. Not only that, but spells and abilities which heal damage heal lethal damage, and then an equal amount of nonlethal damage.

No worries, I'll be right as rain in no time.

Okay... So What Do You Do With It?

At first blush, nonlethal damage seems like one of those extraneous things you'd never bother with. Sure, it's a good way to represent damage done by harsh environments and forced marching, but for a lot of players it feels like just one more thing to track. After all, if you're going to roll initiative, why would you bother with beating and bruising an enemy?

And the answer to that question is one that opens a lot of doors... for players and Game Masters alike.

I told you... stay down.

How many times have you, as a Game Master, wanted to capture the party rather than killing them? And if you've found yourself in that scenario, how easy was it to mess up and to do too much lethal damage, outright killing them before your bad guys could tie them up and haul them off (especially if your group rolls in full view)? Well, if you focus on nonlethal damage (or a generous mix of lethal and nonlethal damage) you can knock the PCs out without worrying about them bleeding out on you. Not only that, but if you use this as a prequel to a jail break or escape arc, then you won't have to wait for literal weeks of in-game time as their bodies knit together; even a brutal beating is going to heal up in no more than a day or so, allowing you to get back into the action while the bruises fade.

Nonlethal damage is also particularly good for changing up your challenges without worrying about going too far. For example, say you've got party members who want to train with one another. Or they just want to throw down to settle a grudge. Using nonlethal damage is a good way to have that fight without needing to get the cleric involved afterward. You could even use this for prize fights, public duels, or other challenges that are meant as an aside or a distraction. Bar fights are also a good place to bring out nonlethal damage, allowing your party to get in on the action without worrying about cleaving through half a dozen townsfolk with every blow.

Lastly, there are a number of valid character builds one can use involving nonlethal damage. Perhaps the most infamous is the Sap Master feat tree, which gives bonuses on sneak attack damage to those using bludgeoning weapons to deal nonlethal damage (which can be paired with the feat Bludgeoner to expand your range of weapons). Another handy use is the Enforcer feat, which allows you to make an Intimidate check against a foe as a free action whenever you deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon, leaving them shaken for a number of rounds equal to damage dealt. Not an insignificant thing, if you want to give enemies long-term debuffs that will haunt them for an entire combat.

The difficult part is, of course, that you need to plan for using nonlethal damage. Whether it's carrying a nonlethal weapon like a sap, having a weapon enchantment that allows you to deal nonlethal damage at-will, or getting a feat like Bludgeoner or Improved Unarmed Strike (or just the class feature from monk or brawler) are a few examples. Everyone else has to take a -4 penalty on attacks, because it's harder than you'd think to use a lethal weapon to incapacitate someone than to just kill them.

It's All The Rage in Kintargo Right Now, Though!

While a lot of Pathfinder games utterly eschew nonlethal damage, it's proven extremely useful in my current Hell's Rebels campaign. Aside from undead, outsiders, and NPC antagonists who were utterly evil and debased beyond the point of redemption, one could count the number of NPC deaths in this campaign on one hand. Which is saying something given that we've led jail breaks, smashed the base of support for the Chelish Citizen's Group, destroyed a cult, and have done enough damage to the city's police force that they utterly refuse to go into an entire district without hellknight supervision/backup.

Incidentally, for those who are curious, the Silver Raven Chronicles has 4 installments at time of writing. I'd like to keep it going, but that requires readers and demand... so check it out if you're of a mind!

- Part One: Devil's Night: A mysterious vigilante prowls the streets of Kintargo.

- Part Two: From The Ashes: A protest becomes a riot as the new "mayor" attempts to establish control.

- Part Three: The Raven's Nest: The burgeoning rebellion establishes a secret base.

- Part Four: Circles in Salt: The Ghost joins the Silver Ravens, striking a blow against Thrune.

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That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

DMs, Please Stop Arbitrarily Limiting Race Choice in Your Games

There is a particular refrain that I keep hearing on the forums from dungeon masters. While the specifics vary from person to person, and game to game, they all sound something like this:

"Why do my players want to play all the weird, unusual, or exotic races in my game? Why does no one want to just play the races in the core book?"

What's wrong with humans and half-orcs, huh?

Since this seems to be such a common complaint, I'm going to do my best to address it. But before we get going, I'm going to assume that you're playing in a setting where the races your players want actually exist, and if they don't exist in the setting that you made it clear they aren't available in your pitch/Session 0.

Okay? Okay, let's get started.

The Shiny Blue Ball

Have you ever noticed that when a new game or supplement comes out that it's all people want to play for a while? Like how everyone lost their mind over the hybrid classes when Paizo released the Advanced Class Guide? A lot of the time you see the same thing with weird, unusual, or rare race options. Part of the appeal for them is they're new, they're different, or they've been restricted at other tables, or in other games. So players want to take them for a test drive, and see how they handle.

Androids are a base race now? Score!

Sometimes the shiny blue ball is just how new the race is, but sometimes there are other factors at play. Maybe it has racial advantages (the strix's flight, a dragonborn's breath weapon, etc.) that a player wants to build their character around. It's also possible that the race fits an archetype or idea the player has for the specific story they want to tell with their character.

And sure, sometimes it's just because a player wants to be different. Don't shame them for that, it's what they think is fun, and nine times out of ten it isn't hurting anyone.

It's also important to remember that the core races of your game (the humans, dwarves, halflings, etc.) may be less appealing to players for a list of other reasons. One is that they're common, so it's likely they've played several characters of these races before. Maybe they lack the mechanical advantages of the unusual race choice. And, speaking from experience, the core races are old standbys. Nothing wrong with them, just as there was nothing wrong with the base class list when all those hybrid classes came out. But sometimes you want to slip into something new, rather than just putting on the same hoodie you've worn for years now.

But It's My Game!

The most common reason I've seen DMs defend their decisions to limit races is the age-old, "My game, my rules." While that's technically true, it's important to remember that you're not a put-upon parent managing a bunch of kids. Everyone at the table is here to have fun, and to contribute to the story.

With that said, you are perfectly within your rights as the DM not to allow certain races, classes, or whatever you want in your game. But if you're going to say no, you should be able to provide a reason beyond, "Because I don't like the way you're having fun at my table." And if you're going to do it, as stated above, you need to make that clear and up-front in your pitch for the game, or in your Session 0 discussion. Because if a player agrees to those terms, then they've agreed to the game as you laid it out.

"I don't want to deal with that," is also not great, as far as reasons go.

Why do you have to explain yourself? Well, because we're all taking part in this story together, and if you're disagreeing with a player over a thematic or flavor thing, then you should really explain where you're coming from so you can both reach a mutual understanding. Because if the player's character doesn't actually break any rules, there's not much reason to deny them based purely on their race choice, class choice, or any of those other basic building blocks. Especially if their concept doesn't violate any of the terms you set forth as conditions for joining the game.

For example, there are some perfectly valid reasons to say no to a race choice. Some of those are:

- That race doesn't exist in this setting (particularly important for DMs making their own worlds to explain in Session 0, or when pitching their game).

- That race is not part of the core setting we're using (this comes up when players want to make their own races, or use third-party stats as a way to bring in stuff that doesn't already exist in your game).

- That race cannot survive in this location (this is a very rare example, but works if you have, say, a merfolk race that has to spend several hours a day immersed in water trying to join a game set in the middle of a desert. It should be noted, however, that if the player has a workaround for the limitation then you should consider allowing it).

The problem is that most of the time a conflict like this is not between a player's desire and the setting's limitations. It's between the game the player wants to be part of, and the DM's vision for the game they want to run. In this case, you need to take a breath, and see if you can meet in the middle somehow.

EDIT: Since there seems to be continuing confusion, I felt I needed to spell this out here. Arbitrary limitations are ones that have no basis in the setting, the story, or the rules. We are talking expressly about player races that exist in your setting, and which are open and available, but which a DM has chosen to deny anyway. We aren't talking about races that aren't in your world, or races that don't have stats in your world, or races who aren't allowed by the strictures and requirements of your story. Hopefully that clears things up.

The "Yes, But" Approach

Lots of DMs have likely heard that it's better to say, "yes, but," than to give their players a flat-out, "no." Why? Because it shows you're willing to work with them, and it tests their resolve regarding how badly they want/need a part of their character in order for it to work/interest them.

"Where does it say you can play a sentient bear?"

It's a perfectly valid thing for you to feel thrown off by unexpected or weird player requests. However, you should sit down with your players, and use the mystical phrase, "I have some concerns," in order to put the two of you on the same page.

For example, say you have a player who really wants to play a tiefling. Tieflings exist in your setting, but because they're seen as untrustworthy and dangerous in the area this game takes place, they're often met with a lot of hostility. Maybe they were the foot soldiers in a recent war, and so there's a lot of negative feelings and wounds that haven't healed yet. Whatever, point is that they're a big, weird character who may have a target painted between their horns. So you bring this issue up to the player, and ask how they plan to deal with those repercussions.

Maybe the player suggests giving this character more angelic features, allowing them to pretend to be an aasimar, or using magic to "pass" for another race to avoid suspicion. Maybe they take a background that makes them a folk hero (possibly for actions they took during said war), or you make the character a local so that there's more of a, "if you raise 'em right, they turn out just fine," sort of attitude (also useful for playing any traditionally "evil" race in a way that isn't really all that evil). Perhaps they're good friends with a local character, and that character vouches for them, deflecting a lot of (but perhaps not all) of the hostility directed their way.

Or maybe the player just nods, thanks you for the warning, but says that they are more than willing to deal with that as a consequence of playing their character the way they want to.

This is the part where, hard as it can sometimes be, you should take your foot off the brake and let your players do their thing. As long as their character does not violate any rules of the setting or the game (including the requirements you set forth in Session 0), and they aren't using this character's unique features to be disruptive, what's the harm in letting them have it?

Because I will say this much; giving someone a shiny toy is a sure-fire way to make them invested in your game right from the first session. Saying no, I don't want those in my game, however, is a great way to toss a bucket of sand onto your player's enthusiasm. And it may be a pain to deal with a goblin berserker or an aasimar wizard, but I guarantee it is nowhere near as difficult as trying to build that player's enthusiasm for your game back up.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you found this suggestions useful!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Herd Your Players, Don't Railroad Them

When you're a dungeon master, you put a lot of thought into the plots you put before your players. While the town being attacked by goblin raiders might not seem like a big deal, you know that those raiders are acting at the behest of the Brotherhood of Shadows who want them to steal an important item, and that if the PCs stop the goblins then the Brotherhood will send assassins to take them out. If the assassins are taken alive, and questioned, the PCs will find themselves being led to the door of the local lord, who can tell the party about his cohorts if they catch him off-guard. Then they can follow his information back to their hideout, and find out that the Brotherhood's goal all along has been to release a bound fiend, who is one of their major targets of worship.

Now, that might all sound simple and straightforward in your head. However, a campaign that linear is like a Rube Goldberg device. All it takes is one incident not going the way you expect, or your players stepping off that carefully constructed path, for things to start going wrong in a big way. So, rather than drawing out a straight path you expect your players to follow, instead, flesh out the world around them.

While it might not sound like it, this makes your life easier rather than harder.

And over here, we've got a happy little goblin... and a few thousand of his friends.

The More Options You Have, The Easier Herding Becomes

While you should have an idea of what's going on, and how to get the party involved in the plot, it's important that you be more concerned with what you want the party to do, rather than how you want them to do it.

Take the example above. The end goal is for the party to stop the release of the shadow fiend, and potentially to fight it as the big bad of the campaign. How they get to that final encounter shouldn't have rails under it, though. Instead, set the events of the world in motion, and let your party find their way into the machine using an entrance that appeals to them.

You happen to have an example up your sleeve?

If the idea is to get the party to oppose the goblin raiders, and to eventually get them to track the goblins back to the warren where the loot is stored, what happens if they don't take that hook? Sure, they'll defend themselves against the raiders, but what if the party sets up defenses in town to repel the goblins instead? No matter how many waves of greenskins you throw at the town, the party just digs in deeper, and turns it into a siege instead of going out after the stolen loot.

That's fine. Instead, back up and look at the events of the world. If the Brotherhood has enslaved the goblins to raid the town in order to steal a specific item, and the party isn't leaving town to go get it the way you originally wanted them to, then say the item is still in town. The goblins repeated failures to procure the item would lead to their masters sending in the assassins mentioned earlier to kill the town's protectors, and to steal the treasure. The same minions are showing up, but instead of tracking down the party after they raided the warren, the assassins are now trying to sneak into a heavily fortified town. A change of pace, but the same goal is being accomplished plot-wise.

The party raiding the warren isn't what's important, no matter how many maps you have drawn up of those caverns. By knowing the big picture, and understanding where all the moving pieces are, you can roll with your players' decisions in ways that don't involve dragging them along your pre-set route.

Take it a step further. You wanted the party to spare at least one of the assassins' lives in order to get information out of him, but instead they just kill all of them. Well, now there's no one to question regarding who is sending all these minions into the town. Well, what information can they glean from the assassins' clothes, their weapons, and their skills? Does someone have knowledge of them? Are they freelancers, or are they part of a particular sect? You could slip the party plot-relevant details through these Perception checks. But what if the party decides this whole thing is too big for them, so the players decide to leave town to summon help in defending the region? Well, in that case, they ride to the local hub of power to ask the lord to send the militia, or even knights, to help them deal with this problem. That's where you bring up the corrupt lord who serves the Brotherhood, who now tries to deal with these pesky adventurers himself. Rather than the assassins ratting him out, he party will now find out whose hand was behind the attempt on their lives by surviving another attempt, or by poking around his mansion, or questioning the servants about who had come and gone recently. If the butler turns up his nose at all these ruffians coming to call, and describes the leader of the assassins the party defeated, then they'll have a clue to follow up on.

And if they went to one of the other towns in the area to raise aid instead? Well, they're just small towns, and don't have the resources the party needs to push back the goblin hordes. They'd be told they need to head to the local power center if they wanted to get any help from that quarter. Which makes sense, after all, because you've mapped out what resources exist in the region, and who controls them.

What Exists In The World?

The surest sign of a railroad game is there is nothing in the setting that isn't part of the main plot the DM wants players to follow. The only tavern with fleshed-out NPCs in it is the one where they get plot hooks. The only NPCs they can interact with are the ones that act as sign posts. Towns that aren't key to the campaign will just be empty fronts where they can re-supply, and catch a night's sleep.

Don't do that.

Before you start the game, pull up a big list of NPCs, locations, and other things your players are going to run into. If you're in a small town that relies on lumber, then stat out the whole town. Name the sawmill, have NPCs to act as lumberjacks, and put a few tavern names and descriptions in your notes. Then, once you have a slew of stuff for your central town, make notes on the surrounding area. Where are the nearby towns, and what's in them? Where are the forests? Who resides there, if anyone? What sort of game animals can be found? What dangerous monsters live there? Where are the farms, the trading routes, and the merchants who use them?

By having all those details to hand, you make it clear that players really do have all kinds of options, and that they have the freedom to make choices. You also make it clear that their choices will have consequences, which is one of the most important things to have in a game if you want players to take the story line (and their roles within it) seriously. And you know what actions taken on one part of the map will do to what's going on in the other quadrants.

Looking For Some Inspiration?

Another option I'd suggest for all the DMs out there is to keep some lists handy so you can just grab names, places, and backstories as you need them. This can save you a lot of work, and a lot of staring off into space as you try to spitball an NPC's name, or layout the rumors about a location or a person. If you're looking for some inspiration, might I suggest some of the following by yours truly?

- A Baker's Dozen of Rumors (And The Truth Behind Them): Each of these rumors can be used to add a little flavor to a game, but they also have enough meat behind them that you could build an entire session out of them. Handy to have on-hand if you need a plot, but can't spitball something in a hurry.

- 100 NPCs You Might Meet At The Tavern: Perhaps my bestseller yet (at Electrum status at time of writing) this one has a bit of everything. So whether you need merchants or scholars, gang lords or private muscle, you can find a little of everything in this collection, ready to go!

- A Baker's Dozen of Noble Families: Every family has a story, and noble families tend to have several. Whether you want shining lords or corrupt patriarchies, there's a bit of everything in this particular collection of the high and the mighty.

- 100 Knightly Orders: That crack about unique knights above wasn't just a crack. Elite troops and stand-out orders with their heraldry and histories can capture the imagination, but coming up with them on the fly isn't easy. So, here's a hundred of them ready for their marching orders!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!