Lend me a hand! I've got a player who's PC's hand was chopped off. What now?


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Liberty's Edge

During last night's game, a barbarian warlord chopped off a player character's hand. They're 12th level, so a scroll of regeneration isn't out of the question, and there's plenty of magic craftpeople in the party, so a replacement isn't a problem.

The question is, are their any good (both in fluff and crunch) options for a character missing a hand? They like the idea, the history that it adds, and I'm allowing the player to spend hero points to rebuild certain aspects (feats, archetype, etc.)

They were previously a two-handed fighter wielding a katana, and they'd like to keep the katana. Interest was expressed in going down the two-weapon fighter route, except the character has a Dex of 8. Ranger would be an option to get TWF, but doesn't really fit the character.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Etc?


The character can always spend a feat for the Exotic Weapon Proficiency to use the Katana 1-handed.

Grand Lodge

It was written for 3.5, but "The Book of Distinctions & Drawbacks" by Cryptosnark Games has rules for missing limbs/appendages...

You can get a PDF copy of it HERE for $5.95...


You could do a locked gauntlet, but with a fake hand inside the gauntlet too, that they attach to their arm. Then they could still use the weapon, just wouldn't be able to put it down. <_<

EDIT: Depending on why they want to keep the katana as well, if it's for mechanical reasons, you could let them reforge it into a scizore, katar, or pata, and then just attach it to the end of their arm as well. It wouldn't actually be as good, but...

Silver Crusade

Similar thing happened to our rogue. GM let him purchase a custom fit locking gauntlet prosthetic hand. Full-round action to lock or unlock. I think there is a small penalty on attack rolls also.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

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Maybe a construct limb?


Scroll of Regeneration is the best option, I guess.

How'd he lose the hand? I'm assuming the PC was captured and completely helpless, and this wasn't some godawful stupid critical fumble type thing that actually happened in combat and left the PC with a permanent massive, crippling handicap...


Adam Daigle wrote:
Maybe a construct limb?

Along the same lines, you could do a demonic graft or the like, if you're looking to replace the hand.


Luven Lightfinger's Gear and Treasure Shop is a 3rd party equipment book by 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming that has a number of prosthetic limbs that double as magic items. If you're okay with 3rd party stuff in your campaign, I'd give these a run to see if any of them would be reasonable.

Failing that, having a high enough caster or a scroll for Regeneration.

StreamOfTheSky wrote:
How'd he lose the hand? I'm assuming the PC was captured and completely helpless, and this wasn't some godawful stupid critical fumble type thing that actually happened in combat and left the PC with a permanent massive, crippling handicap...

I've, admittedly, not seen all of the possible Crit Fail possibilities in the iFail phone app (and by extension the Crit Fail deck it's derived from), but I really hope that's not a possible option, because that would really, REALLY suck.


You could always go with a magical prosthetic.

Silver Crusade

There are rules for this in the "Skulls & Shackles" Adventure Path, but they aren't part of the PRD...


DrowVampyre wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Maybe a construct limb?
Along the same lines, you could do a demonic graft or the like, if you're looking to replace the hand.

V is for the Villainy he causes

E is for the Evil that he does
C is for the Chaos he's projected
N is for the Negative Applause
A is for the A~+*!~@+ that he was.

Put them all together you spell Vecna....

Silver Crusade

Hand of Vecna?

SGT: Beat me to it.

Grand Lodge

Greater hat of disguise. The alter self ability will let him take form of a humanoid, with two hands. Grab this, and continue as he was.


The 3.5 Arms and Equipment guide has a stump knife in it. They have it listed as exotic but when I had the same thing happen to my player, I allowed it to be a monk weapon too. It is a piercing weapon that does 1d4 (19/x2).


I believe there are prosthetics in the PFS field guide

Grand Lodge

There is the hook hand.

Still, using the Alter Self ability of the Greater Hat of Disguise is the easiest, RAW, way to keep the character as is.

Silver Crusade

blackbloodtroll wrote:

There is the hook hand.

Still, using the Alter Self ability of the Greater Hat of Disguise is the easiest, RAW, way to keep the character as is.

I don't think using Alter Self or a Hat of Disguise will enable you to replace a limb while these spells are in effect. If this was the case then you could cast this on a dead person and suddenly they are alive.

Alter Self:

School transmutation (polymorph); Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a piece of the creature whose form you plan
to assume)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level (D)
When you cast this spell, you can assume the form of any
Small or Medium creature of the humanoid type. If the form
you assume has any of the following abilities, you gain the
listed ability: darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, and
swim 30 feet.
Small creature: If the form you take is that of a Small humanoid,
you gain a +2 size bonus to your Dexterity.
Medium creature: If the form you take is that of a Medium
humanoid, you gain a +2 size bonus to your Strength.

Basically if you are a human with a hand missing you can look like an elf with a hand missing.


Check out the limb replacement rules in Strategists & Tacticians; may have what you're looking for!

Silver Crusade

blackbloodtroll wrote:

There is the hook hand.

Still, using the Alter Self ability of the Greater Hat of Disguise is the easiest, RAW, way to keep the character as is.

There is nothing in the RAW that says this will work.

Please don't give me the "Well there is nothing RAW that says it doesn't."

Silver Crusade

Polymorph: A polymorph spell transforms your physical
body to take on the shape of another creature. While these
spells make you appear to be the creature, granting you a +10
bonus on Disguise skill checks, they do not grant you all of
the abilities and powers of the creature. Each polymorph spell
allows you to assume the form of a creature of a specific type,
granting you a number of bonuses to your ability scores and
a bonus to your natural armor. In addition, each polymorph
spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including
movement types, resistances, and senses. If the form you
choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same
type, you gain the listed benefit. If the form grants a lesser
ability of the same type, you gain the lesser ability instead.
Your base speed changes to match that of the form you assume.
If the form grants a swim or burrow speed, you maintain the
ability to breathe if you are swimming or burrowing. The DC
for any of these abilities equals your DC for the polymorph
spell used to change you into that form.
In addition to these benefits, you gain any of the
natural attacks of the base creature, including proficiency
in those attacks. These attacks are based on your base
attack bonus, modified by your Strength or Dexterity
as appropriate, and use your Strength modifier for
determining damage bonuses.
If a polymorph spell causes you to change size, apply the
size modifiers appropriately, changing your armor class,
attack bonus, Combat Maneuver Bonus, and Stealth skill
modifiers. Your ability scores are not modified by this
change unless noted by the spell.
Unless otherwise noted, polymorph spells cannot be used
to change into specific individuals. Although many of the
fine details can be controlled, your appearance is always
that of a generic member of that creature’s type. Polymorph
spells cannot be used to assume the form of a creature with a
template or an advanced version of a creature.
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you
into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical
beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into
your body. Items that provide constant bonuses
and do not need to be activated continue to function while
melded in this way (with the exception of armor and
shield bonuses, which cease to function). Items that
require activation cannot be used while you maintain
that form. While in such a form, you cannot cast any
spells that require material components (unless you have
the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only
cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form
you choose has the capability to make such movements or
speak, such as a dragon. Other polymorph spells might
be subject to this restriction as well, if they change you
into a form that is unlike your original form (subject to
GM discretion). If your new form does not cause your
equipment to meld into your form, the equipment resizes
to match your new size.
While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as
well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed
by your original form. You also lose any class features that
depend upon form, but those that allow you to add features
(such as sorcerers that can grow claws) still function. While
most of these should be obvious, the GM is the final arbiter of
what abilities depend on form and are lost when a new form
is assumed. Your new form might restore a number of these
abilities if they are possessed by the new form.
You can only be affected by one polymorph spell at
a time. If a new polymorph spell is cast on you (or you
activate a polymorph effect, such as wild shape), you can
decide whether or not to allow it to affect you, taking the
place of the old spell. In addition, other spells that change
your size have no effect on you while you are under the
effects of a polymorph spell.
If a polymorph spell is cast on a creature that is smaller than Small or larger than Medium, first adjust
its ability scores to one of these two sizes using the following table before applying the bonuses granted by the polymorph spell.

Not seeing anything in the polymorph section that proves that method would work.


Read the polymorph description again

"you gain any of the natural attacks of the base creature, including proficiency in those attacks."

Natural attacks of a human would include both hands and all other limbs, no where does it say that if your natural form only has 1 hand that you are restricted to picking alter self forms with only 1 hand.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DrowVampyre wrote:

You could do a locked gauntlet, but with a fake hand inside the gauntlet too, that they attach to their arm. Then they could still use the weapon, just wouldn't be able to put it down. <_<

EDIT: Depending on why they want to keep the katana as well, if it's for mechanical reasons, you could let them reforge it into a scizore, katar, or pata, and then just attach it to the end of their arm as well. It wouldn't actually be as good, but...

A locked frozen glove is no substitute for a fully articulating hand. The character can still fight one handed with the katana.... at the standard non proficiency penalty.

Grand Lodge

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shallowsoul wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:

There is the hook hand.

Still, using the Alter Self ability of the Greater Hat of Disguise is the easiest, RAW, way to keep the character as is.

There is nothing in the RAW that says this will work.

Please don't give me the "Well there is nothing RAW that says it doesn't."

That makes no sense. A merfolk using this spell has legs. A human using beast shape doesn't change into a four limbed octopus. Hell, a human woman can turn into a human man, without any "missing parts."

I do not follow your logic.

Liberty's Edge

Thanks, everybody! Lots of ideas that I hadn't thought of. For now, I think the character will be forging a prosthetic hand (effectively a locked gauntlet).

I completely forgot about construct limbs! I really like that idea, as the fighter does have Craft Magic Arms and Armor - I may let them waive Craft Construct if they want to go down that route, and make a Tiny animated object hand.

My very first thought was Vecna! The character is CG however, and the katana they use is a powerful sentient artifact

SEMI-SPOILER wrote:
It's Jade Regent

, so the sword might disagree.

For those wondering, the hand was lost via the Critical Hit deck. The whole combat was Critical-tastic! The warlord manged to Sever Spines, Sever Hands, and Slash Throat, while the party pulled Organ Scramble and Disembowel. It was intense.

I actually might have to look back in my old Dragon Magazines. I remember the first one I ever bought had an article on magical limb replacements...

The Exchange

Might i make a small suggestion. if you decide to play with a deck of cards that has the ability to cripple or maim your party you may want to work out a way to have them recover before introducing the deck.
A dm should always be prepared.

Grand Lodge

Wand of Alter Self works too.


Bah. If it wasn't for optional things resulting in limb loppage and eyeball removal, the regenerate spell wouldn't exist.

They're *one* level from accessing the spell, surely the player can deal with it until then.


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1. Compliment him on his dis-arm-ing personality.
2. Give him Improved UNARMED strike.
3. He always counts as unarmed (well, ok, maybe one-armed).
4. Everything the party achieves, he can claim to have done "single-handed"-ly.
5. If he attaches cured pork to the stump, tell him that he has a ham-fisted approach to things.
6. Check if anyone wants to give him a hand.
7. Tell him it was because of his 'hands-off' approach to things.

Btw, did he tell the person who cut off his hand "unhand me!"?


FiddlersGreen wrote:

1. Compliment him on his dis-arm-ing personality.

2. Give him Improved UNARMED strike.
3. He always counts as unarmed (well, ok, maybe one-armed).
4. Everything the party achieves, he can claim to have done "single-handed"-ly.
5. If he attaches cured pork to the stump, tell him that he has a ham-fisted approach to things.
6. Check if anyone wants to give him a hand.
7. Tell him it was because of his 'hands-off' approach to things.

Btw, did he tell the person who cut off his hand "unhand me!"?

"7 Things that Made Me Giggle" for $500 Alex...


Animate Object on a gauntlet. Let it work with them as long as they wear it, as soon as they take it off, have it try to crawl away or something.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Nephril wrote:

Might i make a small suggestion. if you decide to play with a deck of cards that has the ability to cripple or maim your party you may want to work out a way to have them recover before introducing the deck.

A dm should always be prepared.

Unless of course crippling or maiming your party is the intent.

That's the problem with these nice snazzy critical effects decks. PC's are generally far more at risk than the average NPC's because for the most part the NPC's only have one battle of exposure to them, whereas the PCs have all those other battles. If you as the DM are going to use these mechanics, you have to understand that you WILL maim and cripple your PCs in the not so long run, and you have to decide what you're going to do about it. High level parties with easy access to regenerate (unless said spellcaster has both HIS hands chopped off), are one thing, low to mid level parties quite another.


Hook.


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For all those promoting "alter self" and "hat of disguise" the rules are not specific enough to definitively state that they would replace a missing limb, arm or hand. Or nose for that matter. That would be left up to the GM. Magic is capricious and arbitrary. Or you could say magic does its best to recreate your current body in the form you are choosing, so your arm-missing person might end up as a six-armed octopus.

The only RAW way I know to repair the situation is with a "regenerate" spell, or a "wish" spell masquerading as a "regenerate" spell.

Way back in 2e days we used to play PCs with missing arms, hands, eyes, etc... Haven't done that in a long time.

Just have the PC pick up a one-handed weapon and put a shield on the other arm until you can regenerate.


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adamentium fists ! http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz4eoc?Can-I-chop-my-hands-off-and-replace-them-w ith#1

Silver Crusade

blackbloodtroll wrote:
shallowsoul wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:

There is the hook hand.

Still, using the Alter Self ability of the Greater Hat of Disguise is the easiest, RAW, way to keep the character as is.

There is nothing in the RAW that says this will work.

Please don't give me the "Well there is nothing RAW that says it doesn't."

That makes no sense. A merfolk using this spell has legs. A human using beast shape doesn't change into a four limbed octopus. Hell, a human woman can turn into a human man, without any "missing parts."

I do not follow your logic.

Do you have any proof to back you up on that? Show me where it says that lost limbs are replaced for the duration of the spell.

You can't cherry pick through the spell to give yourself a temporary regeneration.


I'd go with the Amputee 3.5e Flaw and then give him the bonus feat, but if he gets it restored magically he then loses the free feat that was given to him. This of course comes with some disadvantages because of a missing hand.


Get hook hand from the Skull and Shackles Players guide.

1D3/1D4 x2 10G Slashing 1lb.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Wand of Alter Self works too.

You repeat yourself an awful lot.


The first thing any good GM does is make fun of them with stupid comments like "give the man a hand".

Or maybe jokes like Why did the one handed warrior cross the road?

If the player is truly feeling down you could always throw some Def Leppard on the player and wax poetic about how awesome Rick Allen is.

Other Famous people with one hand

that bad @$$ dude from Bravehart
Luke Skywalker
Lockjaw from He-Man
Aquaman lost his hand for a while....ok bad example
Ashley Williams (Ash from the Evil Dead movies)

Meh, life goes on. Just slap a +2 chainsaw on your stub and carry on like you are the boss.


Ciaran Barnes wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Wand of Alter Self works too.
You repeat yourself an awful lot.

+1, I was wondering if I was the only one noticing that.


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brreitz wrote:

During last night's game, a barbarian warlord chopped off a player character's hand. They're 12th level, so a scroll of regeneration isn't out of the question, and there's plenty of magic craftpeople in the party, so a replacement isn't a problem.

The question is, are their any good (both in fluff and crunch) options for a character missing a hand? They like the idea, the history that it adds, and I'm allowing the player to spend hero points to rebuild certain aspects (feats, archetype, etc.)

They were previously a two-handed fighter wielding a katana, and they'd like to keep the katana. Interest was expressed in going down the two-weapon fighter route, except the character has a Dex of 8. Ranger would be an option to get TWF, but doesn't really fit the character.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Etc?

Having a healer cast regenerate on them wouldn't be that expensive, and would be the easiest method and not very expensive.


Ashiel wrote:
brreitz wrote:

During last night's game, a barbarian warlord chopped off a player character's hand. They're 12th level, so a scroll of regeneration isn't out of the question, and there's plenty of magic craftpeople in the party, so a replacement isn't a problem.

The question is, are their any good (both in fluff and crunch) options for a character missing a hand? They like the idea, the history that it adds, and I'm allowing the player to spend hero points to rebuild certain aspects (feats, archetype, etc.)

They were previously a two-handed fighter wielding a katana, and they'd like to keep the katana. Interest was expressed in going down the two-weapon fighter route, except the character has a Dex of 8. Ranger would be an option to get TWF, but doesn't really fit the character.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Etc?

Having a healer cast regenerate on them wouldn't be that expensive, and would be the easiest method and not very expensive.

That would be like HANDing him and HAND-out. The healer should be paid HANDsomely. XD

Silver Crusade

1. Carve out the flesh
2. Sharpen the emerging bones into pointy sticks
3. => Most awesome concealed unarmed strike ever, especially for a BBEG

Courtesy of Blade of the Immortal.


Ashiel wrote:
Having a healer cast regenerate on them wouldn't be that expensive, and would be the easiest method and not very expensive.

This. An NPC cast of Regeneration costs 910g, which is a drop in the bucket for a level 12 character.


Chainsaw!

Shadow Lodge

Go Hand of Vecna hunting.


In 3.0 I played a druid who had his arm ripped off at third level. It was rough since my primary fighting style was shield and shillelagh, and I'd spent one of my 1st level feats on longbow proficiency.

I had a great GM, and we worked out slowly learning to fight with a spiked shield, and my animal companion (heavy warhorse) was invaluable for a long while. I eventually learned to fire a longbow by laying prone, holding it with my feet, and firing with one arm. I used hide from animals a lot, since the crows and ravens kept laughing at me while I was practicing and I was a bit sensitive about it. The game was very wilnderness oriented and low-magic, so a lot of the 'typical' D&D options for regrowing it weren't on the table.

We stopped the game around 5th level and the scene had been set for it to be regenerated, perhaps during the next grand solstice ritual, but I was rather surprised that it didn't really hurt my enjoyment of the game. In Shadowrun I was used to having my characters get beat up in all sorts of ways, but that was the first time I'd had a D&D character maimed as opposed to just killed.


Aratrok wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
Having a healer cast regenerate on them wouldn't be that expensive, and would be the easiest method and not very expensive.
This. An NPC cast of Regeneration costs 910g, which is a drop in the bucket for a level 12 character.

Assuming you can find a minimum level spellcaster, otherwise you might be charged a bit more than that. Possibly some information gathering fees to be included and a willing NPC caster..


Remco Sommeling wrote:
Aratrok wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
Having a healer cast regenerate on them wouldn't be that expensive, and would be the easiest method and not very expensive.
This. An NPC cast of Regeneration costs 910g, which is a drop in the bucket for a level 12 character.
Assuming you can find a minimum level spellcaster, otherwise you might be charged a bit more than that. Possibly some information gathering fees to be included and a willing NPC caster..

It would cost at maximum 1,400g, as unfeasible as a 20th level caster is. It's still a pittance.

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