I'm not sure if this is a "rules" question but...
We don't play with any option rules that indicate a critical severs limbs, so we assume that a critical is just a really bad cut.
So, when a player asked to have his party sever his wrist, to remove a cursed gauntlet, I was unsure how to handle this.
Lucky for me, I have time.
So, thoughts?
First, will severing the wrist, remove the cursed gauntlet? I'd assume so.
Second, what type of damage are we looking at. Clearly to me, this is more than a critical hit. Could it kill him from shock? They have a Cleric handy, and a pool of lava is need be.
Suggestions?
It is mostly GM fiat. The player should be aware that the spell needed to regrow the limb is very high level spell. Regenerate requires a 13th level cleric or a 17th level druid.
Yes severing the limb will remove the gauntlet.
I would require a DC 20 heal check to make sure he does not take bleeding damage. The game is an abstraction. I would not give him too much more trouble. He is already losing a limb.
Yikes. Yeah, I agree with Wraith. He's going the extreme hardcore route ( unless the gauntlet is of the "get it off now or die!!!!" sort) considering there are lower lever, easier to access ways to get rid of curses than regrow limb. No point in penalizing him more than he is choosing to do himself.
So, he wants to remove a hand. Disarm?
Seriously, I would treat it as attacking an object, give it 1/4 the hp of the owner. Make sure the players understand this is strictly and out-of-combat kind of thing.
Having a cleric should mean no worries about bleeding to death.
As for whether this will work depends on the exact magic item, but I would say not having a hand would get rid of it. Of course if it is really powerful, it might reappear if the hand ever grew back.
DM's choice.
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This could go a few different ways, depending on how you rule whether or not the gauntlet may be removed that way:
1. The PC cuts off his hand, and suffers some Dex and Str penalties until he can get it regrown (there's a reason why regenerate exists). Those are:
Since a person’s manual dexterity comes primarily from the opposable thumbs interacting with the fingers and palms, the loss of a hand limits how complex items are used and how items are carried. A character who has lost a hand incurs the following penalties:
•-4 penalty on grapple checks;
•Must make a caster level check to cast spells with somatic components;
•Unable to wield two-handed weapons or make two-weapon attacks, but may still wear a shield on the affected arm;
•Carrying capacity is not reduced. However, the maximum weight a character can lift over head or off the ground is reduced by one third, as shown on Table: Modified Lifting Capacity: Hand (for medium creatures). These penalties do not stack with other penalties for losing limbs.
A character who has lost both hands, or one hand and one arm, cannot use any of the listed skills, make attacks, cast spells with somatic components, or handle objects, without the aid of prosthetics or magic.
2. The PC chops off the hand with the gauntlet, suffering the pain (and other penalties, possibly including a temporary level)...and wakes to find the guantlet back on his hand the next morning.
3. The attempt to remove the gauntlet fails (insert colorful rationale here).
Why wouldn't the character just wait until they found a caster of the appropriate level that could cast Remove Curse? I mean cutting off a hand causes a LOT of in game issues. You can no longer shoot a bow, load a crossbow, wield a two handed weapon, etc. ad nauseam. Is the curse the gauntlet provides so hampering that the character is willing to undergo that maiming instead of waiting to find a temple that he can pay a 5th level cleric 150 gp to remove the curse?
Spellcasting Services are Caster level x spell level x 10gp.
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I'd say it's a coup de grace, except if the fort save fails they are at -1 and bleeding out, not dead. Need to deal a minimum of their con score (not modifier) in damage to sever the hand. When/if they stabilize, their arm heals where their hand used to be. They now require regenerate or greater to regain that hand. Penalties applied as Deathspot suggested in post #5. As stated, unless it's urgent, you may want to suggest getting remove curse cast instead, or have the item sundered.
