A merciful weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage, but all damage it deals is nonlethal damage. On command, the weapon suppresses this ability until told to resume it (allowing it to deal lethal damage, but without any bonus damage from this ability).
Okay so mechanically that makes sense but from a narrative perspective, how would one describe that?
Would the blade of a sword with the merciful property bounce off someone's flesh as if it were dull & blunted, doing bludgeoning damage, bruising but not fatally? Or would it still cut and just not leave a wound behind?
Another example; if one were to draw the edge of a blade with an active merciful property across someone's throat in a manner that, were it not for that property, would slice that person's throat and leave him bleeding out, would that be effective in knocking them out with non lethal damage, or would that be akin to drawing a butter knife across someone's throat; annoying and uncomfortable but with no real effect.
I see it as blunting the edge, causing it to bruise, and deliver a jolt as if from a stun gun at the same time.
A forcefield around it similar to a resilient sphere that issues a telekinetic jolt of stunning force.
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A +1 merciful longsword, much like a regular longsword being used to strike nonlethally, remains a slashing weapon even when dealing nonlethal damage. It does not deal bludgeoning damage. Many GMs houserule this, and for good reason.
Visualizing this rather boggles the mind, especially given how quickly such injuries heal (24 points per day for a commoner 1 who isn't even resting). A merciful weapon, at least, is magical, so it could be visualized as automatically closing the wounds it inflicts or knitting any bone it breaks, leaving only the pain and shock of the blow as nonlethal damage. Nonlethal attacks with a mundane slashing weapon require more imagination, I guess--making a series of shallow cuts in unimportant places until the enemy falls unconscious from sheer embarrassment?
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It's magic. The wounds heal enough after the blow to cause only non-lethal damage. Arteries that were cut seal, organs heal up enough to function, stuff like that.
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My visualization of the merciful enchantment on slashing/piercing weapons is that the weapon actually enters the body, but doesn't leave a wound.
In the case of slitting a throat, a clear red line would appear immediately after the weapon exits the body. Then after a few moments bruises would surround the wound, as if from blunt trauma.
Actually....
A Merciful slashing weapon gives you paper cuts.
/cevah
When magic comes into question I like to go to common physics (not a physicist so may the nerdier nerd correct me).
This is an enchantment that effectively disperses the kinetic impact of a blow so that it is less focused (the blade is still sharp, but the magic diffuses the focus a bit while keeping the kinetic charge similar).
It more or less makes sense .
If not you could make it so that the damage is magically transfered to the nervous system instead of the skin.
As for the slitting across the throat it depends if it serves the narrative purpose. Slitting the throat is not a game move (except for maybe death attack or a readied action) so I would go with what feels better.
My best guest would be that you go from a slitting nottion to a piercing motion, effectively the would be killer stabs the victim in the throat with his merciful dagger, and the victim shakes about a bit, his mouth foaming under the intense neural pain, then falls down
It reminds me of the enchantments they put on the swords for sparring in Eragon.