Non-lethal Rage

[Robert Ringel]

So, I play a barbarian with some friends through online gaming and in a recent session I tried to do non-lethal damage while raging. Basically, I charged while in rage and swung for non-lethal damage with my greatsword. I factored in the -4 already when I made the roll and it according to most of the group, I can't do non-lethal damage while I'm raging. I'm hoping someone can clarify if it's RAW or even RAI that you can't do non-lethal while raging.

[Ciaran Barnes]

Of course you can if you take the -4. It doesn't really make sense, depending on how you imagine your rage, but it's legal.

[Bob Bob Bob]

Short answer, they're wrong. Doing nonlethal damage is not a Cha, Dex, or Int-based skill and does not require "patience or concentration", therefore you can do it while raging. Long answer, the group probably thinks that rage requires you to froth at the mouth, scream, and kill everything in sight. That's wrong, and there's no reason to believe it. People who go quiet when they're angry are waaaaaaaay scarier.

[Robert Ringel]

Thanks for the responses, Ciaran and Bob. Any chance it's written down somewhere so I can point it out to them? You can understand that it's hard to take the word of internet strangers.

[Snowblind]

Robert Ringel wrote:

Thanks for the responses, Ciaran and Bob. Any chance it's written down somewhere so I can point it out to them? You can understand that it's hard to take the word of internet strangers.

Point to where it says you can do non-lethal damage with a lethal weapon and challenge them to find *anywhere* that contradicts this.

If they argue, tell them you are instead spitting at your enemy and your spit attack acts as an auto hit attack with a no save 1 hour paralysis effect, and when they protest ask them to show you where it says you can't do this.

[TriOmegaZero]

Quote:

Nonlethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Lethal Damage: You can use a melee weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Quote:

While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.

Nothing in the rules says that dealing nonlethal damage requires patience or concentration. (If attacking required it, you wouldn't be able to attack while raging.) The rage ability does not restrict you from dealing nonlethal damage.