So, I was contemplating playing a character that uses a two handed blunt weapon and for some reason or another, I came up with a question. This question.
Are there any feats that allow one to use a blunt weapon to break a persons limb? Like, hit someone hard in the leg with an earthbreaker and now they can't walk on it? Or smash a persons arm with a club and now they suck at melee combat?
Would this just be called shots?
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i would say it would be a sunder attempt against their limbs...which could be using the called shot rules. since there are no official rules on bone breaks this is what i would do. Use the called shots rule and sunder the appropriate limb. each limb has 1/4 hit points of the characters total HD. so if the wizard got his arm sundered and he has 37 hit points his arm has 9 hit points since 1/4 of 37 is 9.25. after the arm has been sundered is broken. Now the healer of the party can just use heal spells to cure the hit points but if he heals the arm before the bone is set properly the arm is healed but the arm is still useless. so the the the healer needs to make a heal check DC=the HP of the limb to set the bone properly. Once the bone is set and then healed all is well. Plus it makes the healer work more and gives another use of the heal skill.
And for the people that use grappling combat, they do their appropriate grapple checks and get the pin. Then by using the called shots rules, they can single out limbs and break them.
i would say it would be a sunder attempt against their limbs...which could be using the called shot rules. since there are no official rules on bone breaks this is what i would do. Use the called shots rule and sunder the appropriate limb. each limb has 1/4 hit points of the characters total HD. so if the wizard got his arm sundered and he has 37 hit points his arm has 9 hit points since 1/4 of 37 is 9.25. after the arm has been sundered is broken. Now the healer of the party can just use heal spells to cure the hit points but if he heals the arm before the bone is set properly the arm is healed but the arm is still useless. so the the the healer needs to make a heal check DC=the HP of the limb to set the bone properly. Once the bone is set and then healed all is well. Plus it makes the healer work more and gives another use of the heal skill.
And for the people that use grappling combat, they do their appropriate grapple checks and get the pin. Then by using the called shots rules, they can single out limbs and break them.
I think I have to bring this up to my group and steal it. I think this seems like a great set of rules for such occasions. Good job.
thank you...i'm kinda proud of myself. I just came up with them.
I too am going to run it by my group.
I do like it, although I might try some testing as it seems like it'd be really, really easy to break ones leg if you had a high damage build. That might be fitting though, but I'll try it out then maybe run it by my DM.
Thanks for the suggestion Dwarfakin.
This doesn't really require any modification of the called shot rules; the "debilitating blow" effect of a called shot already incorporates what you seek.
For an arm, for instance, the debilitating blow effect says "The blow renders the arm useless until healed unless the target succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the arm is severed or otherwise mangled such that only regeneration or similar effects can repair it."
A broken arm would fit the "otherwise mangled" description, the way I see it.
yup. but you also have to think that this is also a sunder attempt with the called shot rule attached. so if your fighter has high damage yield but doesn't have improved sunder he may regret his action...also as the GM you are free to change the rules up a bit. Cause i just looked at the called shot rules and swinging at a limb is only a -2. which once you get improved sunder...you see where i'm going. So you might want to make a few tweaks, like maybe upping the negative on the swing. How you do this is up to you. one thing that comes to mind is adding a penalty due to the armor that they are wearing. a person who is wearing leather armor is going to be more likely to have their bones broken than Mr. Tin Can Pally in full plate. Maybe give a negative equal up to half (minimum 0) the armor rating of the armor. so mr full plate to break his bones it will require a -6 on the swing for the called shot for a limb with regular full plate. and now that I think about it i know characters can start power attacking and cleaving arms off and breaking legs at level 1 if fighting the right enemy.
So after the limb has been sundered to its certain amount, have the person make a Fort save (DC is up to you) appropriate to the damage done. Maybe a DC 10+damage dealt, with a bonus equal to half your armor rating for the armor (i.e. +1 for leather or +4 for full plate) or maybe just a straight DC 15 like the massive damage rule.
Cause now that i think about it i really want to put this in my game now.
Hm. If you're not too attached to the Blunt weapon thing and you can't find a GM willing to use called shots, there's always a grapple build.
Jawbreaker, Bonebreaker, and Neckbreaker.
Get somethin' like a Maneuver Master Monk with these Feats and it could be pretty cool.
Hm. Maybe I should make one to put in the build thread...
Sorry if I am 2 months late but here is my proposition :
Every limb has a break DC, hardness and Hit Points. I suggest the hit points Dwarfakin already told us about but use 1/5 of the HP for the limb HP. Hardness 5 would be the best (since it's the same as bone weapons). The break DC is 10 + creature's constitution.
I would rather use the sunder Combat Manoeuver check instead of a called shot (since it's not a shot really and because it implies attacks of opportunity). I would also not allow range bonebreaking (I'm just saying, I know it was not your question).
Desroying a bone always inflict damage equal to it's hit points to the... wearer? (sorry didnt find another word) Any exceeding damage from the sunder attempt is wasted. Broken limbs (half HP) impart a penalty (-1/4 (or -1/8 for quadrupede) your speed per leg and -2 on attack/damage per arm). Destroyed limb (what we would call broken bones IRL) cannot be used and inflict penalties to speed(-1/2 speed (or -1/4 for quadrupedes) per leg)
Striking the head could imply a penlaty to the CMB (like a called shot) but would still be a sunder attempt. Breaking a skull makes the creature sickened and destroying it makes the creature unconsious.
Finally, I would make this whole ability a feat with prerequisite Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Str 15 and BAB +5.