PORTING BODY HITS One big, still-unresolved issue is body hits. In pre-3rdEd Fivtoria rules, there are a few cases in which an attack is a body hit: - helpless target - assassination attack (assassin's skill simulating target's helplessness) - ignored fend-off (or other "falling onto sword" hits) Any damage (including a spell) does body damage against a helpless target, but the others are specific to melee attacks. For consistency with 3rd Ed, missile attacks within 30' (as well as some spells?) are equivalent to melee attacks for any special damage (e.g. body hits, sneak attacks, maybe even fend-offs), except (as in standard 3rd Ed rules) a missile attack on a helpless target doesn't get +4 attack. (I'd give it within 5', though.) Being helpless gives an attack of opportunity, in addition to any other effects. ---- Any character attacking in a traditional "body hit" circumstance inflicts the largest of the following 3 damages: 1. Normal damage, doubled. 2. Normal damage plus Sneak Attack bonus. (Which is +1d6 or +2d6 against a helpless target. See the Sneak Attack feat.) 3. Normal damage plus as-though-Rogue extra dice (level/2, round up). The double-normal-damage case (#1) gives us the desired minimum for cases where the attacker has little advantage, and also covers the case of spells and such that can't be used for sneak attacks (e.g. being Fireballed in your sleep does full if you save, double if you fail). The real-Rogue-levels case (#2) makes sure Rogues are always better off than if the target had not been helpless. A character with 1d6 to 3d6 sneak attack damage adds an additional 1d6 beyond his normal sneak attack damage. A character with 4d6 or more sneak attack damage adds an additional 2nd beyond his normal sneak attack damage. ---- Any creature attacking a helpless target has a chance of an instant kill or knockout. The target must make a fortitude save at DC 10 + the attacker's number of sneak attack bonus dice (level/2, round up, for most non-Rogues). This represents the chance that something relatively all-or-nothing like nerve damage or a heart puncture will take the target down. If there are multiple attacks while the creature is helpless, take the highest DC and add 1/2 the additional sneak attack bonus dice to this DC. This is similar to adding half the levels of all other attackers to the main attacker, but some of those additional attacks could be coming from the main attacker, too. A normally sleeping creature is helpless for only 1 round. If it loses initiative against its attackers, it is flat-footed until it gets its initiative turn on the second round. Most other forms of helplessness last for multiple rounds, and the attacker(s) can keep attacking to drive up the DC until the target's initial fortitude saving throw roll becomes inadequate and fails, as it eventually must. This DC is adjusted for the size difference between the targets, -1 for each size category the attacker is smaller, and +1 for each size category the attacker is larger (to reflect the difficulty/ease of reaching a vital spot). There is also a DC adjustment of -1 for each size category more than one that the target is larger than the *weapon*. Generally treat body weaponry as one weapon-size smaller than the creature it is part of. (Net result: +2 penalty per size category the enemy is larger, given a small weapon or most body weapons.) The Death Attack and Knockout Attack feats allow this sort of instant take-down attack to be performed against those who are surprised (or are otherwise fully sneak-attackable) rather than just those who are helpless. The Improved Death Attack and Improved Knockout Attack feats make the DC even higher. If the victim of such an attack succeeds on the fortitude save, damage is as normal for a sneak attack. If the victim fails, he takes enough lethal or non-lethal damage to reduce him to zero HP (or takes the regular sneak attack bonus damage if that is greater), and then in addition takes the non-sneak-bonus damage (weapon, strength, magic, etc). So, a greatsword is much more likely to completely kill in one blow than is a dagger, but either is just as likely to at least disable the (medium-sized or smaller) target. High-level characters who fail the save are likely to be "disabled" by this damage, rather than killed or left unconcious. (See "NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE" in the general house rules.) They'll live just long enough to deliver a monologue before the killing blow. (We can call this the "Et Tu Brutus" rule... I love it when I can make mechanics compatible with reality or good fiction :-) This replaces the coup de grace rule on PHB page 133. When doing knockout attacks, the usual -4 to hit for non-lethal attacks applies, or the attacker is generally limited to lower-damage weapons that specifically do non-lethal damage (e.g. a sap or a fist, as opposed to a sword). But otherwise the mechanic is the same for lethal or non-lethal damage, except that the former directly causes death, while the latter causes unconciousness.