List of ways to sever your own body parts in exchange for a discrete, in-game effect

[Venger]

For the purposes of this thread, we'll set aside ways that don't offer you anything such as getting zapped with disintegration finesse or critted with a vorpal weapon.

PRESTIGE CLASSES
Eye of Gruumsh (eye)
Blessed of Gruumsh (eye)
Eunuch Warlock (testicles)
Pale Master (arm)
Fleshwarper (various)
Renegade Mastermaker (various)
Acolyte of the Skin (skin)

GRAFTS
(various)

ITEMS
Hand of Vecna (hand)
Eye of Vecna (eye)
Teeth of Dahlver-Nar (teeth)

WEAPON ENHANCEMENTS
Critted by vorpal weapon as creature who is not vulnerable to decapitation (head)

SPELLS AND SPELL EQUIVALENTS (POWERS, INVOCATIONS, ETC)
Lahm's Finger Darts
Spider Hand
Crawling Eye
Disembodied Hand
Heart of Stone

FEATS
Detach
Hand of Tyr

[Zaq]

Eye and Hand of Vecna? Technically, they require you to have removed the relevant body part first rather than doing it themselves, but they still feel relevant.

[Venger]

Eye and Hand of Vecna? Technically, they require you to have removed the relevant body part first rather than doing it themselves, but they still feel relevant.

Yeah, those are totally germane to this list, like pale master's nasty zombie arm. Edited in.

[Nifft]

Teeth of Dahlvar-Nar (artifact), basically work like the Hand & Eye except they're teeth. They're pretty old-school (like the Hand & Eye), but I think there was a version in the 3.5e Tome of Magic.

[Venger]

Teeth of Dahlvar-Nar (artifact), basically work like the Hand & Eye except they're teeth. They're pretty old-school (like the Hand & Eye), but I think there was a version in the 3.5e Tome of Magic.

There is indeed. Added summarily.

[Sian]

Hand of Tyr (feat from City of Spendors: Waterdeep) kinda sorta fit the list ... it don't strictly demand that you chop off your hand, but it doesn't work if you ever use your hand

[Venger]

Hand of Tyr (feat from City of Spendors: Waterdeep) kinda sorta fit the list ... it don't strictly demand that you chop off your hand, but it doesn't work if you ever use your hand

That feat is... horrific. I've never lain eyes on it before. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Since you could cut off your hand and you're effectively removing said hand from play, I'll include it anyway, thanks.

[Dalmosh]

Strictly speaking, the text of Vorpal weapons establishes that undead (except for vampires), do not die when beheaded.

I used this clause to help one of my players develop his character concept of an Olmec Wight who carried his head around as a bludgeoning weapon. Sometimes he would place his head up on shelves, or leave it in a nearby ditch so he could spy from safety nearby. More flavour than crunch, but I thought it was cool.

[Venger]

Strictly speaking, the text of Vorpal weapons establishes that undead (except for vampires), do not die when beheaded.

I used this clause to help one of my players develop his character concept of an Olmec Wight who carried his head around as a bludgeoning weapon. Sometimes he would place his head up on shelves, or leave it in a nearby ditch so he could spy from safety nearby. More flavour than crunch, but I thought it was cool.

(Setting aside the fact that you couldn't crit undead when the phb was released. Seriously, why is that addendum even there?)

While you are technically right, and it's not hard to ad hoc the benefits for having a severed head, there technically aren't any RAW benefits from existing in a divided state. I'll add it anyway.

[ShurikVch]

Arm of Nyr (Defenders of the Faith)

Fiendish Hands of Eli Tomorast (Dungeon #112)

Half-Golem template

Severe Corruption effect: Lich Eyes (Heroes of Horror) - "Your eyes rot away", but you still keep you vision, and get Darkvision 60' (or +30' to existing). Lack of physical eyes makes you immune to certain eye-destroying attacks. Downside - Light Blindness

Similar to the previous - Smoking Eye Creature template (The Shackled City Adventure Path): one of your eyes (you're required to have at least one!) is replaced with little smoky magical flame. RAW doesn't says this flame can be extinguished, and I really doubt the Murder of Crows will be able to peck it out. (Also, handy source of fire :smallsmile:) It isn't so much "to lose an eye" as "to have an eye", but kinda a bit of both

The Ruby Incisor (Dragon #359)


Eye and Hand of Vecna?Vecna have many other body parts:
First Digit of Vecna
Second Digit of Vecna
Third Digit of Vecna
Last Digit of Vecna
Scalp of Vecna
Skin of Vecna
Left Ear of Vecna
Incisors of Vecna
Molar of Vecna
Foot of Vecna
Heart of Vecna
(Left Ear is from Dragon #359, all other parts are from Die Vecna Die!)
Vecna is called "the Maimed God" for a reason!
Just don't use Heads of Vecna (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20070401a), they aren't worth it! :smallwink:

[Bronk]

There's a lot of good stuff here to add to the list I'm keeping of uses for the regenerate spell...


-body parts missing via spell:

eyes missing from seething eyebane
brain stem via decerebrate (XPH)
guts via Gutwrench (BoVD p97)
heart via Heartclutch (BoVD p98) - restore heart or die in 1d3 rounds
heart via Clutch of Orcus (BoVD p88)
hand via grim revenge vile spell (turns hand into a wight that attacks you)
fingers via Lahm’s Finger Darts (BoVD p98) - (fingers don’t regrow)
arm via grim revenge (BoVD p97)
any body part via flesh to stone (or other petrification) and subsequent breakage
every body part but the head, separately, via Vile Rebellion (Dr 300)

-body parts missing via monster:

eyes stolen by Gadacro (MMV)
eyes stolen by Ocularon (turns them into gas bombs)
eyes pecked out by a swarm of ravens
any body part ‘sampled’ by cadaver golem from HoH (intelligent flesh golem)

-monsters: rules to cut off hydra’s heads and giant squid’s tentacles

-replace body parts missing after a graft, or a failed ‘X’ of vecna trick

-Removing a tooth is a full round action, and regenerate can replace the tooth after (ToM)

-Snatch Trophy feat from Champions of Ruin: a character with the feat and a slashing or piercing weapon can take off bits of a body in negative hit points weighing up to two pounds (fingers, ears, etc.)

Additional info:

Vile Rebellion (Dragon #300, pg. 57) - arms, legs, and torso fall away and turn into zombies. Head is alive, but constant Wis drain eventually drive it insane. To restore affected character, put all parts back together, cast Dispel Evil, then Regenerate.

Decerebrate (XPH)Without extreme measures, such as greater restoration or some other suitable effect of 7th level or higher, the creature perishes in 1d4 days.

AD&D: vorpal blade (took off limbs, head on 20) or Sword of Sharpness (only limbs)

[Emperor Tippy]

Hide Life (Tome and Blood)
Let's you chop off a body part and remain immortal so long as the body part is intact.

[Uncle Pine]

Hand of Tyr (feat from City of Spendors: Waterdeep) kinda sorta fit the list ... it don't strictly demand that you chop off your hand, but it doesn't work if you ever use your hand

I didn't know this feat existed and now I may need to remove my eyes trying to forget about it.

Speaking about removing one's own eyes: Beholder Mage.

[Sian]

That feat is... horrific. I've never lain eyes on it before. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Since you could cut off your hand and you're effectively removing said hand from play, I'll include it anyway, thanks.

Yeah, it might be in the running for the worst feat (that doesn't flat out not work), but i really like the thematics behind it for all that it mechanically suck worse than just about everything else

[Venger]

Yeah, it might be in the running for the worst feat (that doesn't flat out not work), but i really like the thematics behind it for all that it mechanically suck worse than just about everything else

I like the idea behind it too, but the benefit it gives me needs to be several orders of magnitude higher. I mean, i'm losing at least 1/2 my str bonus in exchange for +1 damage. What the hell?

[Nifft]

I like the idea behind it too, but the benefit it gives me needs to be several orders of magnitude higher. I mean, i'm losing at least 1/2 my str bonus in exchange for +1 damage. What the hell?

Perhaps Tyr wanted to buff Warlocks and Rogues.

[The Viscount]

Perhaps Tyr wanted to buff Warlocks and Rogues.

By preventing them from TWFing, one of the most common means of improving sneak attack damage?

[Arael666]

Eunuch Warlock (testicles)


You should google that word, you referenced the wrong body part to be cut

[Nifft]

You should google that word, you referenced the wrong body part to be cut

Google says castrated, and as we all know, castration is:



Castration (also known as gonadectomy) is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles.


What body part did you think was impacted?

[Venger]

You should google that word, you referenced the wrong body part to be cut

Maybe you should google it.

[Arael666]

Maybe you should google it.

I did, eunuchs in china (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunuch#China), had the whole "package" removed. Oriental adventures is mostly based in asian countries, you're probably thinking of the arabian nights eunuchs (they are indeed more famous).

[Celestia]

I'm wondering if there are some possible interactions here, like, can you gouge out your eye for Gruumsh and then replace it with the Eye of Vecna at no penalty?

[Vizzerdrix]

Stump knife feels propper for this topic. Same for create crawling claw spell.

[TalonOfAnathrax]

The level 8 Sorc/Wiz spell "Heart of Stone" is very literal. You pull out your own heart and replace it with a stone.

[Fouredged Sword]

Hand of tyr MAYBE could work on a stump knife rogue build. It would be BAD and a waste of a feat, but not awful.

[The Viscount]

Jordain Viziers are "rendered infertile" as part of the training process. It's not specified beyond that, so some type of surgical removal seems likely. Shining South isn't so clearly inspired by real-world cultures so I couldn't say what parts a male Jordain Vizier would lose.

[Celestia]

Jordain Viziers are "rendered infertile" as part of the training process. It's not specified beyond that, so some type of surgical removal seems likely. Shining South isn't so clearly inspired by real-world cultures so I couldn't say what parts a male Jordain Vizier would lose.
It could also be chemical or magical sterilization with no removed body parts.

[Venger]

It could also be chemical or magical sterilization with no removed body parts.

Maybe you drink that contraceptive tea from AEG until you fail the save.

[Dalmosh]

You can use your own fingers as spell components to possibly add +1 to touch spells, according to the Book of Vile Darkness. You probably wouldn't actually do this unless you had either
1. Already cut your hand off for some other reason
or
2. You had a way to readily regrow severed appendages.

[Dalmosh]

There's similarly numerous spells that use body parts as components, really powerful ones might be worth using your own if you were really desperate, and weaker ones might be worth it if you can readily regenerate the part.

Book of Vile Darkness has.
Alert Bebilith - lump of demon flesh.
Boneblast - A young unholy scion could use its own bone
Cheat - dice carved from human bone, can be reused
Psychic Poison - humanoid brain tissue
Spores of the Vrock - feathers of intelligent avian creature
Whirlwind of Teeth - handful of bloody teeth

[Dalmosh]

Voidmind creature from MM3