Know Any good non combat deaths?

[Stygofthedump]

I’d love to play/run/write a module that uses all the stats and skills equally. I really Like the idea characters can be killed/locked up/or otherwise made irrelevant by means other than combat. Social contests like a trial or a clash of great noble houses. Finding a cure, or just a way out of a maze etc.
Any stories or ideas I can use?

[Mr.Spastic]

In part three of JoJo's Bizarre adventure there is a scene where Jotaro bluffs so hard his gambling opponent passes out. Is that what your looking for?

[ImproperJustice]

You should see if you can find the old contest of champions modules.

They were basically puzzles and tests in a competition style format that pretty much neitralized PC abilities and required players to use their real life problem solving skills.

Now the problem is that you are playing a trivia game at that point and not an RPG, but that may sound like what you are looking for.

[Erose]

Have you ever knocked someone out? It's kinda like that. No dice needed.

[Stygofthedump]

I quite like the party (or third party critical to saving the day) on trial before a courtroom with each having a chance to prove innocence. Perhaps using investigation to prepare proof. Perhaps rely on impassioned speech.
I’d like the world to be gritty and dangerous even for those well versed in the violent arts.
Other ideas
A noble’s horse forces you off the road.

You are wanted by the lord for slaying some allied goblin scouts.

Bandits clearly outnumber you, can you negotiate to minimise losses?

Options where combat is a last resort.

[Malifice]

We once had a PC heroicly leap through a planar gate to stop an endless horde of fiendish darkmantles coming through.

It was narratted as him jumping through the gate, the gate sealing behind him (saving the rest of the party) and him finding himself on the other side in a hellish dimension of eternal darkness, with nothing but the circle of light from his lantern, surrounded by a sea of tentacles, that were slowly closing in on him from the darkness as his light wavered.

All eyes turned to the player at the table.

The player then held out the (imaginary) lantern at eye level, mimed out looking around frightened as the endless darkmantles edged closer, before sighing with a sense of inevitability, turning to his (imaginary) lantern, closing his eyes... and then he mimed blowing out the flame.

It was heroic, tragic, and utterly hillarious all at the same time.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Back in 3.5
Paladin tries to use artifact divination device. “Ocularis Infernum” (eye of hell) to ask “How do I destory you” it answers with an image of a righteous soul jumping into the flaming ring of the eye.

And he does so, problem he actually fell a long time ago, and the god of tyranny was now granting him powers deluding him into thinking he was still righteous. So he was consumed in hellfire and his soul landed at the feet of the god of tyranny who then transformed him into a pit fiend.
It’s not that he was dumb enough to jump in. The player just really really wanted to know what would happen.

[Stygofthedump]

We once had a PC heroicly leap through a planar gate to stop an endless horde of fiendish darkmantles coming through.

It was narratted as him jumping through the gate, the gate sealing behind him (saving the rest of the party) and him finding himself on the other side in a hellish dimension of eternal darkness, with nothing but the circle of light from his lantern, surrounded by a sea of tentacles, that were slowly closing in on him from the darkness as his light wavered.

All eyes turned to the player at the table.

The player then held out the (imaginary) lantern at eye level, mimed out looking around frightened as the endless darkmantles edged closer, before sighing with a sense of inevitability, turning to his (imaginary) lantern, closing his eyes... and then he mimed blowing out the flame.

It was heroic, tragic, and utterly hillarious all at the same time.

That’s a great story

[beargryllz]

I drew the donjon card, if that counts