Subdual of animals / beasts should award xp?

[Conradine]

If a character fights with a brown bear ( CR 4 ), the brown bear does its best to maul the man, the human instead defeat the bear with subdual damage, should that award the same xp as if he killed the bear?


( I'm thinking about Zanghief from Street Fighter here )

PS A brown bear fought without armor and weapons could be a CR 6 (ad hoc +2 for harder encounter) ?

[hamishspence]

"Overcoming a challenge" is what awards XP, not killing. So yes, knocking a creature out, works.

[liquidformat]

Similarly, using handle animal to make the bear your friend or leave should also be awarding exp.

[Psyren]

PS A brown bear fought without armor and weapons could be a CR 6 (ad hoc +2 for harder encounter) ?

Yes, not having your proper WBL/gear for your level lowers your APL and therefore encounters become harder.

[heavyfuel]

Yes, not having your proper WBL/gear for your level lowers your APL and therefore encounters become harder.

Which makes you earn more XP in fewer encounters. Fewer encounters equal less treasure. So you're now further further from your WBL than you were before, making you earn even more XP! Which means you level up even faster!! Soon enough you'll be level 20 character with a +2 weapon!!!

[Psyren]

Which makes you earn more XP in fewer encounters. Fewer encounters equal less treasure. So you're now further further from your WBL than you were before, making you earn even more XP! Which means you level up even faster!! Soon enough you'll be level 20 character with a +2 weapon!!!

I know this is blue text, but you can just do high-wealth encounters for the CR too :smallbiggrin: Dragons are pretty loaded for instance!

[Conradine]

Or take control of a goblin tribe, perform a ton of sacrifices and craft your own ( corrupted ) magic equipment.

[weckar]

Why did it have to be goblins?

[Conradine]

In order of importance:

1- Nobody cares about them, nobody is going to take a quest for freeing them. Except, mabye, Redcloak.

2- They breed easily and quickly.

3- They're cowardly, not exceedingly aggressive and can be coerced into slavery

4- They're little and omnivores therefore easy to forage ( gnolls and orcs would be much harder to supply with meat )

[weckar]

I like goblins...

[noob]

5: goblin makes quickly formed and good wizard to help with the crafting.
Never forgets if goblins had access to magical education they would dominate the world.

[Kris Moonhand]

5: goblin makes quickly formed and good wizard to help with the crafting.
Never forgets if goblins had access to magical education they would dominate the world.

looks at the Blues...

[noob]

looks at the Blues...

they are the least good goblins at magic(or even psionics): they got level adjustment unlike regular goblins

[Kris Moonhand]

they are the least good goblins at magic(or even psionics): they got level adjustment unlike regular goblins

I play Pathfinder. Blues are hella there. PF threw LA in the garbage where it belongs.

[noob]

I play Pathfinder. Blues are hella there. PF threw LA in the garbage where it belongs.

A civilisation of blues would be unstoppable: they do not need food and learn quickly and reach maturity quickly and they have an high intellect.

[Psyren]

A civilisation of blues would be unstoppable: they do not need food and learn quickly and reach maturity quickly and they have an high intellect.

The fluff is that they actually take over goblin tribes entirely if left unchecked; in XPH this is primarily behind the scenes through manipulation of the leader and disguise, while in PF they literally subsume the tribe genetically unless stopped. In both cases, Blues are rare because regular goblins turned on them out of fear/hate and brought them to the brink of extinction some time ago.

[Kris Moonhand]

Yeah, what Psyren said. The reason Blues haven't taken over is because either A.) they're too clever to do something so obvious, or B.) regular goblins know these things (as well as adventurers, probably) and kill the **** out of them before it becomes a huge thing.

I've actually got a Blue Cryptic who is trying to rebuild her race and has a hate-on for regular goblins because of that whole, you know, eugenics thing. She's been disguised as a halfling and subtly influencing the party and NPCs not to trust even nice goblins, because "those greenskin bastards killed my son". Such pathos, very vengeance.