Can you do non-lethal damage with Thunder Gauntlets?

[nickl_2000]

They do thunder damage, which generally means no. However if it a melee weapon, so that should mean yes. Any clue?

[stoutstien]

Per the PHB the only stipulation is a Melee attack is used so it's RaW to deal non lethal damage with TG or even a Melee spell for that matter.

[Lavaeolus]

5e doesn't really have explicit "non-lethal" damage. There's no mention of it in the book: damage is damage, whether it be bludgeoning, thunder, or whatever else.

What it does have is a rule on Knocking Out, which says:

When an attacker reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the attacker can knock the creature out. The attacker can make this choice the instant the damage is dealt. The creature falls unconscious and is stable.

Did you reduce them to 0 hit points? Check. Was it a melee attack? Check.

Note that, as-written, melee spell attacks are also fair game for KOing someone. Throwing a melee weapon, meanwhile, isn't. (Though if a PC wanted to take someone alive and was specialised around ranged attacks, I'd probably at the least let the creature roll death saves, to give the PC a chance to intervene.)

It also means you can't, say, prep someone with a unarmed beatdown then finish them up with a fireball... but you can do the reverse. Final blow's what counts, RAW.

[nickl_2000]

5e doesn't really have explicit "non-lethal" damage. There's no mention of it in the book: damage is damage, whether it be bludgeoning, thunder, or whatever else.

What it does have is a rule on Knocking Out, which says:


Did you reduce them to 0 hit points? Check. Was it a melee attack? Check.

Note that, as-written, melee spell attacks are also fair game for KOing someone. Throwing a melee weapon, meanwhile, isn't. (Though if a PC wanted to take someone alive and was specialised around ranged attacks, I'd probably at the least let the creature roll death saves, to give the PC a chance to intervene.)

This is the old edition player in me coming out for naming. Back in my days we used THACO and were happy to have it!

Grognardly themes aside, for some reason I was thinking that it was a melee weapon attack not a melee attack. Thanks!

[stoutstien]

This is the old edition player in me coming out for naming. Back in my days we used THACO and were happy to have it!

Grognardly themes aside, for some reason I was thinking that it was a melee weapon attack not a melee attack. Thanks!

Not really surprising. The whole Melee vs ranged weapon overlay with ranged/melee attacks is a mess.