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View Full Version : Amputations in d20.



an kobold
2008-01-13, 05:44 PM
So, you and your 1st or 2nd level party are out, kicking kobolds and taking names, and suddenly, something bad happens to one of your appendages, and it starts turning black/growing leaves/trying to choke you, etc. Thanks to some DM fiendishness and botched heal checks, everyone, including the cleric, agree with the dumb fighter's suggestion to amputate. You're held down against your will and hear a *whack,* accompanied with some sickening bone movements in said appendage, before fading into blackness. You awake with a bandaged stump.

First off, what's your attitude towards amputation in games, specifically DnD, especially at low level? Do you use called shots or a critical hit system set forth in the 3rd party Torn Asunder in combat, or do you think a character should only loose a limb because of medical amputation? And at low levels, in the wilderness, those special magic limbs and that handy dandy regeneration spell are thousands of miles and experience points away. Any house rules regarding the matter? I'm mostly curious to see how people handle a risk of combat using slashing weapons that's only really mentioned in the core rules under a (relatively) high level spell description.

Obrysii
2008-01-13, 05:55 PM
I would keep it in the metagame - no called shots, but a consequence of poorly treated wounds.

F.L.
2008-01-13, 06:01 PM
Well, about the only way to salvage a lost limb for a character (until the regen spell) is to set up a simple prosthesis that incorporates what you usually held in that hand anyway. Alternately, look for a fleshwarper, or possibly see if you could get polymorphed into a troll.

holywhippet
2008-01-13, 06:20 PM
For in game terms, I'd seek out someone who can cast regenerate (a cleric or druid) and if you can't meet the asking price, ask about quests you can do to trade for a casting.

daggaz
2008-01-13, 06:50 PM
Loss of a limb is pretty much end_of_the_story for most 1st and 2nd lvl characters. The effects are just too profound when you are that weak already, and as the OP points out, the cure too far away.

DM's should be very careful when it comes to amputations, I certainly wouldn't do that to my players without very good ingame reasons.

holywhippet
2008-01-13, 07:12 PM
Loss of a limb is pretty much end_of_the_story for most 1st and 2nd lvl characters. The effects are just too profound when you are that weak already, and as the OP points out, the cure too far away.

DM's should be very careful when it comes to amputations, I certainly wouldn't do that to my players without very good ingame reasons.

If nothing else, the DM should provide a decent way to recover the limb. Probably not by providing them with a Vecna replacement though.

horseboy
2008-01-13, 07:36 PM
Well, that's why you never play a skinny person in Harn.

RM: Let's see, severing (mostly fatal) start at 91+ C's. Eh, you're dead at that level on any other chart anyways.

Amputations are bad, mkay?

Tempest Fennac
2008-01-14, 03:41 AM
In regards to infections, wouldn't a cure spell stop that from happening? If not, there's an Orison called Cleanliness which cleans 1 creature. Also, Prestigitation could be used to clean people.

Voyager_I
2008-01-14, 05:02 AM
And at low levels, in the wilderness, those special magic limbs and that handy dandy regeneration spell are thousands of miles and experience points away.

The nearest Cleric of moderate power is on the other side of the continent, and despite being a Neutral Good priest of Pelor absolutely refuses to help anyone who can't pay in full up front?

Laurellien
2008-01-14, 06:34 AM
Try becoming a half-golem. The grafts are deliberately supposed to be cheap (make sure you have a good will save), but I'm not sure of the price.

Narmoth
2008-01-14, 07:01 AM
What I imagine would be the effects of amputation:
loss of off-hand:
- can't use 2 handed weapons and can't use off-hand weapon can't use missile weapons like crossbow (except hand) and bow without a prosthesis than incorporates the weapon.
- can use shield, can use weapon that is incorporated into the prosthesis, but it would usually be something simple, like a khatar or something, and only smal weapons.
- has problems with riding a horse (the reins are held in the off-hand), climbing a rope and disarming traps, getting into and out of armour, taking 2x normal time, problems with swimming

loss of main hand:
- can't cast some spells with gesture components, can't use a bow or crossbow (except hand) and can't use 2 handed weapons. Has to learn to use his weapons in the off-hand, getting huge minuses on it until investing additional skill points in it, can't pick pockets and do other dexterious work learned with the main hand only
- has problems with climbing a rope or a ladder, problems with writing, picking locks and disarming traps, getting into and out of armour, taking 3x normal time, problems with swimming

loss of leg:
- problems with walking and climbing
- can't run, can't get on or off horse without help, can't walk long distances
- unstable, easier to tumble than normally

loss of head:
- instant death

Prophaniti
2008-01-14, 09:45 AM
loss of head:
- instant death

Gee, that seems a little harsh. What if they never used it anyway?:smalltongue:

Loss of limbs is usually one of those things I gloss over, because we're here to have fun, and there is nothing fun about losing a limb. If a player manages to get himself into some kind of situation where I can't come up with a good reason for them not to lose an arm or leg(and no way to recover it), I generally allow them to create a new character, their previous one retiring from adventuring since they can't do it anymore.

kamikasei
2008-01-14, 09:58 AM
What I imagine would be the effects of amputation:
...
loss of head:
- instant death

I think you'd have to have a pretty exceptionally foolish party to see a head "amputated" as a medical treatment...

Voyager_I
2008-01-14, 10:16 AM
Really? I'd imagine it one of the best cures for characters afflicted with otherwise inoperable annoyingness. Common symptoms include playing a Paladin, playing a Rogue, specializing in Evocation, being Lawful Good, any form of Neutral, or Chaotic Evil, treating every situation like a random encounter, etc.


...come to think of it, it may prove to be effective on players, too...

kamikasei
2008-01-14, 10:20 AM
Really? I'd imagine it one of the best cures for characters afflicted with otherwise inoperable annoyingness. Common symptoms include playing a Paladin, playing a Rogue, specializing in Evocation, being Lawful Good, any form of Neutral, or Chaotic Evil, treating every situation like a random encounter, etc.

It's generally considered unethical to perform surgery on one person to cure another's condition (in this case, annoyance). :smallwink:

caden_varn
2008-01-14, 10:31 AM
AEG's Swashbuckling system allows players to 'buy-off' an opponents critical at the cost of losing a limb of some variety.

Of course, the flavour of a swashbuckling game tends to discourage two-handed weapons and shields, so it is perhaps less devastating. And if the alternative is death in a system without resurrection, losing that hand/foot/eye probably starts to seem much more appealing... :smallbiggrin:

Worira
2008-01-14, 10:51 AM
Narmoth, DnD characters are ambidextrous. You can change what counts as your primary hand and what counts as your off hand round by round.

Leicontis
2008-01-14, 11:32 AM
This was not the case in 3.0 - the big disadvantage of rolling Ambidexterity into TWF was a loss of notable handedness.

In any case, I saw one case where a PC in my party would have been killed outright by a troll's rend attack, and the GM had his arm come off instead. This char was a greatsword fighter. Luckily, we were already on our way to what turned out to be the home of a friendly Titan. We kinda used up our reward for a Regenerate spell from him, which put the char back together.

To me, that's an excellent example of good fudging - that guy was probably one of the best players in our group, and his char was quite interesting, so it was nice to not have him keel over.

an kobold
2008-01-14, 06:01 PM
The nearest Cleric of moderate power is on the other side of the continent, and despite being a Neutral Good priest of Pelor absolutely refuses to help anyone who can't pay in full up front?

Merely a hypothetical situation. Who knows, maybe the DM enjoys grim and dark low magic campaigns, so 7th level spell of any type is extremely rare and powerful. Or maybe the DM just hates you:smalltongue: .



loss of head:
- instant death

What if the Head of Vecna is near:smallwink: ? Otherwise, about what I'd suspect/use.


Narmoth, DnD characters are ambidextrous. You can change what counts as your primary hand and what counts as your off hand round by round.

Player: This is a grand opponent you've put us up against. Better than my fighting skills, even.

DM: Then why are you smiling?

Player: I know something you don't know.

DM: That is. .?

Player: I am not really left handed!

DM: :smallannoyed:


I've seen (under a rather mean DM in turns of wounds) both a character retire from adventuring and continue after loosing a limb. The latter used his as a role-playing opportunity (he was a swash, so it didn't really matter) and got some penalties to things like balance and tumble while getting a slight penalty to feinting, because, as the DM ruled, "how many people train to fight one armed bluff monkeys?"