Wanted: Alive!

[Lyavel "Arashi"]

Okay, so I'm a DM running a demon-based campain. My players walked into a trap I had set for them, where they were surrounded by a large number of powerful demons in a room with no way out.
My players all agreed it'd be easier to just say they were captured to avoid wasting time on a futile battle, but two of them insisted stubbornly on playing it out.
They are now currently in the Abyss due to an Amulet of the Planes. The rest of the party is there too and I could easily have the destination of the plane shift be where I wanted them to go in the first place, but what's the fun in that?
So now for my question. I want an NPC that can do major damage, but only knock them out. I am aware of a prestige class in Complete Adventurer called Bloodhound who can turn lethal melee damage around so that it just sets them at -1. I also think it'd be appropriate for some levels in Mortal Hunter from Book of Vile Darkness, since both players are human and they're in the Abyss. That would require the NPC to be the outsider type. I'd also like Sneak Attack and other abilities that give more damage to attacks, since one of the players in question thrives on Sneak Attack damage, so I wanna beat him at his own game. That would require me to have abilities that allow me to hide in mid battle. Does anyone have any suggestions to which outsider race and what classes the hunter should be?

[Leewei]

Just have a demon 5 or more levels higher than the PCs cast blasphemy. PCs are all paralyzed, dazed and strength-reduced. Game over.

[GallóglachMaxim]

There's the Subduing Strike feat in BoED, deal nonlethal damage with normal weapons (including sneak attack damage). No alignment-based (or other) prerequisites.

[playswithfire]

I like Justiciar (Complete Warrior) better than Bloodhound for capturing people alive and it gets bonus damage when subduing people. If I remember right, I tend to build it around Ranger//Swordsage and Superior Unarmed Strike, maybe mix in a few other things (mortal hunter works well as it's also WIS based). As for outsider races, I don't know those all that well, but I'll try to come up with something.

[Sploosh]

Make them fighter 20 with two weapon fighting.

[ericgrau]

Get a merciful weapon and pick any build you want for the sneak attack guy. Even the sneak attack damage will be nonlethal, since it's the same kind of damage as the weapon. Or just use a sap.

To hide in the middle of battle get HiPS from a class like shadowdancer, greater invisiblity, darkness, etc. Or flank. Or win initiative and get a full round of sneak attacks plus the surprise round. There are a million ways out there to get sneak attack.

[Tarvus]

Get a merciful weapon and pick any build you want for the sneak attack guy. Even the sneak attack damage will be nonlethal, since it's the same kind of damage as the weapon. Or just use a sap.

Along these lines this is pretty cool. I always wanted to use one as a DM.

[Telonius]

Whelm and Overwhelm are good spell choices if you have any casters in the monster group.

[Dixieboy]

Along these lines this is pretty cool. I always wanted to use one as a DM.

The enemy would have to only "kill" one of the players and then retreat, or carry several though.

[JeenLeen]

There's the Subduing Strike feat in BoED, deal nonlethal damage with normal weapons (including sneak attack damage). No alignment-based (or other) prerequisites.

All Exalted feats have Good alignment requirement, even if not mentioned explicitly in the feat. It's mentioned in the text introducing the feat section to BoED.
(My apologies if Subduing Strike is a General feat, not an Exalted feat.)

Remember that you can always do nonlethal damage by taking a -2 or -4 (I forget which) on your attack roll. If you're building an NPC with that style, though, better to do it through feats or classes.

[Yuki Akuma]

All Exalted feats have Good alignment requirement, even if not mentioned explicitly in the feat. It's mentioned in the text introducing the feat section to BoED.

Well let's see...

Subduing Strike [General]

Well I'll be.

(Also note that Nonlethal Substitution is not an Exalted feat and also has no alignment restrictions.)

[Kaiyanwang]

Make them fighter 20 with two weapon fighting.

Could you please explain this? Beacasue I tried to read it in both ways, and is in both ways wrong..

[Dixieboy]

Well let's see...



Well I'll be.

(Also note that Nonlethal Substitution is not an Exalted feat and also has no alignment restrictions.)

(My apologies if Subduing Strike is a General feat, not an Exalted feat.)

Filling up space

[Yuki Akuma]

I do not accept your apology. >.>

Come on, at least look things up to make sure you're right before you tell someone they're wrong.