Talk:Bludgeoning is Less Lethal; Piercing and Slashing are More Lethal (3.5e Variant Rule)

Ratings

	Ghostwheel opposes this article and rated it 0 of 4.
	Bludgeoning weapons already tend to get the shorter end of the stick, with lower damage, crit range, and crit threat compared to slashing and piercing weapons. This basically makes creatures immune to nonlethal damage immune to the crits of bludgeoning weapons, which helps in no way. I don't even get why the line regarding piercing and slashing weapons is there.

	Sulacu dislikes this article and rated it 1 of 4.
	Bludgeoning weapons are already getting the shaft in core D&D, so why not drive the nails in further by making them less lethal. Trust me when I say, though, this makes little sense in real life either: receiving a heavy blow from a blunt object may be worse than getting cut.

““driving the nails in”: You seem to be confusing “less lethal” with ‘less effective’.

“real life”: D&D is a fantasy roleplaying game, not a reality roleplaying game.Ideasmith (talk) 00:03, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

She has a good point though. Bludgeoning has no love from WotC for some reason. Usually they're not made of anything you can upgrade nicely, or they are simply inferior stats. Since this rule goes one way for no apparent functional reason, I can't say I stand by it either.

If you want to split up the damage types into more distinct functions, have bludgeoning be most effective vs heavy armor or the like, and slashing/piercing most effective vs light armor. That way neither side just gets a nerf for some reason, and rather they are more circumstantial.

Also, if you do so, address natural armor. Most monsters you face don't wear armor at all, so that might end up making it piercing/slashing friendly by accident if it is left unaddressed. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 02:27, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

Kinda suspect this is a buff to bludgeoning in some cases actually: allows you to bonk people without risking a chance of accidentally critting them to death. --Foxwarrior (talk) 09:06, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

That's an option, not a buff. That is, in general, neutral to a straight up nerf.

The sap is also upset not that these other fakers are stepping on its grill. Merciful enhancement wants to have some words too. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 09:29, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

The sap is also upset not that these other fakers are stepping on its grill. Merciful enhancement wants to have some words too. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 09:29, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

I’ve re-examined how lethal and nonlethal compare and okay, nonlethal is a nerf. Though not all playing styles leave healing during combat useful.

I’ve also re-examined the effort needed to apply the rule, and the likelihood of forgetting to apply it. I am not estimating these as ‘too much’ and ‘too high’ and have dropped this variant from my userpage.

The sap problem Eiji-kun pointed out will need to be fixed. Possibly specify that this rule only applies to the extra die roll, not to the bonuses thereof? Ideasmith (talk) 00:34, 11 July 2016 (UTC)