If I were to DM a D&D game, here are some rules I would include.
To start, I made rules for strangulation. Can you believe that the Handbook had nothing on strangulation? It's one of the most common methods of murder, for crying out loud! They have rules for suffocation, but my rogue isn't going to leap at her enemy and stuff a pillow in his face for a minimum of six rounds! I have taken the honor here.
I also think that unconscious characters shouldn't stay that way indefinitely. If you endeavor to awakwen somone, there's a good chance you will, even if they're still weak once awake.
Similarly, it really makes no sense for someone with a +25 modifier to Open Lock to utterly fail one out of twenty times thanks to a natural 1. It leads to a ha-ha moment in some social situations, but it can really unnecessarily raise tempers in high tension moment. "Dude! You have a +20 Diplomacy; you should merely
look at him and he trusts you forver! How did you manage to strike up a blood-oathe rivalry? Where are we supposed to get novelty helmets now!?"
88392v’s House Rules:
Strangulation:
Fortitude Save: success = 1d4 nonlethal damage (2d4 if garrote is used)
Strangling is different from suffocation because it not only suffocates the target but cuts off blood flow to the brain. Therefore, it is faster in dispatching an opponent than suffocation or typical grappling, but can only be performed against characters one size larger, the same size, or one size smaller than the attacker that have definable necks and heads in which reside a brain that requires breathing to live. The front half of the neck must also be clear of armor designed specifically to protect the neck from strangulation, such as a bevor. Chain mail does not provide this protection, though a gorget gives the victim +2 against the touch attack to initiate strangulation (see Step 2). One cannot strangle with a locked gauntlet.
1. To strangle an opponent, PCs must successfully grapple (inciting an attack of opportunity), then pin the target. If the attacker has Improved Grapple, they need not pin before initiating strangulation (see Step 2).
2. Once the opponent is at their mercy, they must make a touch attack to begin strangling (-2 with gauntlets) which provokes an attack of opportunity from surrounding enemies, but not the victim. If failed, strangling does not begin, but the pin is not lost. The touch attack can be made again on the attacker’s next turn to initiate strangulation.
3. Does the victim go unconscious? On the first round of a successfully initiated strangulation, the victim makes a Fortitude Save against the attacker’s Strength check (+4 if garrote is used). If succeeded, the victim fends off unconsciousness (go to Step 4). If the Fortitude Save fails, the victim goes unconscious (0 HP); go to Step 5.
4. Does the victim escape? The victim will not go unconscious until its Fortitude Save fails to a Strength check, and another Strength check is made each round the attacker continues to strangle. Every successful Fortitude Save staves off unconsciousness, but comes with 1d4 nonlethal damage inherent to being strangled (2d4 if garrote is used).
If the attacker fails to send the victim unconscious, the victim can try to throw off the attacker with an oppose grapple check (which ends the pin and leaves the two normally grappling). The attacker takes -2 to grapple checks because he is using both hands to strangle.
The victim can also use a Strength check opposed by the opponent’s Strength check to try and pry off his hands instead of an oppose grapple check as noted above, placing them into a normal pin.
A conscious character being strangled cannot speak. It does, however, flail and kick its feet loudly.
5. In the round following unconsciousness, the victim drops to -1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, he suffocates to death. No saves are made after unconsciousness. The attacker can stop strangling at any time, and a victim rendered unconscious or dying by the strangulation is automatically left stable.
Strangling is a full-round action after the initial grappling turn.
The feat Improved Grapple gives +4 to all grapple checks as well as the touch attack to initiate strangling, including during strangulation (but not negating the -2 to continue strangling), and incites no attack of opportunity during the entire process.
The Garrote:
A garrote, or stranglecord, is a strong, thin 2-4 ft cord or wire fitted with sturdy handles specifically designed with strangulation in mind. Therefore, garrotes are not normally produced by weaponsmiths and must be purchased from shady NPCs (thus costing between 7 gp and 2 platinum, depending on haggling and dealer) or looted from thugs or criminals. Use of a garrote casts suspicion on the wielder in the eyes of those who don’t know him.
It is an exotic weapon and exotic weapons proficiency is necessary to wield it. Non-proficient characters take -4 penalty on any +4 bonuses a garrote gives (though the +1 masterwork bonus still applies if applicable), must make a Reflex Save DC 12 to wrap the garrote around a character after rolling the touch attack that initiates strangulation (failing to initiate strangulation if failed), cannot break necks with the garrote, and must make a Reflex Save DC 12 to unwrap and retrieve the garrote from a conscious person they failed to strangle. Double nonlethal damage remains.
It is easier to slip a garrote around an unwary foe’s neck than using one’s hands, so it gives a +4 bonus to the touch attack that determines if strangulation begins in a sneak attack. The wire also cuts off blood and air flow more acutely, thereby artificially increasing the effectiveness of strangling with a +4 bonus to the Strength to make them unconscious, and doubling nonlethal damage done by unsuccessful Strength checks. A garrote also gives the attacker the leverage needed to break the victim’s neck in a wildly successful sneak attack, when the muscles of the neck are most relaxed, thereby killing him (see Strangulation Sneak Attacks below).
A masterwork garrote gives a +1 extra bonus to all bonuses a normal garrote provides, and deals 1 point of extra nonlethal damage to damage received from unsuccessful Strength checks.
A garrote cannot be used on more than one person at once. It is a two-handed weapon but has no notable weight. It cannot be used for any attack except strangling. It can be hid easily on one’s person, so grants +2 to sleight of hand when coiled but has no effect on the skill if not coiled.
Improvised Garrotes:
In a situation that allows for strangling, a character may find himself without a garrote. Instead, a rope, wire, chain, strong strip of cloth (such as a scarf), or cord of at least 4 feet long may be used. As an improvised weapon, the user takes -4 to the touch attack to initiate strangulation. If the character has exotic weapons proficiency with a real garrote, this is negated. The makeshift garrote gives +2 bonus in all the places a real garrote would give +4 (except the touch attack to initiate strangulation), and adds only 1d2 points of nonlethal damage to the 1d4 for failed Strength checks. Masterwork objects used as garrotes give no masterwork bonus unless they are Ropes of Strangling. In that case, the Rope cannot be used for manual strangulation. It must be allowed to strangle by itself (see Rope of Strangling).
Rope of Strangling:
A rope of strangling looks just like any other hempen rope. Upon command the rope lashes forward or upward the rope’s length -3 ft. The target gets a Reflex Save DC 20 to dodge. It is then treated as a garrote if the Save fails. Strangling is initiated as normal from Step 3 forward, but the victim’s Fortitude Save to stay conscious is made against a DC 20. During this time, the victim is flat-footed. A Strength check DC 20 or Escape Artist check DC 20 can be made to escape if still conscious. The user can move and attack freely with a light weapon, but must hold the Rope and stay inside the Rope’s range.
The Rope has AC 22, 12 HP, and hardness 10, and it has damage reduction 5/slashing as well. The Rope repairs damage to itself at a rate of 1 point per five minutes, but if Rope of Strangling is severed (all 12 HP lost to damage), it is destroyed.
A Rope of Strangling cannot be used as a sneak attack weapon.
Strangulation Sneak Attacks:
When a sneak attack is made against an enemy using strangulation, the enemy need not be grappled or pinned. Instead, they are automatically moved right to the touch attack to initiate strangulation (+4 if garrote is used). If the check is unsuccessful, the attacker does not end his turn strangling the opponent or in a pin. Both characters are left standing adjacently and fully aware of one another without a sound, unless the near-victim cries out. If a barehanded strangle is successfully initiated from behind, the opponent is placed into a chokehold, not held with the hands.
The full xd6 that would normally count towards sneak attack damage is used as a replacement for the Strength modifier (+4 if garrote is used) on the Strength check that opposes the victim’s Fortitude.
Strangling then proceeds as stated above from Step 4 forward (skip to Step 5 if the victim is rendered unconscious in the first round and see below for catching bodies); the sneak attack bonus does not apply to future Strength checks if the first was unsuccessful (but +4 if garrote is used) because the element of surprise is lost.
If the victim goes unconscious, he slumps into the attacker’s arms and the attacker must make a Reflex Save [DC 5 + 3/50 lb victim weight] unless he has a chokehold (as mentioned above). If the Save fails, the attacker loses their grip and the body hits the floor in a sound audible in a 5 ft radius + 5 ft for metal armor on resounding surfaces (stone, metal, etc.). The attacker can then walk backwards using one arm to hold the body upright to grant total concealment (up to two body sizes smaller) to his front and the other arm to put away his garrote then wield a light weapon. When moving like this, only half the base speed can be achieved, and standard actions are limited to the use of only one hand. He presents a threat backwards and to either side, but not to the front except with light projectiles (which cannot be manually loaded).
If the victim does not go unconscious in the first round, it flails and kicks its feet loudly, alerting creatures to your presence within 25 ft; +10 ft if it is wearing metal boots or sabatons or the ground makes noise when struck (puddles, mud, dry leaves, stone), and -10 ft if the it is barefoot or the ground is soft and absorbs impact (such as loose dirt rather than stone) (these penalties stack). The attacker can attempt to prevent this with a Strength check DC 16 and a Move Silently check 20. If the attacker is strangling the victim from behind, he can drag him while upright and still strangling him 5 ft per round (Move Silently check DC 25 with conscious opponent); compare to max drag weight. Both hands are occupied with this action. It grants total concealment to the attacker against those on the other side of the victim, and the victim is flat-footed.
If the attacking PC is using a garrote and the Strength check beats the Fortitude Save by 10 or more, he may break the victim’s neck and kill them immediately. According to the DM, this can be accidental (and only prevented if the PC so chooses by rolling a natural 20) or depend on the PC’s intent to kill or render unconscious decided after the roll.
Because sneak attacks can be performed whenever an opponent is deprived of their DEX bonus to AC, it could be used after an Improved Feint (when it is used as a move action) as a standard action. In order to feint for a strangulation sneak attack with a garrote, a false attack must be made with a lethal weapon, then a sleight of hand DC 17 must be made to quickly sheath the weapon and take out the garrote for a sneak attack (DC 10 if a gauntlet is used to feint because only pulling out the garrote is performed). If not using a garrote, a sleight of hand can be made DC 15 to quickly sheathe the lethal weapon before using one’s hands, or the lethal weapon can merely be dropped beside the attacker and no sleight of hand is necessary.
Waking an Unconscious Character:
To wake an unconscious character through mechanical means, one must roll a d20 as a full-round action with modifiers according to the method used. The attempt is made against a [DC 10 + negative hit points] and must be reasonable but not purposeful (i.e., alchemist’s fire should not be used, but accidentally spilling water on a prisoner’s face forces an attempt). Something that would normally cause lethal damage cannot be used. If the attempt does not meet or surpass the DC, nothing happens; if it does, no HP is gained. The character becomes disabled rather than dying. If a 1 is rolled, the attempt is unsuccessful. Below is a list of modifiers:
Slapping the unconscious character’s face: STR modifier.
Cold water: 1d6.
Room temperature water: 1d4.
Warm water: 1d2.
Specialized chemical (smelling salts, etc.): +8.
Loud noise with instrument: Perform modifier.
Yell at character: Intimidate modifier.
Shake character: DEX modifier.
Languages:
Putting a rank in a language does not automatically allow the character to speak the language fluently. Instead, it is rolled as a normal skill that one can take 10 on (outside of battle). If the language uses the same alphabet as a fluently spoken language (see Speak Language in PHB), the skill automatically has 3 ranks (+3 modifier); otherwise it is only 1 rank (+1 modifier). Once there are 10 ranks in the language skill, the language is spoken fluently and no checks need be made (any new alphabet is now mastered, granting +2 ranks automatically to other language skills with that alphabet).
Any language that is fluently spoken grants +4 on Decipher Script checks in that language and +2 on languages using the same alphabet (this +2 does not stack). For 5 ranks in a new language skill (for which the alphabet is not mastered), the character gets +2 on Decipher Script in that language, and can now use Forgery for documents in that language (which is normally impossible).
Sunder Limbs:
In an attempt to sunder limbs, one takes -4 on their attack rolls. Each limb represents 25% of the character’s total HP (left/right arm, left/right leg). The damage dealt to the limb counts as damage dealt to the entire person as normal. The limb is sundered (severed) only if the limb takes 25% of the character’s full HP in one turn. This varies at the DM’s discretion (a greatsword or greataxe needs do less damage than shortsword or battleaxe, but a dagger or handaxe is ineffective).
Bludgeoning weapons break the bones too badly to move, but do not severe the limb. Regenerate or an equivalent must be cast on sundered limbs, though cure spells can fix broken bones. A broken limb can be sundered by dealing only 10% of the creature’s HP in one turn.
Reach Weapons in enclosed spaces:
Reach weapons like the war scythe or spiked chain take an automatic -4 to attack rolls in enclosed spaces. An enclosed space for this purpose is defined as a ceiling 5 ft high or fewer with walls less than 5 ft on both sides (being backed against a wall with plenty of room 180 degrees does not count). If under a short ceiling with plenty of sideways leeway (or vice versa) this penalty does not apply because an alternate method of efficient attack can be found.
Running Attacks:
When running as a full round action, character’s may fire any kind of crossbow once with a -4 penalty to attack roll. To do this, they must run in a straight line the entire turn.
Critical Rolls:
Critical success and failure change once modifiers reach very high levels. For instances of high modifiers, a natural 1, normally a critical failure, is treated as -10. A natural 20 is treated as 30.
It bothers me to no end that garrote, pronounced "guh-ROT" can be spelled garrote, garot, garotte, garote, or garrotte. It's totally ridiculous, that English language!
On a personal note, I prefer "garotte" because it's spelled in the coolest yet most intuitivefashion.
Later, Bolts.
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