Talk:Mugging Rules
Noah: Hmm. I'm not crazy about the way these rules work. Why would, say, a 13th level wizard be harder to sap than a 10th level fighter? Why would CON modify AC to hit? I can see where it could modify the percentile chance of knockout, but not why it would prevent normal dice damage. And if a thief can't take additional rounds to aim a backstab, why should he be able to aim a mugging attack?
I propose alternate rules, spelled out here:
1. A helmeted character cannot be sapped. The sap attack works by applying a sharp blow to a certain point on the back of the skull. You might be able to do dice damage sapping a helmeted character, but the helmet will prevent the chance of knockout.
2. As with a backstab, the victim must be unaware of the thief's presence. The attacker must also have unobstructed access to the back of the victim's head (that is, a halfling might have difficulty sapping a giant).
3. The negative modifier for the called shot to the head (-4) mitigates the thief's bonus for rear attack (+4) so that a sap attack is made using base THAC0. For humanoids without natural armor, the head is considered AC 10; no armor, dex or shield bonus applies (although certain magical bonuses might).
4. After a successful attack, the dice damage is multiplied by 10% and subtracted from the victim's system shock score. The victim then makes a system shock roll with the modified score. Failure indicates a knockout for 3d10 rounds (or some other reasonable amount of time).
EXAMPLE: Stinky Pete (a third level fighter/thief with a strength of 16), saps Gribble (a fifth level dwarven cleric with a constitution of 14) with a warhammer, doing 4 points of total damage. Gribble's system shock is 88%, minus 40% for the damage inflicted, means he must roll below 48% or go unconscious. Gribble rolls a 52 and drops like a stone.
If you think it is still too easy to sap someone in this fashion, the negative modifier for the called shot could be increased to, say, -6 or -8 (anything above that doesn't really seem reasonable, though), or the percentile multiplier could be reduced to 5% (I am more in favor of the former, however -- if you manage to hit with your sap, it should have a good chance of causing a knockout).
Furthermore, there should be some size differential. A medium sized humanoid should have a better chance of knocking out a small size humanoid than a giant size humanoid (and a giant size humanoid should have an easier chance of knocking out a medium sized humanoid than another giant). Thus, I think, the damage multiplier should scale accordingly; that is, a medium size humanoid has a 10%/point chance of scoring a knockout versus another medium size humanoid, a 20%/point chance versus small humanoids, but only 5%/point chance versus a giant.
In any event, the point of sapping is not to grant a thief an easy way to knock out Bardas Phocas so said thief can then slit the pretender's throat. Rather, it is a way of quietly subduing low-level and 0th level humanoids without all the mess of a backstab -- to incapacitate a character without applying lethal force. Of course, if dice damage exceeds the victim's hit points, your mugging may end up a murder anyway. But it is much less likely.
Comments?
thecomicman: do you just not like the concept of easy-to-understand and therefore implement rules? what is this size modifier business? the same rules apply to a mugging as would to a backstab, i.e. if you're not tall enough to backstab, you're not tall enough to mug. and now i'm done mocking your need for overly complex rules.
a 13th level wizard is harder to sap than a 10th level fighter because the wizard's been around the block more often. also, he might not be if the CON scores are vastly different. mugging high-level characters should be super hard. your rules allow Rey to knock out Bardas Phocas, get a drink, do a fucking jig, maybe take a bath, do another jig, and then slit his throat. and if maybe that second jig took too long and Bardas woke, well who cares? Rey'll just mug him again. my rules allow for the ability to quietly subdue 0th and lower level characters and not dance around the prone figure of SuperBadAss 50th-Level Guy.
