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My players recently wanted to render an NPC unconscious to make transporting him a little easier. We ended up using the standard damage rules (which state that a character, in this case a henchman, falls unconscious after receiving dramatic wounds equal to their Resolve).

The problem with this tactic is that dramatic wounds are a pretty big deal. They don't go away on their own until the end of the story, and you need surgery to make them go away sooner.

Is there a rule somewhere I'm missing to account for this sort of thing?

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semi-OT: even if there isn't one, there should be, so the GM should have allowed you to do something like that. – Lohoris Feb 17 '11 at 11:27
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@Lo'oris I was the GM. I did allow them to (I basically glossed over the mechanics). IMO, that should go without saying :) – AceCalhoon Feb 17 '11 at 14:07

1 Answer

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We used a house rule where characters could blunt their weapons for the duration of the combat. The characters would have to describe what blunting action they take (use the flat side of the sword, for example), and some weapons (pistols) cannot be blunted.

A blunted weapon counts as regular damage for the duration of combat, but, once combat is over, all damage drops one damage category - ie, flesh wounds go away immediately, and dramatic wounds become flesh wounds.

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How (at what ratio) do dramatic wounds convert to flesh wounds? – Xabei Apr 12 at 1:55
With our rules, immediately once combat is over. With some leeway, of course. A character which falls unconscious is, for example, assumed to stay unconscious for long enough to be tied up, etc. – blueberryfields Apr 12 at 13:26
But what is the ratio? I mean, 1 FW per DW, or do you take notes how many FW it took to get each DW, and then you convert each DW to that many FW? Converting 1DW to 1FW seems to result in too low a number. – Xabei Apr 12 at 14:35
We used 1:1, and it worked well for us. The weapons are supposed to be blunted, after all. – blueberryfields Apr 12 at 17:54
Thanks, we'll probably give it a try. – Xabei Apr 12 at 18:31

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