When is PC Mutilation "Good"?

[Gloinar]

In my opinion, Mutilating someones hand, arm, leg, tongue, almost anything that comes with IC impairments is a last resort option. This should be so because from the character who is getting mutilated's perception, they have much less reason to want to play said character. Instead of resorting to impairing a players character on first, second, or even third encounter, try and do something else that might represent the action you are trying to do.

Say, cut a finger, toe, ear, or nose off, so that they still are mutilated, but not in a way that would affect their gameplay. We are all people behind those little characters, and from my perspective, there would be no reason to play a PC who has one arm, or one hand, their "adventuring days" would be over in a IC sense.

And sure, you can TRY and play it off, but it draws from the fun of the game.

This has nothing to do with anything that happened to me IG, other than I quit the PC. But that's on me.

I just think that there should be more thought going into such a extreme measure of action.

_ end rant

[Dillusionist]

Mechanically, limb-loss IS more crippling than killing someone and forcing their friends to pay for a raise - something oft forgotten - whether or not frequent resurrections are immersion breaking is another matter.

I really don't know if its just a consequence of players not pushing plots hard enough, but I have seen more PCs come back from the dead than have their lost-limbs regrown. Its really a very permanent impairment for a world saturated with magic.

This is just my experience but I notice maiming is often used to make a statement of "look how tough I am," as opposed to the result of prolonged conflict between PCs. As a villain your goal is to make people want to kill you, and hate you, but most of all cherish interacting with you. Humiliating your foe: Stealing a prized weapon, draining blood, caning your foe, or chopping off his dwarfbeard gets the job done.

[Mortui]

As a villain your goal is to make people want to kill you, and hate you, but most of all cherish interacting with you.

I disagree, just because a character is a villain doesn't mean they should have to make people want to kill them, villain characters have goals and amazing stories too, most of the time they're better than Paladin no. 666, they should be treated as more than monstrous PCs.

However, onto the topic, I've never had a character maimed so my experience is laughable at best, but severe maiming certainly should be used like FD, only when it's appropriate.

[Ebok]

Yes, limb loss is definitely something to hold in a much higher regard then scarring or even death. It's sometimes better to provide an interesting end then to maim, especially if what you're maiming hinders their ability to function in a serious way. Like taking a hand or arm off a two-hander or spellcaster, consider a leg instead.

Unless they down right deserve to suffer, but again, deciding if its been EARNED should be a big deal.

[Random_White_Guy]

If my PC is a grizzled warrior who says "Touch my fucking chicken again and you lose the hand", and someone goes "Tee hee okay [pokes chicken]"

That sumbitch is losing a hand.

It's all a matter of IC events/DM presence/RP of your PC but the way I see it IC is IC.  If you run up and depants a Bhaalan murderer sometimes you're gonna get murdered.

I know humility and cowardice and such in EFU are something that people are very "HAW HAW PROVE IT" until hands start coming off, but if you cut off enough hands people will go "Fuck I'm not gonna touch Gerald's chicken, and you shouldn't either".

[Deadlykate]

From what I have seen, losing a limb actually brings more challenge to your pc. People in the past have actually been able to turn their weakness into losing a limb into their strength, look at Jeb Rattles. He lost his hand, got a metal hand that made him stronger. Perhaps it is annoying but you should look at the possibilities and options this may open.

[Cat]

From what I have seen, losing a limb actually brings more challenge to your pc. People in the past have actually been able to turn their weakness into losing a limb into their strength, look at Jeb Rattles. He lost his hand, got a metal hand that made him stronger. Perhaps it is annoying but you should look at the possibilities and options this may open.

Mari and Baelian have also lost limbs, and they are still going on strong.

[Valhalla]

Going to come down with RwG on this one. If you get in the situation where someone might mutilate your PC, giving them lip or otherwise provoking them isn't going to help. You can only expect people to bend what's IC so far in the name of everyone having a good time, and keeping the cool conflict times a-rollin'.

People shouldn't be hacking bits off willy-nilly, but all pvp is really a two-way street.

[Vlaid]

Losing a limb isn't ALWAYS a bad thing. As others have said, sometimes it turns into some DM plot thing where you get some juju hand/arm, or a metal replacement, or some special training to overcome it, whatever.

But at the same time impairing someone should REALLY come with a good reason. Not just 'cause you really don't like someone or wanted to kill them but decided to be "merciful" in impairing them. It can really cripple a concept completely (such as spellcasters or someone focused completely on using a two handed weapon).

If you do something specifically to earn it, you earned it. But it shouldn't be something you do just because you think it sounds badass or something. It's a big deal, as big a deal as FD if not bigger.

[Arc]

If you dont kill or maim the PC, 9/10 times they come right back, invis with 3 other people fully buffed and do exactly to you what you didn't do to them. Which is okay, I dont object to that. Its IC.

But it's also IC that its idiotic to capture your worst enemy, traitor, or rebel to your cause, beat them up, then let them off with no true scar. If you dont wanna lose an arm, dont put yourself in a position that you might lose an arm. If you go around screaming "Suck my balls" at ganglords, yeah, you are gonna lose an arm, and that's entirely your own fault.

[GetPoked]

instead of full limb loss, go scarification. Cut off PARTS of an ear, snip someones lip in two to give them a hair, or a nostril. or just take the end of a pinky or ring finger. That sort of thing.

[Zango_Unchained]

Perhaps the victim should consider this before he or she decides to engage someone known for removing limbs? Perhaps a degree of fear in fighting certain people should arise.

If I icly knew "This guy removes limbs if you lose" I would be terrified of fighting them. Because they can really mess up your day. Dieing is exp loss, limb loss is a highly difficult stat hit to remove. You can't just go to your friendly neighborhood cleric and ask for a restoration, your sol if someone chops off a limb.

So in all honesty, ritualistic maimers/murders/bhallites should be held in greater fear then your normal murderers in a land of magical revival.

And when you lose a limb it isn't the end of your pc. Your in the underdark, where losing a limb is the least of your worries. If your intelligent about what you do. The chances of ending up legless/armless/handless are low.

[PanamaLane]

I'd say the character I had the most fun with in EFU was a cripple (before it was cool). Granted, I went into that concept knowing that was the case, but there are many ways to make being amputated work to your advantage. For example, anytime someone wanted to hit my character (often) I'd play the "you wouldn't hit a cripple card" (disclaimer only works in some situations) :)

EFU is a really tough challenge, you are going to die, you are going to have set backs, and on rare occasions, you might lose a limb. The key to the game, in my humble opinion, is overcoming those set backs- not cruising through without hardship and hitting level 10. Hardship is what its about.

No build is "destroyed" as long as your character is still alive. Adapt, use these things as spring boards to interact with other PC's and NPC's who might help you overcome.

[Ziya]

Do correct me if I am wrong, but the mechanical penalties for losing a left arm is simply that you can't hold two-handed weapons. It doesn't even affect AB or reduce the number of attacks a, let's say, monk, has. Mechanically, it barely hurts to lose a left arm. Perhaps doesn't hurt at all.

[Maelstrom]

Do correct me if I am wrong, but the mechanical penalties for losing a left arm is simply that you can't hold two-handed weapons. It doesn't even affect AB or reduce the number of attacks a, let's say, monk, has. Mechanically, it barely hurts to lose a left arm. Perhaps doesn't hurt at all.

It also applies spellcasting failure. Something I've learned on Seivjar.