Also, d4 is the damage of a dagger, which is a weapon made specifically to kill people and has a ~25% chance of killing a commoner (who typically has 4 hp) in one hit with just the rolled damage.
Thing is, if you’re trying to bite someone to death the neck is the most natural target (vs. bending down to take a chunk out of their stomach or trying to open the veins in the arms). The difficulty is more in actually getting in range, which realistically would get down to grappling in a fight.
NPCs and monsters automatically die at zero HP in DmD 5th and the editions prior that I was the DM for. There was a reminder that the DM could choose to let them go under, but the default was death on zero for non-player characters and monsters.
Just imagine tracking death saving throws for every NPC and weak monsters…
But imagine a barbarian bit a DM, and then some guy who hit the gym a lot and could lift as much as the barbarian bit an identical DM. I maintain that the barbarian would do more damage, due to a lifetime of e.g. breaking bones with their mouth, gnawing the bark off a tree, etc.
but why would a barbarian do all those things? the barbarian class is just a strong and tough guy who gets angry, not an actual barbarian that eats bark and stuff like that
i mean they can be but they can also be simple people who are strong and get angry easily (without doing what people would call barbarities)
hmmm you may have a point. I guess I was thinking of barbarian in terms of:
People of towns and cities take pride in their settled ways, as if denying one’s connection to nature were a mark of superiority. To a barbarian, though, a settled life is no virtue, but a sign of weakness. The strong embrace nature—valuing keen instincts, primal physicality, and ferocious rage. Barbarians are uncomfortable when hedged in by walls and crowds. They thrive in the wilds of their homelands: the tundra, jungle, or grasslands where their tribes live and hunt.
LOL, that’s amazing.
Also, d4 is the damage of a dagger, which is a weapon made specifically to kill people and has a ~25% chance of killing a commoner (who typically has 4 hp) in one hit with just the rolled damage.
I’d give it a flat 1HP, if that. Unless you get me in the neck, I doubt any human bite would take 25% of this commoners HP.
Thing is, if you’re trying to bite someone to death the neck is the most natural target (vs. bending down to take a chunk out of their stomach or trying to open the veins in the arms). The difficulty is more in actually getting in range, which realistically would get down to grappling in a fight.
Do commoners not go down to -9? I don’t think any session I’ve ever played bothered with caring about the peasantry, lmao
Not since 3.5.
NPCs and monsters automatically die at zero HP in DmD 5th and the editions prior that I was the DM for. There was a reminder that the DM could choose to let them go under, but the default was death on zero for non-player characters and monsters.
Just imagine tracking death saving throws for every NPC and weak monsters…
Exactly. I mean it’s a cute story but I 100% still thinks that is 1d4 damage lol
I’m not looking to get married, but keep in mind it’s a Barbarian bite. So the biter’s half-feral and accustomed to gnawing on raw meat.
thats why the d4 has +strength modifier though
But imagine a barbarian bit a DM, and then some guy who hit the gym a lot and could lift as much as the barbarian bit an identical DM. I maintain that the barbarian would do more damage, due to a lifetime of e.g. breaking bones with their mouth, gnawing the bark off a tree, etc.
but why would a barbarian do all those things? the barbarian class is just a strong and tough guy who gets angry, not an actual barbarian that eats bark and stuff like that
i mean they can be but they can also be simple people who are strong and get angry easily (without doing what people would call barbarities)
hmmm you may have a point. I guess I was thinking of barbarian in terms of:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/9-barbarian
In the context of embracing nature and thriving in the wilds, it seems like a barbarian would have more cause to use their teeth.
Not even 1d4. It’s just 1 + STR, which is standard for an unarmed strike.
Unless the biter has tavern brawler feat