Combat in Dungeons & Dragons is typically a lethal affair, but players have the tools to not kill all their enemies in D&D by simply knocking them out, a basic rule that is often overlooked. The 5e D&D rules on knocking a foe unconscious, rather than landing a killing blow, are a modified version of the 4e D&D system. If the player who drops an opponent to zero hit points does so with a melee attack, they can decide if the blow was lethal, or a knockout strike. The 4e D&D rules allowed any player who dealt the final blow to an enemy to make that call, regardless of the attack type. By limiting this to melee attacks, 5e D&D does not allow players to knock out a rival using ranged weapons, like a longbow or an area-of-effect spell like Fireball.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons featured complicated THAC0 tables, and unsurprisingly, the most complex rules for knocking out an opponent as well. Select attacks could do a certain percentage of lethal damage, the D&D standard, as well as a percentage of subdual damage, essentially temporary wounds that could heal faster. The long-running 3.0 and 3.5 editions of D&D retained subdual damage, but made it a bit simpler, as any melee attack could deal its full damage as subdual if the player elected to take a penalty to their attack roll. The prior 4e rules dropped subdual damage and switched the focus to the final attack as the deciding factor on whether an enemy was dead or unconscious. Current 5e D&D retained the 4e approach but limited the choice to melee attackers.
DnD's Knockout Rules Can Make Subduing Enemies More Creative Than Killing Them
There are many scenarios where a knockout attack is preferable in Dungeons & Dragons. Good-aligned characters will certainly have more reasons to ensure every fight is not to the death. A D&D guilt table can stop “murder hobo” behavior, but basic rules of the game make murder unnecessary in many cases. Heroes often clash with sentient creatures who are on differing sides of a conflict, or beasts that are simply acting out of instinct. Many D&D adventures feature scenarios where the heroes find themselves on the wrong side of the law and killing town guards only exacerbates their infamy. Choosing to knock out a bear defending her cubs instead of needlessly killing the animal shows respect for nature, and subduing guards helps prove the adventuring party is not a group of wanton murderers.
When building a new party at session zero, players should give some thought to taking enemies alive. Even less altruistic characters might need to keep a foe alive for interrogation, and spells like Speak With Dead are not a substitute for simply using a knockout blow. A character’s alignment and outlook could impact their fighting style. Players creating a righteous D&D Paladin may note the majority of smite spells only trigger from melee attacks, a case where the mechanics a character who routinely knocks out their foes instead of killing them outright. There are certainly good-aligned ranged weapon specialists, but there are many cases where these heroes might allow their companions to land the final blow or make use of a backup melee weapon.
Paladins are not the only characters who can specialize in taking down their foes without ending their lives. Many picture the iconic rogue delivering a sneak attack to the enemy’s vital organs, but melee sneak attack knockouts are entirely legitimate in 5e D&D. A raging barbarian wading into melee can bash their enemies into unconsciousness instead of killing them, as rage does not limit the knockout blow rules. Even spell casters have knockout options beyond the obvious ones, like sleep, as D&D knockout rules include melee attack-based spells.
Death Is Optional In DnD 5e Thanks To A Simple Melee Knockout Rule
Although D&D’s most devastating area-of-effect spells will always strike to kill, spells like Thorn Whip for Druids, Spiritual Weapon for Clerics, and Shocking Grasp for Wizards all offer ways to take an enemy down without killing them. Combat is a central part of the D&D experience, but it does not always have to end in death. Given the ease with which melee attacks can knock out enemies, there are relatively few occasions in Dungeons & Dragons where an opponent needs to die by the sword.
