Wed Aug 13, 2025 11:26 am  
New Spell for Non-Lethal Use

I originally did this for D&D 3.5, but AD&D wouldn't be much different:

Damper Damage
  1st-level (Abjuration)
  Level: 1
  Range: Personal
  Duration: 1 round/level
  Area of Effect: Personal
  Components: V, S
  Casting Time: 1 segment
  Saving Throw: None

Hit points of damage caused by the caster’s spells are converted to subdual: 75% non-lethal, 25% lethal damage. Any death result caused by a caster's spell results in the victim being reduced to -10 non-lethal hit points. The caster may dismiss the spell at will.

AD&D left 25% of subdual or non-lethal damage as lethal, which is what I do for my modified D&D 3.5 (The version I put on the D&D 5 thread here is for those who play standard).

I was considering how a fantasy medieval army might use spells during training without frying their guys with fireballs, and this is what I came up with. It could be used during any sort of training, like the "Assassin's Run" in Dragon #64, or to subdue an opponent in order to capture them (like dragon subdual), or by pacificists (perhaps a cleric of Zodal).