You're "unconscious" when you run out of subdual damage.Originally Posted by Lyc
The whole point of having 100 hp (a good amount for a 10th level Fighter) is that it's a measure of luck, skill & toughness. So you can't just get a single punch and KO someone who is that skilled.
Now I think there are alternatives that deal with being flatfooted (ie, not evading the blow).
I can't recall for sure. Having played D&D in about a year. Been running Spycraft 2.0 and that handles some of these principals differently.
But really, it's a tradeoff. If you allow PCs to be auto KOed by a sucker punch, then how they can hope to stand up against 30 orcs and a dragon? You might be placing expectations you'd have for a normal person on someone who is for all intents & purposes a trained superhuman.
You'd want a game that was less "heroic" and more "grim/gritty"
If by "beating someone for hours" you mean about a combat lasting about a minute (in game) or longer, then yeah.Originally Posted by Lyc
I can't see combats lasting an hour in game. And if you're in a combat beating someone down for hour and rolling dice all that time, it's time your GM just make a call that you took the guy down or he laughs at your puny attempts and walks away... or start a real combat.