Can't quite put my finger on it.

[tpkdm]

Greetings fellow Lords of Labyrinths!

In my latest game session, two of my players' characters fell victim to an insidious, trapped mechanism for opening a secret door. Long story short, they both lost an index finger.
I'm looking for suggestions for some, simple, fair, penalties to assess as a result of this maiming.
Thanks!

[gentleman john]

They'll be fine using melee weapons, but not using bows as you need your thumb, index and middle fingers to nock an arrow. And no fine manipulation for them. Writing, painting and holding a carving knife are out. Picking noses is also difficult without the index finger

[Blood axe]

I wouldnt give any "in game" penalty for that. But in some cultures a Thief loses a finger for stealing. So that may cause trouble.

[greyarea]

Maybe drop their DEX by one (or more) until it is healed.

[johnnybleu]

I don't think that simply losing a finger would warrant any mechanical penalties. It's not as devastating or detrimental as losing a limb, or say, a hand. That being said, it could still make life difficult for the PCs, depending on what they're attempting. All in all, I think all "penalties" (such as they are) would mostly apply to the roleplaying aspect of the game, rather than it's core mechanics.

That's how I'd rule it, anyway.

[tpkdm]

Thanks for the input folks!
I guess I'm just going to play it on a case-by-case basis for the most part. The players specifically stated they were using their off hands to manipulate the trapped switches. So assuming they hold the bow in their support hand and manipulate the string with their strong hand, bow fire shouldn't be affected too much. The thief however, will suffer percentage penalties to fine manipulation tasks like lock picking until when and if he is able to get the finger restored or wished back. He wasn't too broken up about it however as he likes his new appellation, "9-Fingered Jack". Also when he finally did get the secret door opened, he found a bin at the base of the door containing two freshly severed, and several skeletal fingers which he plans to claim are the bones of saints and hock off as relics. That should be an amusing role-playing scenario, especially if the party cleric finds out.

[bighara]

I'm no weapons expert, but I would think that the index finger would be a major factor in the holding and balance of a melee weapon. You don't need it for strength, you need it for control. A -1 to hit with 1H melee weapons would be fair, IMO. (Assuming it's not their "off" hand that's missing the digit.)

[Dyson Logos]

I'm no weapons expert, but I would think that the index finger would be a major factor in the holding and balance of a melee weapon. You don't need it for strength, you need it for control. A -1 to hit with 1H melee weapons would be fair, IMO. (Assuming it's not their "off" hand that's missing the digit.)

There's actually a school of sword fighting where they put their index finger OVER the cross guard of the sword to provide more control over the sword. However, needless to say, this means that many masters of this school of fighting are missing their index fingers. Supposedly while it impeeds their ability to use the tricks of their school, it doesn't necessarily seriously affect their sword fighting skills in general.

All this according to a sword fighting instructor I know, at least.

So, IMO, I would give the -1 penalty for one level, but once the character levels up, they adjust. It's more heroic that way too - you learn to overcome your weaknesses and in time turn it into one of the skills that makes you deadly.

"He wields that blade like no other swordfighter ever since he learned to overcome the injury from the battle of Moliar"

[bighara]

I'm no weapons expert, but I would think that the index finger would be a major factor in the holding and balance of a melee weapon. You don't need it for strength, you need it for control. A -1 to hit with 1H melee weapons would be fair, IMO. (Assuming it's not their "off" hand that's missing the digit.)

There's actually a school of sword fighting where they put their index finger OVER the cross guard of the sword to provide more control over the sword. However, needless to say, this means that many masters of this school of fighting are missing their index fingers. Supposedly while it impeeds their ability to use the tricks of their school, it doesn't necessarily seriously affect their sword fighting skills in general.

All this according to a sword fighting instructor I know, at least.

So, IMO, I would give the -1 penalty for one level, but once the character levels up, they adjust. It's more heroic that way too - you learn to overcome your weaknesses and in time turn it into one of the skills that makes you deadly.

"He wields that blade like no other swordfighter ever since he learned to overcome the injury from the battle of Moliar"

Yeah, I could see it as a temporary hindrance.

[Tortoise]

I too would think of having it be a temporary hindrance until reaching the next level. Maybe a -1 to hit with short bows and longbows, and with mele if it is their primary hand. If they would reach the next level that session or the following, make it a -2 then a -1 until another level is reached.