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In D&D, there are mechanisms for resisting spells that aren't as fleshed out in free-form RP. Also, yes, in D&D a target can be woken if disturbed, but up until that point they are considered "helpless", and thus insta-killable by coup-de-grace, so it is every bit as bad as it seems to be asleep.

Keep in mind that the low level D&D sleep spells also have a maximum number of hit dice they affect. They're for putting down a couple of NPC guardsmen and sneaking by, not someone of your own power level.

One other point to make. There is a huge difference between status effects and attack spells because, by general consensus, attack spells are something cast AT a person and can therefore miss or be dodged/blocked, whereas status effects are cast ON a person. The only real defense you have available to you is to simply say "Nope, doesn't work".

That said, I have a character that deals almost exclusively in status effect spells. I also explicitly state in every spell he can use how easy it is to resist and what factors will affect that resistance rate. He is an assassin, and even with the restrictions in place, a majority of his spells are really only for getting past NPC guardsmen and bystanders so that he can get in a legitimate attack on an NPC or PC target. Once in a fight, he's really only limited to a few illusions and very brief mind-affecting spells that can give him an edge but never outright disable the opponent for a killing blow.

A note on that; you mention that you really wouldn't see it as something that will disable opponents for killing blows. Let me ask this: How many times do you guys find yourself in death matches with other PCs? I don't find myself in them very often, so maybe thats why I don't consider it that big of a deal.

That poor Wall neutral

Holy follicles Batman! My hair! gonk

Yet another question: Anyone got any suggestions on how to include magic with a gunslinger? I mean, what kinds of spells and such would go well with the type of character? 'Cause besides magic bullets, I'm not too sure on how to incorporate magic...

I never said anything about just sparring. Unless you consider stuff like tournament fighting as spars? To me, competitive combat is a different ball game than sparring.

A sparring match is a practice match. Fights I pit against people like Damion and Sutiiven weren't spars, they were serious matches. My fights in HoH weren't spars, they were serious matches. And then there's the plot-related stuff, when I fight against NPCs...

But yes, don't get me wrong; I know what entails if I fall asleep during a fight. Heck, I know what entails if I fall asleep during a deathmatch. But if I don't want to die (and I don't), I will typically avoid such matches, so there's no risk of my opponents putting me asleep and knifing me in the face, or any other horrendous things they'd do to me. Most of the matches I choose to participate in, I do against opponents who I would consider honest and honorable (to varying degrees). I mean, look at my fight request sheet in my signature, at some of the names included in there.

Example: Ebag. I think he is the type of person that RP fights very well. He's equally skilled and dangerous. HOWEVER, the level he plays is not one I choose to be in if I can help it; he'd be more willing to take my life than I his. Or at least, that's the impression he's given me over the years I've observed him, and others. He's not on the list not because of any doubts of his ability of a fighter or a writer; rather, I just think we'd be looking for two different things and the experience probably wouldn't be enjoyable to either one of us.

((If I've totally got you pegged wrong, Ebag, I do apologize, but I needed an example and you came to mind. Cogmace and all >.> ))

So I do realize what is involved when Sleep is a status factor in fights. For the most part, a match will be over at that moment. However, I just don't see the challenge in that. The fun. If people are using sleep to go "SLEEP! I win 4evar hahahahaha!" then, okay, sure, go ahead. That +1/0 apparently means more to them than it does to me. But what Niitsu hinted at is nothing nearly as cheap or underhanded, so I just don't see the problem with it sweatdrop

That's what I'm going for. But I can't really think of a really ingenious way of going about the process.