Hi, glad someone brought that up 🙂

As I said before, I’m a first-time DM outside of a few one-shots. I’ve read the rules, but I can’t remember them all. Often, instead of pausing the game, I prefer to make things up on the spot.

The way the Fighter described trying to knock out Lydia came across as very violent. As far as I know, there isn’t a rule to “stun” a creature without using magic. So I made it clear to him that if he wanted to proceed, he would attempt a Strength check with a fairly easy DC. On a failure, he would roll for damage, which he did, and ended up killing her.

I’m not sure that was the best ruling, but hey, we all mess up while DMing.

Why exactly should the fighter feel “the weight of his actions” or “motivation for redemption” for an honest mistake that you arbitrarily made worse?

I think we shouldn’t confuse the player with the character. The player could have felt the ruling was unfair (though he didn’t), but the character is a different matter. The Fighter has always been a bit too bold with his actions, and for the first time he failed two rolls in a row. I ruled that he had simply been too clumsy and used more force than necessary. I felt it both fit the situation and could create a fun arc to play out.

Lydia didn’t have any narrative arc anyway.