Let's say that an enemy goblin is escaping from battle and a ranged Ranger wants to stop him without killing him (e.g. by hitting him to the leg). How is this managed? I am interested both in the case the enemy has enough HP to survive the hit, and the case the hit would normally kill the enemy.
[RPG] kneecap an enethe instead of killing it
attackdnd-5enonlethal
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Best Answer
TL;DR It Never Hurts to Ask
The Goblin Is Not Required to Die at 0 HP, even though most do
MM p. 7
PHB p. 198
At 0 HP: the goblin isn't required to die at 0 HP. In a given situation, this monster/NPC could be treated as a PC is, but the player needs to make clear to the DM what he's trying to do. If the DM agrees/rules favorably, there are a variety of ways to keep the goblin alive once you bring him down. Depending upon your party make up, you can attempt to
Depending on the methods available and attempted, the DM may need to roll a death save or two on the goblin's behalf to see if these attempts are successful.
In a comment in this answer to this question @anaximander used this reasoning:
Declaring "I want to stabilize that goblin and keep him from dying" after bringing him down with the bow shot is a valid player attempt. It has rules support in this edition. The "called shot" doesn't have explicit rules support in this edition, but the DM can still support a called shot.
The DM can rule in favor of a called shot as you described it. It never hurts to ask. DM will likely either assign disadvantage or make other modifications to the attempt since it's a harder shot than the regular attack with a ranged weapon. He could have you use a DM assigned inspiration point that was previously earned (DMG p. 240-241) for the attempt. He could apply the "rule of cool."
Is a DM required to allow any of that? No, but the basics of the game provide a solid premise for this to work. (It never hurts to try!). I'll predict that most DM's would support the attempt, as it fits very well into the fundamentals of how the game is played: (PHB p. 6)
The Players describe what they want to do: "(Ranger) I want to run to the goblin and stabilize him so that he doesn't die. We need a prisoner!" (Cleric) "I intend to use my Spare the Dying cantrip on the goblin!"
- The DM narrates the results of the adventurers' actions:
An impromptu called shot would go similarly.
While you specified a ranged attack, if your Ranger can Misty Step or otherwise close to within melee range, the melee option to knock out would apply. (PHB p. 198.)