DM Q&A: Disarm and PvP

[Windhover]

So quick questions for the staff about Disarm and Improved Disarm.

This combat feat, often overlooked in favor of knockdown, does provide a nice bonus advantage for those that seek not to kill the other character(s) during PvP.

If the disarm attempt is successful, the weapon of the opponent falls to the ground. If the disarm is successful and performed by an unarmed character, then the weapon is automatically transfered to the inventory of the character that attempted the disarm.

The questions then are:

Must the acquired weapon be returned OOC to the owner once the PvP concludes? 

If the owner is an outlaw of the realm, can the weapon be given to the NPC authorities for safe keeping?

[Munroe]

May 16, 2020 11:01:48 GMT -5 Windhover said:

So quick questions for the staff about Disarm and Improved Disarm.

This combat feat, often overlooked in favor of knockdown, does provide a nice bonus advantage for those that seek not to kill the other character(s) during PvP.

If the disarm attempt is successful, the weapon of the opponent falls to the ground. If the disarm is successful and performed by an unarmed character, then the weapon is automatically transfered to the inventory of the character that attempted the disarm.

The questions then are:

Must the acquired weapon be returned OOC to the owner once the PvP concludes? 

If the owner is an outlaw of the realm, can the weapon be given to the NPC authorities for safe keeping?

If the character is brought into custody, the roleplay can of course be that the weapon is in the possession of the authorities. However, the weapon should be returned to the player out-of-character either way, whether captured or fleeing or whatever, if its value exceeds 500 gold.

It is only the purview of DMs to remove items from player-characters outside of the theft rules. Any equipped item disarmed by a character with the disarm feats would fall under the same rules as an item pickpocketed. It should either be returned in-character, or, if that's not possible due to character conflict, returned out-of-character. The exception being when a DM is overseeing the events and says otherwise, providing specific instructions on how to proceed. The DM, then, is making a decision regarding that specific instance.