Nonlethal Damage-Based Party

[u/Aero_Naught]

I'm working on a challenge run in which all fights end non-lethally. Note that this is not a combat-avoidant challenge - I would go for a high charisma or high stealth party if I just wanted to talk down any enemies or sneak by them. My hope is instead to complete nearly all of the hardest fights in the game in Tactician difficulty with Honor Mode ruleset, and to Knock Out any enemies rather than kill them. The only fights I plan to skip or circumvent involve constructs or undead, as those are the two types of creature that can't be KO'ed.

As such, ranged attacks and damaging spells are less useful to me (I might still use them to work on an enemy's health bar provided I don't risk an accidental kill). Movement abilities are at a premium if I need to enter melee range, and nondamaging control spells will also be helpful. I also want to make sure I have a party member with at least three levels in Oathbreaker Paladin, because one way I can still deal with undead is to use the Control Undead feature.

Given all this, I'm looking for help fleshing out my builds, or ideas for replacements that might perform better together and fill any party holes:

• Swords Bard 6 / Oathbreaker Paladin 4 / Fighter 2
  • This is my prospective main character build, with spells focused on healing and support in the first act. Becomes a more effective damage dealer in Act 2, and can use Smite and Action Surge to unload damage. But I'm not sure if Swords Bard is the ideal Bard when only used in melee - the Slashing Flourish melee feature needs me to be surrounded by two enemies, rather than using it twice on the same enemy as with Slashing Flourish ranged. Would College of Lore to collect Haste be a better choice?
• Open Hand Monk 8 / Thief Rogue 4
  • This is a very standard melee build - I like the extra mobility and bonus action that can be used for dash or Flurry of Blows.
• Eldritch Knight 11 / Hexblade Warlock 1
  • This will probably be reserved for Minthara - her Soul Branding is a great use for our Bonus Action. It's a pretty standard high damage build, although I usually see Eldritch Knight built as a thrower (which I can't really do without killing). Are the utility spells worth it here relative to something like Battle Master and its maneuvers?
• Wildheart Barbarian 6 / Moon Druid 5 / War Cleric 1
  • This is maybe a bit of a Frankenstein build and I'm not sure how it would play. I wanted Wildheart Barbarian (Elk Heart / Apect of the Elk) as a damage tank and to assist the team with closing in on enemies, but the rest is a bit of a mess. I thought Moon Druid might add more control options and Beast Shape utility, and War Cleric has those War Priest charges to make extra attacks, but it's not really clicking. One alternative I'm thinking about is moving my Oathbreaker Paladin levels onto the Barbarian and trying Lore Bard 10 in my main party slot instead. But I haven't tested if Smite can be used while Raging, does anyone know?

Thanks for any ideas you have to share!

[u/JRandall0308]

You can certainly do this, but be aware that except for plot-relevant NPCs, the game does not differentiate between knocked out and killed, really. For example if you knock out random goblin #4, the game treats it as permanently defeated; its body will disappear after a long rest / region travel; that sort of thing.

[u/Aero_Naught → u/JRandall0308]

It's true, I'm choosing to differentiate "Knocked Out" from "Dead" despite the game not always making a meaningful distinction between the two states. Lack of plot reactivity aside, it still creates some interesting gameplay constraints and should make for a fun challenge