Official ICE Forums
Systems & Settings => Rolemaster => Topic started by: Druss_the_Legend on September 09, 2022, 01:31:54 AM
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Do you allow coup de gras?
= a death blow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded.
this would be against an opponent who was unable to defend themselves.
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Up to the GM.
If it reduces mind-numbing combat rounds where everyone is so wounded they all end up missing one another, I used to let PCs mop up combats narratively that way.
There are so many boni one gets for Prone, Surprised, Static, etc. that one should never miss such an afflicted opponent but low open-ended die-rolling does happen to comedic effect, regarding weapon breakage or fumbles! ;)
Do you allow coup de gras?
= a death blow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded.
this would be against an opponent who was unable to defend themselves.
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Do you allow coup de gras?
= a death blow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded.
this would be against an opponent who was unable to defend themselves.
Yes. A full-round action and the character delivering the coup-de-grace are themselves vulnerable (no defence, this is not a melee action).
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Do you allow coup de gras?
...just a note. "Gras" = "grease", whereas the word you're looking for, "grace" means (in this context) "mercy".
...though a "grease strike" may be a funny one, I guess. :p
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We don't make it an action or even a round. If the target is non-moving/unconscious/etc. "Yes, you finish him off."
Although, I'm now intrigued by this Grease Strike. Is it with lightning? ;)
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We don't make it an action or even a round. If the target is non-moving/unconscious/etc. "Yes, you finish him off."
Although, I'm now intrigued by this Grease Strike. Is it with lightning? ;)
It has something to do with bodies and oil. Make of that what you will...
About coup-de-grâce : I think there are historical depictions of soldiers "finishing knights off". It definitely does not look like a quick strike, nor something you can do while keeping track of everything happening around.
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I've always allowed a certain amount of ambiguity in combat, especially with regard to the apparent "logic" of "always" performing coup de gras actions during or at the end of them. The reason being, is that, while it may seem an obvious action to take, it's, for the most part, it's not as obvious at that. Combat's are messy affairs, and death is not always instantaneous nor the cause obvious. Blood splatter, Bruising and wounds can make someone "appear" dead, but they are actually just unconscious, or very, very, good acting that way, and also, quite often the combatants simply are distracted or have little time to fully understand the nature of the wounds their previous opponents have suffered. Besides I'm as happy with the occasional "miraculous" survival against the odds for an apparently mortally wounded NPC as I am for a character. This is especially the case in larges battle with many combatants involved.... where there are so many wounded and dying that it's often a very confused affair. My thoughts often go back to watching a rather comedic scene in a chinese film "Zu Warriors" where 4-6 armies simultaneously battle each other, then just after the heroes depart, everybody gets up, as they were all acting dead.
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Random thought: would you allow characters to use Ambush skill to adjust a critical vs. an unconscious opponent in the middle of combat? I think I would...
I tend not to allow a coup de grace because it would be so easy for bad guys to kill characters that way, and in the middle of bloody, armored combat, it's not always that easy to find and slit someone's neck, especially if they have armor on. So I was thinking allowing Ambush might be a good way to start to find a happy middle.
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Random thought: would you allow characters to use Ambush skill to adjust a critical vs. an unconscious opponent in the middle of combat? I think I would...
I tend not to allow a coup de grace because it would be so easy for bad guys to kill characters that way, and in the middle of bloody, armored combat, it's not always that easy to find and slit someone's neck, especially if they have armor on. So I was thinking allowing Ambush might be a good way to start to find a happy middle.
i think you are onto something here...
what about characters that dont have the skill ambush? can they still attempt a quick kill?
also outlook/ptofession/alignment could play a part.
i agree that if u allow PCs this ability them you should really allow NPCs the same to balance things.
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For my part I tend to allow this AFTER the fight is over, and not during. There's just too much going on during a fight, and normally this kind of thing was done after the battle in any case.
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You always have the benefit of surprise against an unaware opponent, that includes unconscious ones who cannot be aware.