Killing stroke

[mr_azrad]

When you opponent is down and recovering, haven't you wanted to just drop a big fat killing stoke on him sometimes? I know killing in many HERO games killing can be taboo, but I like my games a bit darker than most, and I've been toying around with creating a "killing stroke".

 

Solution #1

Buy a large amount of STR or KA with several limitations on it like:

extra time, only on 0 DCV targets, AVLD, Does body. I guess I don't like this solution because I don't want it to be a unique power, I want it to be more like a standard combat manouver (so everyone has access to it).

 

Solution #2

Haymaker (lets say with a sword 1d6+1, with 15 Str character) to the head. That would be 3 1/2 d6 (x2 for the head) so about 24.5 body on average. You have a -8 to your OCV so you would have to have an 8 OCV to have an average chance to hit your opponent (assuming you are preforming the killing stroke on a 0 DCV target). This solution should kill the average person, but the 8 OCV could be a problem for some characters.

 

Solution #3

Sweeping the opponent 4 times. The above character with his sword would inflict on average 7 body per hit, 4 hits would produce 28 body. But he would still have the -8 OCV problem, and since it is a sweep, even with an 8 OCV he would not likely hit all 4 times (therefore doing less damage than #2).

 

Solution #4

Allowing all characters access to the Martial Choke manouver against 0 DCV opponents. This would allow a normal person to kill most superheros (if he was KO'ed), although it would take a LONG time.

 

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

[Demonsong]

Re: Killing stroke

 

In my fantasy hero campaign the killing blow has another name. One of the PC’s a Half-Elf knife fighter and semi-mage performs “First Aid†on all the downed opponents. In short he walks around the battle field and slits all there throats. Is this heroic? No. Is it effective? Hell yes. And in a tough, gritty, demon infested world that I run it’s almost necessary.

 

I don’t have any special rules for finishing blows but it’s something to think about.

[Victim]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Aren't targeting penalties cut in half for certain conditions - like KO'd opponents? Then you'd only be at -4 when going for a head shot.

 

While not so good against opponents with innate rPD, you could also just remove sections of armor (like helms that cover the neck) from the enemy, then attack them there.

[austenandrews]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Haymaker to the head sounds good to me. If the enemy is unconscious, wouldn't the penalty be halved to -4? Add another Phase for Set, which gives +1 OCV, and the average guy will hit with one stroke 60% of the time. In that circumstance I'd allow the character to call it a Cover -- if he's not an expert with his weapon, he'll be lining up the death stroke with care before doing damage, not chopping up the ground with multiple attempts to hit the enemy's head.

 

In most situations, though, unless combat was still at hand, I'd just let the character kill the downed enemy without using mechanics.

 

-AA

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Aren't targeting penalties cut in half for certain conditions - like KO'd opponents? Then you'd only be at -4 when going for a head shot.

 

Yes, and his CV and ECV are reduced to zero as well.

 

In most situations' date=' though, unless combat was still at hand, I'd just let the character kill the downed enemy without using mechanics.[/quote']

 

This is the approach FREd recommends for a character who's been completely Knocked Out (below -10 STUN): "A character in this state of unconsciousness can be killed automatically as a Full Phase Action by any character with the means to do so (a Killing Attack or other powerful attack) who makes a successful Attack Roll against the unconscious character." (p. 274)

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Killing stroke

 

If you look under Knockout on page 274 the 4th para col 2 states that any Knocked out opponent can be killed as a Full Phase action by any character with the means to do so that makes an attack roll against them.

 

"means to do so" would indicate that the character has a KA or other "powerful attack", and I assumes GM discretion as to what qualifies as such.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Yes, and his CV and ECV are reduced to zero as well.

 

 

 

This is the approach FREd recommends for a character who's been completely Knocked Out (below -10 STUN): "A character in this state of unconsciousness can be killed automatically as a Full Phase Action by any character with the means to do so (a Killing Attack or other powerful attack) who makes a successful Attack Roll against the unconscious character." (p. 274)

got me by a milisecond

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Killing stroke

 

got me by a milisecond

 

Sorry. At least you got a post-count pad out of it.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Sorry. At least you got a post-count pad out of it.

Eh; Im not a post counter. If I were I'd frequent the NGD boards more and participate in all the random threads about not much.

[Pattern Ghost]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Solution #2

Haymaker (lets say with a sword 1d6+1, with 15 Str character) to the head. That would be 3 1/2 d6 ...

 

 

I'm pretty sure you still can't go over double the base DCs on a KA. Is there something I'm missing, or is this estimate off? (It's possible that I'm missing something; the new damage adding rules look like they were written by a lawyer. )

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Killing stroke

 

I'm pretty sure you still can't go over double the base DCs on a KA. Is there something I'm missing' date=' or is this estimate off? (It's possible that I'm missing something; the new damage adding rules look like they were written by a lawyer. )[/quote']

 

You missed nothing in the damage adding rules AFAIK; just in azrad's example. He's proposing a 1D6+1 HKA, wielded with a 15 STR, which would normally bring the damage up to 2D6+1 - the wielder would need to Haymaker to get the full 3 1/2D6.

 

Very easy detail to overlook.

[Pattern Ghost]

Re: Killing stroke

 

You missed nothing in the damage adding rules AFAIK; just in azrad's example. He's proposing a 1D6+1 HKA, wielded with a 15 STR, which would normally bring the damage up to 2D6+1 - the wielder would need to Haymaker to get the full 3 1/2D6.

 

Very easy detail to overlook.

 

Yeah, but I thought you couldn't push over twice the damage with a maneuver on a killing attack, so I must've missed something. Do the extra haymaker DCs add to the base damage, then, rather than count against the maximum?

[mr_azrad]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Thanks for the info everyone!

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Killing stroke

 

Yeah' date=' but I thought you couldn't push over twice the damage with a maneuver on a killing attack, so I must've missed something. Do the extra haymaker DCs add to the base damage, then, rather than count against the maximum?[/quote']

 

Ah, of course. I was the one missing things, PG; I was misreading 3 1/2D6 Killing as 2 1/2, which is of course the maximum that 1D6+1 can normally go to. My apologies.