Post/Author/DateTime	Post
weirmien 08-13-07, 12:59 PM	Hello all. I know that you provoke an AOO for performing a Coup, but does the AOO stop the Coup. I was wondering becasue of the adventure I ran the other day where one PC was trying to kill a BBEG that had fallen to -2 and two other PC's were trying to stop him.
Marcus Majarra 08-13-07, 01:12 PM	No, the AoO doesn't prevent the coup-de-grace from functioning. If the others want to stop him, they'll have to disarm him or grapple him through that AoO.
Some_call_me_Tim 08-13-07, 03:50 PM	You could rule that coup de grace is one of the actions that requires a concentration check. While not specifically listed as one the in PHB, a DM could rule that a coup de grace might be considered "engaged in some action that requires your full attention."
mvincent 08-13-07, 07:13 PM	If the others want to stop him, they'll have to disarm him or grapple him through that AoO.Or kill him ;)
Anathema 08-14-07, 02:14 AM	You could rule that coup de grace is one of the actions that requires a concentration check. While not specifically listed as one the in PHB, a DM could rule that a coup de grace might be considered "engaged in some action that requires your full attention." I've often considered ruling things just this way. I feel it would make the coup de grace attack more dramatic and less inevitable.
Pegasos989 08-14-07, 03:25 PM	I don't think that CdG would require a concentration check. It is useful in very hard or demanding situations like trying to concentrate on a difficult spell while ogres are pounding you with hits that would kill a normal person. Slitting a throat... Nah. I wonder why it is even a full round action - picking a dagger from the ground (move) doesn't propably take that much less time than slitting a throat open with it. Even more so if opponent stands still, like after hold person. Propably just for balance... So I don't think concentration checks are the way to go here. However, houseruling that damage interrupts CdG seems still reasonable enough.
Sildatorak 08-14-07, 05:41 PM	I wonder why it is even a full round action - picking a dagger from the ground (move) doesn't propably take that much less time than slitting a throat open with it. Even more so if opponent stands still, like after hold person. Propably just for balance...I think it is more along the lines of the same rule that spending a full-round action guarantees you hit an inanimate object without rolling to attack it. Basically it is just saying that you take a little more time to line up the shot before you actually take it. You might be right that balance was what ended up making it full-round instead of standard, though.
Aberlonian 08-20-07, 03:32 PM	can you coup-de-gras on the defensive? It seems a bit silly, but still...
Nom 08-21-07, 08:21 AM	No. You can only act defensively for spells, SLAs, and skill checks (PH pg 70).
Sildatorak 08-21-07, 12:21 PM	I think Aberlonian is meaning use fighting defensively while taking a CdG. In that case, the answer is still no. You can only fight defensively when taking the "attack" or "full attack" action (though you don't have to actually make any attacks as part of that action).
eue 08-24-07, 11:54 AM	You cannot (usually) stop someone from passing by you with an AoO... You cannot stop someone from drinking a potion with an AoO... You cannot stop someone from standing up from prone with an AoO... The only situations you can actually stop someone from completing an action are those that state so in the rules, like spells, grapples, etc... It doesn't make sense that an attack will prevent you from slicing some guy's throat, specially when you are extremely resilient to pain and damage (high hp)... unless it is directed at your weapon (disarm, sunder) or somehow takes you out of the way (trip, bull rush, kill!). It is not expressed in the rules, but that is how I rule it in my game. Anyway, coup de grace is not that inevitable... A coup de grace is not an immediate kill... it's an attack that automatically hits and scores a critical. Then the target takes the damage and makes a Fort save with DC equal to the damage dealt. If he fails (and is still alive) he dies. In low-level, the damage amount is not HUGE, keeping the Fort save reachable. The victim might die from the damage anyway... In high-level, the damage amount is HUGE, but players are less likely to be caught in such a situation... :D My (now dead) egoist (named John Avon) almost CdGed his fellow fighter with 1d4-1 damage (2d4-2 for the critical)... The dice turned out two 1s dealing the minimum 1 damage. Skip Williams, the fighter, rolled a 1 on the save... Weren't for a luck reroll, he would be dead by now... Well, he is... we were all wiped out by a fiendish stirge nest later that day... (This happened in a kick-in-the-door-smash-everyone-to-bits-grab-the-treasure-leave-for-next-room campaign we play when we are bored in the World's Largest Dungeon...)
Sildatorak 08-25-07, 12:20 PM	A coup de grace is not an immediate kill... it's an attack that automatically hits and scores a critical. Then the target takes the damage and makes a Fort save with DC equal to the damage dealt. If he fails (and is still alive) he dies.The DC is 10+damage dealt, actually, so it is generally a 95% chance of death unless the weapon involved is a dagger wielded someone with a strength penalty. If someone with a battle axe and +1 strength mod does the CdG, it is a minimum DC 16, and that assumes they roll three 1's. From my experience, the DC's are high enough that only the fighter types who have good fort saves and have invested in constitution have a reasonable chance of making the save. Once you hit mid-levels, though, even they are outclassed by the damage from a crit.
eue 08-27-07, 09:38 AM	The DC is 10+damage dealt, actually, so it is generally a 95% chance of death unless the weapon involved is a dagger wielded someone with a strength penalty. If someone with a battle axe and +1 strength mod does the CdG, it is a minimum DC 16, and that assumes they roll three 1's. From my experience, the DC's are high enough that only the fighter types who have good fort saves and have invested in constitution have a reasonable chance of making the save. Once you hit mid-levels, though, even they are outclassed by the damage from a crit. Sorry, my mistake... won't happen again...
DrMorganes 08-27-07, 10:48 AM	You cannot (usually) stop someone from passing by you with an AoO... You cannot stop someone from drinking a potion with an AoO... You cannot stop someone from standing up from prone with an AoO... The only situations you can actually stop someone from completing an action are those that state so in the rules, like spells, grapples, etc... Actually, you CAN stop someone from passing you, drinking a potion, standing from prone, etc, through an attack of opportunity. Special attacks like Trip, Bull Rush, Grapple, Sunder, Disarm, etc are all valid attacks of opportunity.
Khadmus 08-27-07, 11:42 AM	You can drink a potion if you are falling.
Sildatorak 08-27-07, 01:41 PM	You can't drink a potion if it is sundered.