TPK Your Entire Party

[kaomera]

I'm seriously considering TPKing the party I'm currently DMing for. All that should be required is a simple lever marked "DO NOT PULL". It doesn't even need to actually do anything...

 

[irdeggman]

Question: Does this trick work for TPKing an entire party?
I am 11th level evil wizard.
There are 3 other characters in the party.
I have watch and my mates are asleep.
I Coup de Gras them all using a full round action to cast sudden maximized empowered scorching ray (3 rays, 3 targets).
They all fail their stupidly high fort save.
I cast animate dead and gain 3 new followers in evil.

Won't work.


From SRD:

Coup de Grace: As a full-round action, you can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless opponent. You can also use a bow or crossbow, provided you are adjacent to the target.

You automatically hit and score a critical hit. If the defender survives the damage, he must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die. A rogue also gets her extra sneak attack damage against a helpless opponent when delivering a coup de grace.

Scorching Ray is neither a melee weapon nor a bow or crossbow.

And even if your DM was real liberal on allowing any ranged weapon/attack to work - you would still need to be adjacent to the target - so only 1 per Coup de Grace.

 

[sam500]

Why can't one use a ray attack to deliver a coup de gras? One can sneak attack and crit with a ray, why not a coup de gras (ie: if you can hit a vital with a sneaky ray, it seems to follow that you could stick your blasty finger in their snorring mouth and blast their head off).


Artoomis- You need to chill out. It was a hypothetical question.

 

[billd91]

I wouldn't consider it. The spell seems a fair weapon to use as a coup de grace, in my estimation. Quite useful against a troll, for example.

But the coup de grace should be a full round action for each victim. That means three full round actions and not a volley. Besides, precision damage like sneak attack only applies to one ray out of the volley and so a precision coup de grace should be impossible for extra rays.

 

[the Jester]

Why can't one use a ray attack to deliver a coup de gras? One can sneak attack and crit with a ray, why not a coup de gras (ie: if you can hit a vital with a sneaky ray, it seems to follow that you could stick your blasty finger in their snorring mouth and blast their head off).

Short answer: It's the roolz.

Long answer: It isn't RAW, but it would make a fine house rule.

 

[Darklone]

Hmm. Depends on what your party members are...

But if you simply torch them with scorching rays, you'll have a surprise round, they wake up. You have another round, they stand up and grab weapons/armors. You have a third round... and that should do it.

Assuming you start with a fireball, the party rogue will not be able to use Evasion. Or use your first action to CDG the cleric after casting fly and Imp Invis... then torch the other two guys with some heavy artillery.

Then kill yourself and come back as some undead and you'll have your TPK.

 

[Deset Gled]

I agree that this will not work because it is a ranged spell. However, IIRC, you can do a CDG with a Cure Light Wounds spell (since it requires a touch attack, it counts as a weapon like spell).

 

[Infiniti2000]

Long answer: It isn't RAW, but it would make a fine house rule.

It would make a terrible house rule to allow CDG on multiple victims. It would be astonishingly bad because now you have to explain to the archer why he can CDG people all over the field.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I agree that this will not work because it is a ranged spell. However, IIRC, you can do a CDG with a Cure Light Wounds spell (since it requires a touch attack, it counts as a weapon like spell).

How is curing someone's wounds a weapon-like spell? You can't CDG undead, remember. But, if you meant inflict light wounds, then note that you'll have to hold the charge beforehand because CDG is a full round action.

 

[Artoomis]

...Artoomis- You need to chill out. It was a hypothetical question.

I STRONGLY disapprove of PCs killing each other off except in the most extraordinary circumstances. You absolutely did not state this was "hypothetical" or "for discussion only," and, even if you had, my comments stand. It's a very bad thing to have happen in a game.

The tactic as presented cannot work anyway, as explained above.

The discussion ought be about generically how to kill off (coup de grace) mutiple sleeping characters and not about one PC killing off other PCs.