A Five Foot Vorpal Sword vs A Ten Foot Neck

[Theo R Cwithin]

Yes! Magical weapon versus magical creature means something *mAgicaL* must happen!

That said, however, on a failed Reflex roll the PC takes 20d6 damage when the head falls on him.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

He slashes through 5 ft of neck and in the same motion, the magic compels him forward with his own momentum, causing him to step forward slightly and continue spinning around, hacking through the other 5 ft of neck with a graceful excellence such that not a single spatter of blood besmirches his skin or fine garments.

It's a fantasy game, you just cut through the neck. The end.

 

[the Jester]

100% yes.

 

[DumbPaladin]

Is this a first ever on EN World where numerous, multiple respondents have all essentially agreed?

 

[Jhaelen]

It's magic - so, sure!

 

[Sorrowdusk]

I always assumed it just automatically made the head fall off no matter where it was cut or stabbed.

 

[Klaus]

All right, here's the situation.

Your player has a Vorpal Sword that is five foot in length. He is facing a large Dragon that has a ten foot neck in diameter.

Even if the players rolls a natural 20, would you allow a five foot vorpal sword to cut the head off of a dragon, or any beast, that has a neck diameter of ten feet, or more, would you allow the entire head of the beast be chopped off?

1 - It's magic, so yeah.

2 - If a dragon had a neck 10-feet in diameter, it'd have to be larger than a Gargantuan tarrasque. A Large dragon would have a neck on par with a horse, and a Huge dragon would have a neck on par with a giraffe.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

Adding my voice the the chorus of "yes of course".


Unless the rules make the game incredibly and horrifically unbelievable, it's better to figure out a way that the rules DO work rather than change them ad hoc.

Better not to change the skeleton/framework of the world. Players need to be able to, by and large, understand what results their actions will have.


So yeah, in this, and almost every other case, keep the rule and figure out how to describe it so that it works.

 

[Hand of Evil]

This is why magical swords have roostertails, that visual FX.

 

[amerigoV]

No F'in way, man. It's the DM's job to screw the PC at any opportunity. And that is a perfect one!*

* I just had to disagree since I have never seen this much agreement in an ENWorld thread before.