AoO - Karmic Strike

[Darklone]

The Feat you mention is in the MiniHB, it's called Double Strike IIRC.

Now give the two guys Damage Reduction and Fast Healing... and no weapons to get through their DR without a critical hit... and you have two immortals battling each other for centuries (till the probability for enough critical hits to best the Fast Healing is gib enough...)

 

[Hypersmurf]

Now give the two guys Damage Reduction and Fast Healing... and no weapons to get through their DR without a critical hit... and you have two immortals battling each other for centuries (till the probability for enough critical hits to best the Fast Healing is gib enough...)

"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we t'be two immortals, locked in an epic
battle, 'til Judgement Day, and trumpets sound?"
"... or you could surrender?"

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

 

[Alpha Polaris]

Not quite.

The text for Karmic Strike specifically states that the attacks occur simultaneously. It's actually possible to end up with a double-fatality using Karmic Strike, since the damage for both the initial attack and the KS AoO are both resolved.

(Unlike, for example, an AoO for someone making an unarmed attack, where if the damage from the AoO is sufficient to kill the attacker, the unarmed attack damage never actually occurs.)

You're talking about the Oriental Adventure version of karmic strike. The version in the complete warrior is just a regular AoO, so if you kill the guy first, you don't get hurt... This particularly significant to my gaming party, because we're using a Grim 'n Gritty variant hit point system (Constitution score as hit points at first level, and at most +1 per level, fortitude check for secondary effects each time you get hit), so even if you don't kill him outright with the AoO, you might just as well stun him... The first fighter we met had karmic strike, defensive strike, deft opportunist, power attack, and he was fighting with a huge two-handed sword. Nearly chopped one of us in half...

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Unforunately I don't think it would go to infinity...

The whole thing would resolve in a single 6 second round? Just subjectively a long time.

So more like the Matrix... With DR making it look rather 'wooden'.

 

[Hypersmurf]

You're talking about the Oriental Adventure version of karmic strike. The version in the complete warrior is just a regular AoO, so if you kill the guy first, you don't get hurt...

Ah, okay.

I presume the last time I had this conversation was pre-CW

-Hyp.

 

[James McMurray]

You're talking about the Oriental Adventure version of karmic strike. The version in the complete warrior is just a regular AoO, so if you kill the guy first, you don't get hurt... This particularly significant to my gaming party, because we're using a Grim 'n Gritty variant hit point system (Constitution score as hit points at first level, and at most +1 per level, fortitude check for secondary effects each time you get hit), so even if you don't kill him outright with the AoO, you might just as well stun him... The first fighter we met had karmic strike, defensive strike, deft opportunist, power attack, and he was fighting with a huge two-handed sword. Nearly chopped one of us in half...

You don't get an AoO from Karmic Strike unless you are hit. That means you can't possibly interrupt and prevent the attack, it has already hit you when you get your AoO.

 

[Hypersmurf]

You don't get an AoO from Karmic Strike unless you are hit. That means you can't possibly interrupt and prevent the attack, it has already hit you when you get your AoO.

And the text of the feat still says "at the same instant as the foe strikes you".

On the other hand, someone provokes an AoO for leaving a threatened square. If you trip them with the AoO, they never actually leave the square. You've interrupted and prevented the action that allowed you to interrupt and prevent the action. I'm not sure that (if it weren't for the "at the same time" line) Karmic Strike could not do the same, if that were what the designer had wished.

-Hyp.

 

[James McMurray]

I guess its a good things that's not what the designer wished and that's not how the feat works.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I guess its a good things that's not what the designer wished and that's not how the feat works.

Right - as far as my reading goes, you could end up with a double kill with Karmic Strike.

-Hyp.