Auto-Trip + Cleave?

[fuindordm]

Hi everyone, and thanks for taking the time to consider the following question:

Some creatures (wolves for example) have the (Ex) ability to make a free trip attempt on a successful attack. In my current campaign, I've been having fun summoning astral constructs with this ability for the players to fight. So here's the question:

If a construct has the auto-trip ability, and the cleave feat, does making a target fall prone thanks to the auto-tripping count as 'dropping' them for the sake of the cleave feat?

From the SRD:
Benefit: If you deal a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), you get an immediate, extra melee attack against another creature within reach. You cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature. You can use this ability once per round.

Ben

 

[Thanee]

Nope, dropping is meant as knocking them unconscious (or killing/destroying them).

Bye
Thanee

 

[MichaelH]

Nope, dropping is meant as knocking them unconscious (or killing/destroying them).

Bye
Thanee

Exactly. Tripping is not dropping.

 

[Sejs]

Ideally the wording should be changed from "Dropping" to "Dispatching" to help remove some of that trip/knockdown/etc confusion.

 

[RangerWickett]

New Cleave? " . . . whenever you dispatch a creature . . ."

"You, ally, come here, then run and deliver this message!"

"Yes sir!"

*runs*

*free attack!*

 

[Sejs]

New Cleave? " . . . whenever you dispatch a creature . . ."

"You, ally, come here, then run and deliver this message!"

"Yes sir!"

*runs*

*free attack!*

Yeah, but it'd still take an action to hand the message to your ally unless you had the Improved Relay feat or some such.

 

[RigaMortus]

Also note:

Benefit: If you deal a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it)...

The other point is, it's not the damage that the wolves are doing which cause the enemy to drop.

 

[fuindordm]

Also note:



The other point is, it's not the damage that the wolves are doing which cause the enemy to drop.

OK, so we've got a consensus here; thanks for your input, everyone. Now here's the corollary:

What other circumstances would provoke the cleave, since it says 'typically'?

Ben

 

[ThirdWizard]

I count nonlethal damage equaling current hit points making the character fall unconcious.

 

[Bront]

OK, so we've got a consensus here; thanks for your input, everyone. Now here's the corollary:

What other circumstances would provoke the cleave, since it says 'typically'?

Ben

Destroying an inanimate object with an attack I would rule could result in a cleave attempt.

The warmind can attack 2 people with one attack, and can cleave if he "drops" either one (though he doesn't get an extra cleave if he drops both)

If you have a disrupting weapon and disrupt an undead with a strike.

"drop" someone with a touch attack spell.

I'm sure there's more.