Can fiendish animals coup de grace?

[Nifft]

Yeah, I agree with the above -- an animal would attack until no-one is attacking it, then either drag a corpse away or just start eating on the spot.

-- N

 

[Will]

I disagree even with the 'attack as long as it's living.' Watch a cat going nuts through a bunch of mice. Smack smack smack...

I figure most animals will, in the face of multiple threats, possibly not even focus on one target if several are adjacent. And once a creature is prone and not moving, I expect some animals will move on to clear dangers (as far as the animal sees it).

I also typically have animals go for the tallest, loudest attacker, since they are obviously the big threat, or pick off the smallest/quiest one, in the hopes of peeling off the weaker members of the human 'pack.'

 

[Old Nick]

While agreeing with the majority opinion expressed above - namely that an ordinary animal would not CdG, let's return to Dinkeldog's original question. The fiendish template states that a fiendish creature has an intelligence of at least 3, which is, of course, also the minimum for a human, elf, dwarf etc. I would therefore have no problem with the idea of a fiendish ape (or other fiendish creature) attempting a CdG.

 

[Piratecat]

I think many animals would absolutely coup de grace. Take a wolf, for example; instinct is to go for the throat as soon as the prey's defenses are down, killing the enemy as quickly as possible. I think you're okay either way, though.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

I do play that any creature can use the standard combat options available. For example: a pack of wolves vs a deer.

- almost surround it so the escape path will provoke AoOs & the wolves can flank
- all wolves bar one fight defensively to minimize injury
- once the deer is downed they CdG immediately before feeding

That is the behaviour I'd expect from animal intelligence pack predators. They will be very efficient at hunting because that and breeding are what they do.

A fiendish animal would act something similar but more macabre. I'd expect a fiendish ape to CdG in a more painful, less efficient manner than the wolves.

 

[the Jester]

I think most predators have an instinctive method of putting their prey down quickly once it's helpless... ie, coup de grace.

A fiendish animal, even moreso; it's as smart as a dumb human.

 

[RigaMortus]

I'd say most animals could and would CdG. But as far as they're concerned, it wouldn't be called a "CdG". It would be called, "ripping the throat out" or whatever other manner they'd use to deliver a devastating blow to their prey. Mechanically though, I'd treat it as a CdG...

 

[Pielorinho]

I disagree even with the 'attack as long as it's living.' Watch a cat going nuts through a bunch of mice. Smack smack smack...

A cat at play will do that, sure. A mouser, however, will quickly and efficiently bite the mice at the base of the neck, severing their spinal cords and kiling them.

There's nothing in the rules to indicate that a CdG is an advanced tactic, that there's any intelligence requirement to use it. I'd allow vermin to CdG: it seems appropriate to me as an instinctive behavior. I see it as the attacker making the ideal attack that it's been wanting to make all along against its foe, only its foe is no longer avoiding the ideal attack.

So yes: the baboon, once its foe has fallen, and assuming the baboon has got a blood-lust going on (and isn't just doing a status-fight), is going to bend over the foe and bite the foe's throat out. While it's bending over the foe, it's not paying attention to other combatants, and thereby exposes itself to AoOs.

Daniel

 

[dcollins]

I personally say it has to be able ot pronounce "Coup de Grace" properly to be able to Coup. Of course, makes me feel bad for the barbarian.

That makes me feel bad for every player I've ever seen, and also users of the PHB glossary, because I've never seen a single one of them pronounce it properly. (Namely, the "c" at the end is not silent.)

 

[Jeff Wilder]

IMO, it depends on whether or not the animal -- fiendish or not, although I like the idea that fiendish beasts are more bloodthirsty -- is within "immediate engagement range" of a still-standing enemy. In other words, if the animal can reach or be reached by means of a 5-foot step, it will continue fighting rather than stopping to finish off a foe.