Heart seeker amulet and its results

[Tamara]

Greetings
After our last session our guest DM has a question about the heart seeker amulet from the Magic Item Compendium.

The group:
A NG paladin lvl 14
A NG priest lvl 14
A shadowcaster lvl 14
A sorcerer lvl 16
A ranger lvl 14
An aquatic ranger (homebrew race) lvl 14 (since I'm the usual DM, one of my own characters)

That session the paladin was not present and the priest being the guest DM's usual character func-tioned as our healer only, taking no other part in the adventure.

The situation:
We had met and with some difficulty defeated a pack of undead minions and were finally confronting the BBEGs, a vampire in a heavy armor from AE and a lich.
After having our tails creamed we bravely decided to come back another time and our sorcerer tele-ported the group out.
As it turned out without one of the rangers who has vampires as favored enemy and therefore elected to stay behind.
She activated her heart seeking amulet, improved her attack roll with 20 hero points (a home brew rule) and thus bypassed the metal armor and hit the vampire in the heart with a wooden stake, killing the vampire who as per RAW will stay dead as long as the stake is in the heart.
So far no problemos, but… what happens when she lets go the stake, will it stay in the heart with the armor surrounding the stake or will it be pushed out as per the pass wall effect (no 2 items in the same place at the same time) or ??
Our guest DM needs some input since he is unsure how to rule this while I, the usual DM, would rule the stake was stuck in the armor and hence also in the heart and to get the stake out of the heart someone would have to take off the armor first.
But maybe someone here has a solution that all can accept

Thanks
Tamara

 

[FEADIN]

When you strike someone the armor is not damaged unless you make a sunder attempt, I would rule that the stake went between plates near the upper chest and the shoulder to strike the heart so you can safely remove the armor.

 

[Tamara]

Ah, I forgot the description of the heartseeking amulet
A heartseeking amulet allows your weapon to pierce armor and scaled hides as if they were air. When you activate this amulet, the next melee attack you make is made as a melee touch attack instead.
If you don’t make a melee attack by the end of your turn, the effect is wasted.
So it is not a question of damaging the armor but of how the armor reacts the round after the heart seeking amulet stops functioning
Tamara

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

What spell is the amulet created with? If it's find the gap...I think it's pretty clear the amulet is allowing you to find a spot not protected (or protected well) by armor. Normally, I'd say armor's just not damaged in the attack. Vampire rules with the whole heart-staking are really wonky, though. It's one of the few areas of the game where there are "called shots," and I'd say that's the root of the confusion, more than the amulet. That being said...you staked it in the heart. The wood's already stuck in there, I don't see how or why it would be shunted out after the spell ends.

[sblock]Unrelated note to your question: I find the heartseeking amulet grossly overpowered, especially for its cheap price.[/sblock]

 

[Tamara]

The spell that goes into the heart seeking amulet is true strike
Price (Item Level): 3,000 gp (7th)
Caster Level: 15th
Tamara

 

[FEADIN]

I don't change my answer, the stake is in the heart below the armor which is not damaged because it was made "thin air" for a moment or because the hit went in a weak spot.
You can loot the creature but if you are afraid bring him on a sunny trip in a river before

 

[Tamara]

Greetings
Last night we finished this part of the story and here is how we decided to solve the problem.
The stake has pierced the heart, but the stake and the armor have to make opposed Fortitude saves.
If the stake made a better save, the armor would have a close-fitting hole surrounding the stake, effectively holding the stake in place but the outer end of the stake would still stick out of the armor.
If the armor made a better save it would cut off the end of the stake outside the armor, leaving the rest of the stake still stuck in the heart and in the body behind the armor and this last is what happened.
The ranger blinked out, leaving the vampire behind and on her return and since she won the initiative she decided to get out.
The group is united again and this time when we go back we will be better prepared.
Thank you for the input and the time you took to answer.
Tamara