Is Coup de Gras too weak?

[Mort_Q]

They don't wake up if you miss, or even if you hit, oddly enough.

If at first you don't succeed ...

 

[Switchback]

I suspect it's to keep Sleep from being completely over-powered.

I think so. And its a dumb reason for not being able to always hit a unconscious giant laying at your feet, just because your Rogue might be over in the corner still finishing off a Goblin.

I asked WoTC in a question about Coup de Grace, to explain the rational of why a unconscious Drow might be doubly hard to hit with a magic missile than a unconscious zombie (20 reflex vs 10 or so) even though both are for all intents and purposes, equal sized lumps of fleshing laying on the ground being unaware or unable to use their Dex, Int, or Agility to actually dodge the blow.

They could not explain it but merely pointed me back to the PH pages and the vague descriptions that prompted the question in the first place.

What they should have done is make the hit automatic, but make the actual Coup de Grace (critical effect) be the thing that was hard to achieve. Maybe it only happens on a 10 or higher or whatever. Or even if you were threatened in combat it might make sense for you to miss.

But this idea that you are swinging your sword by yourself at a helpless foe on the ground and possibly repeatedly missing and hitting the floor just because its a critter with high defenses, makes no sense. Then if you do however , connect, every such time its a automatic lethal blow. If I can miss and hit the floor, why I can't I just barely hit and strike his boot or something? Very poorly thought out execution here (no pun intended )

 

[Aloïsius]

Given how hard it seems to be for americans to spell coup de grâce I cannot understand why they don't call it crowning mercy, or merciful strike, or somesuch.

Because using foreign word is "in". That's why "coup de grâce" "déjà vu" or "coup d'Etat" are in use in the USA (like "über", "shadenfreude" or "gestalt") while "putsch" (german), "management" and "design" (english) are used in France.

 

[Alkiera]

"management" and "design" (english) are used in France.

Shhh. No one tell the French government. They'll come up with proper French words for those things, and force everyone to use them.

 

[lutecius]

My French is not so good, but I think "coup de gras" means something as goose's strike (A awesome new name for a power ... Or maybe not).

The spelling is coup de grace (gracious strike).

"grâce" in this context means "mercy", as in mercy killing.

"coup de gras" means something like "blow of fat", as in beating people with lard. Which might be fun but not terribly efficient, so yes:

a lot of enemies would survive a Coup de Gras attempt.

4e is pretty simulationist in this regard

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

Given how hard it seems to be for americans to spell coup de grâce I cannot understand why they don't call it crowning mercy, or merciful strike, or somesuch.

Because those names would be obviously derivative of anime and Final Fantasy.

But in all seriousness, I'm still wondering where we went off course with "lose" and "loose." It's a problem I've only seen on message boards and not in, say, middle schools.

 

[Lord Sessadore]

I thought that they'd fixed the spelling to Coup de Grace in 4e? I was sure I saw "grace" and not "gras" ....

 

[Subedei]

"Coup de Grace" is how it's spelled in the 4E books. As an American, it kind of baffles me too.

And what's with "rouge" misspellings? What is so hard about that word?

 

[lukelightning]

And what's with "rouge" misspellings? What is so hard about that word?

Watch out for rouges and their marital exploits.

 

[Lord Sessadore]

I think with rouge vs. rogue it's probably people either typing too fast and not proof reading, or poor typists (not everyone's a whiz with a keyboard).

I honestly wonder if they fixed the spelling for coup de grace in the 4e books because they saw someone making fun of coup de gras on a message board somewhere. I remember seeing that here on ENWorld a few months ago