Rules Clarification: Attacking while Dead

[Dandu]

Brains.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Now... what about animating the object that is the corpse? What is the difference, to the observer, between a zombie and an animated corpse? Thats probably a more philosophical question, so I might make another thread for that.

I'm looking at the stats for a human zombie and an animated medium object with legs. The most obvious thing to me is the speed: zombies move 30ft and can't run; whereas a two-legged animated object moves 40ft. So I'm guessing that a knowledgeable observer could distinguish between the two creatures by their agility and quickness.

 

[irdeggman]

From the SRD

Dead: The character’s hit points are reduced to –10, his Constitution drops to 0, or he is killed outright by a spell or effect. The character’s soul leaves his body. Dead characters cannot benefit from normal or magical healing, but they can be restored to life via magic. A dead body decays normally unless magically preserved, but magic that restores a dead character to life also restores the body either to full health or to its condition at the time of death (depending on the spell or device). Either way, resurrected characters need not worry about rigor mortis, decomposition, and other conditions that affect dead bodies

Now I guess it requires some interpretation of what "the soul leaves the body" means.

But clearly the character is no longer connected to his "physical form" and thus has no actions that can be taken using that form.

 

[pawsplay]

Actually, it clearly states that dead bodies decay, and hence, dead characters can take some actions. Oh, and... nocking an arrow is also not an action.

 

[radmod]

There are no rules that state you are in any way hindered by being dead.

Rats! I hate to spoil the fun of this idea but this is covered in the glossary. To add to what Veg said:

1) creature: "A living or otherwise active being, not an object. The terms "creature" and "character" are sometimes used interchangeably."
2) action: "A character activity. Actions are divided into the following categories, according to the time required to perform them (from most time required to least): full-round actions, standard actions, move actions, and free actions."

So since an attack has to be performed as an action, or part of one, then being dead, you are no longer a creature, therefore you cannot attack while dead.

 

[radmod]

oops, double post. I HAVE got to learn to stop hitting the back button.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

Watch a movie called "Things to do in Denver while you're dead". It might answer some of your questions...

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Watch a movie called "Things to do in Denver while you're dead". It might answer some of your questions...

Ah, good call. Also check out "Weekend at Bernie's".