Should an NPC bad guy get to coup de grace?

[Darklone]

Of course, magical healing is another factor to consider. It sucks to beat someone into unconsciousness, then have him get back up.

Right, and that's the main point why my BBEGs will always do it (in case there's noone who could take advantage of that AoO next to them).

Well, not only the BBEGs, but the henchies as well.

But then, I let them roll their attack roll for the CdG... and last time one of the PCs was held, the guy with the axe next to him chopped his buddy in two pieces with a fumble[TM] instead of hitting him.

PC survived long enough to get out of the Hold Person.

The PC is called Untouchable since I never seem to be able to hit him

 

[Wombat]

I think it would vary by the personality of the NPC in question.

One who is bloodthirsty and revels in the kill would CDG right away.

Others might go for the tactical advantage (one down, move to next, come back for the follow-up later)

But in the overall, yes, I do allow NPCs to kill PCs -- sauce for the goose and all that

 

[Pielorinho]

My question is; is that fair to the players? Is it fair to "fudge" the enemy like that when, in reality, the enemies motivations, in both of these instances, is simply to see the PCs dead. No more, no less. They want them dead and if I played up that aspect, the PCs would be deader than the proverbial doornail.

If that's really the motive, then yeah, I'd CDG them. The enemies presumably know about healing magic, and they know that it's much easier to come back from unconsciousness than from death, and they know that they might lose the fight. If they CDG, they'll at least accomplish part of their goal.

However, are you sure that's their entire motive? Often their motive includes their own survival; if that's the case, then CDG is rarely the right choice in the middle of a fight, since they could be using that round instead to prepare for the next wave of adventurers.

Or they could take the unconscious PC captive, and ready an attack against her if anyone approaches, and start the bargaining. Which could make for some great roleplaying, especially if they try to set a bargain that the PCs might agree to instead of something they clearly can't agree to.

Daniel

 

[Valkesh]

Well, once i had a monk with the "Rapid Stunning" and "freezing of the lifeblood" feat from de CW and two barbarians with the "death Blow" feat from the Sword and Fist. The mechanic was the following, The monk would paralize two PCs, and the barbarians would move in and CdG the two paralized ones. Then wait for the next round for the other two it had a couple of ppl sweating

 

[BOZ]

should they get to do it? oh, yes.

should the DM abuse it? well, not unless he is a killer. one of our past DM's was a killer DM and used the coup de grace whenever he could, as long as his villans weren't under attack from someone else.

 

[Menexenus]

I have simply banned CDG from my game for this very reason. (As a DM, I feel reluctant to use it against the PCs, so it's not fair that the PCs can use it against my bad guys.) I say, if a character wants to hit an unconscious guy, let him make a roll! Maybe it's a little unrealistic that I don't let my players automatically off helpless bad guys, but so what? I'll let this little lack of realism stand in line behind all the others that are inherent to this game we all love so well!

 

[Trainz]

Yeah... I CDG'ed my players a few times and killed one once. They don't mind.

As someone pointed out, it's common for allied divines to cure PC's, especially in the high levels with heal and mass-heal. An enemy would be foolish not to use the opportunity to down the PC: he would in fact diminish his own chances of survival.

I guess we like it balanced and realistic...

 

[adwyn]

I think its fair, and many low intelligence creatures may continue attacking the downed foe until it is distracted.

On the other hand IMC few intelligent creatures will CDG until the fight is over. After all, the tide of battle can change quickly and few people will be willing to take prisoners or allow opponents to flee if they've been willy nilly CDG'ing the fallen.

All of this goes out the window when tactics call for it. If the party is using ranged healing, regeneration, invisible healers or anything else that is causing the fallen to rejoin the fight, you bet your sweet britches that the foes will coup-de-grace anyone who goes down.

 

[RFisher]

I generally don't think DMs should choose monster actions based on the welfare of the PCs.

Although I also generally don't feel that monsters & PCs have to live by the same rules. e.g. I'm perfectly willing to allow PCs to do critical hits but not monsters. For whatever reason, though, I think monsters should be able to coup de grace.

 

[Bayushi Seikuro]

As for Bad Guys doing the CdG manuever...

I weigh if it's something that the villain would do. The majority of my villains show mercy - it's actually on the Evil Overlord List... show mercy. Then, the good guys will cut you slack later on, feeling that they 'owe you one'...

But, there are some nasty humanoid type bad guys who will look everyone else in the eyes, and gut the PC's allies. Intimidation goes a long, long way.

But, I ramble...