Tripped up over cleave

[Goldmoon]

I was playing The Temple of elemental evil for the PC and noticed that certain monsters tripped my characters then were able to cleave onto another one of my characters.

According to the RAW, if you use a weapon to trip and deal damage with the trip, can you cleave?

 

[ThirdWizard]

It depends on how one defines "drop."

Benefit

If you deal a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), you get an immediate, extra melee attack against another creature within reach. You cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature. You can use this ability once per round.

 

[Goldmoon]

I have always defined drop (and seen it defined in d&d) as falling down or making someone fall down.

 

[cmrscorpio]

I play it that tripping an opponent doesn't meet the definition of "dropping an opponent" given in the cleave feat. Cleave specifically states you need to "deal a creature enough damage to make it drop". Tripping in and of itself does not deal any damage.

 

[Mistwell]

I have always defined drop (and seen it defined in d&d) as falling down or making someone fall down.

Except the rule isn't "make them drop", as in "fall down", it's "If you deal a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it)", as in "go unconscious or kill".

In this case, it's not the damage making them "drop". The intent of Cleave is to only allow a second attack if you took your target out of the battle with your first hit. Making someone move into a prone position is not out of the battle. Heck, they can even still attack you from that prone position.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Except the rule isn't "make them drop", as in "fall down", it's "If you deal a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it)", as in "go unconscious or kill".

For the record, this is the interprietation I typically use, despite my attempt at neutrality above.


However, there is an interesting note with the Knockdown feat. It lets you trip the enemy if you deal a certain amount of damage to them (can't recall the exact number, it was amazingly low, like 10 or 15). In this case, you seem to "deal... enough damage to make it drop."

 

[FrostedMini1337]

What if you dispelling strike as a suel arcanamach(or a spell-storing weapon+dispel)...and dispell their levitation...and they "drop" out of the sky? (You're both flying. And someone else is in reach)?

Or when you kill a summoned monster? They don't drop. They disappear!

 

[Legildur]

Trip is definately not a trigger for Cleave (unless you have the Improved Trip feat and your free follow-up attack 'drops' the opponent to below 0 hit points).

 

[Ilium]

Goldmoon: I've played that game quite a bit and I don't ever remember one of the monsters tripping my PCs. Just out of curiosity, what was it?

 

[Liquidsabre]

However, there is an interesting note with the Knockdown feat.

IIRC Knockdown is an out of date 3.0 feat that hasn't appeared with a 3.5e version yet.