House Rule for No Quarter

[bluejay]

But like I said, I've killed a PC with one hit from a Mountain Troll

Hmm ... characters can be killed outright with a single blow but only if they were previously Wounded. Was that the situation here?

As the RAW a character in full health cannot easily be killed in a single blow.

[Falenthal]

But like I said, I've killed a PC with one hit from a Mountain Troll

Hmm ... characters can be killed outright with a single blow but only if they were previously Wounded. Was that the situation here?

As the RAW a character in full health cannot easily be killed in a single blow.

Is it not an insta-kill when reduced to 0 Endurance AND Wounded in the same hit?
I might recall it incorrectly, though.

[bluejay]

Is it not an insta-kill when reduced to 0 Endurance AND Wounded in the same hit?
I might recall it incorrectly, though.

Not unless the character was previously Wounded.

[Falenthal]

p.130
A character whose Wounded box was already checked is
killed immediately when he receives another Wound AND
is reduced to 0 Endurance points at the same time.

Absolutely right, bluejay. Thanks!

[bluejay]

You're very welcome!

[jamesrbrown]

What cannot happen in The One Ring is for a fully hale companion, without a Wound, to be dropped by a single blow. The enemy would have to have either the No Quarter or Savage Assault Special ability to make a second attack on the same turn and possibly kill the hero.

I didn‘t understand No Quarter this way. RAW states (in the current version):
If the creature has just knocked out a character, reduce its hate point score by one to immediately roll a second attack...
It doesn’t state:

• If the creature has just hit a charakter, ... or
• If the creature has just wounded a charakter, ...

So from my understanding to kill a charakter with No Quarter you have to knock him out first, which means you have to wound him twice or to reduce his Endurance to 0 in order to get the second attack (for a hate point). So there‘s no way to kill a fully hale compagnion in one blow, even with No Quarter.

As I see it, there‘s no point using No Quarter as described in RAW. Yes, I want hard fights and tention, but killing a PC already lying on the floor is another thing. I‘d rather tend to house roule No Qwarter towards the second bullet point: If a charakter is wounded by an adversary, it can spend a hope point to get a second attack trying to knock him out (and if things go bad - maybe kill him).

I think you misunderstood my point, so please allow me an explanation. I did not state the knock out requirement to use No Quarter or give all the details because I was assuming that to be understood. I simply pointed out that it was impossible to kill a fully hale hero (not Wounded) in The One Ring with one blow (which was the subject of the OP), but not impossible in one turn. My quote above shows that I state a second attack on the same turn would make it possible if the enemy had one of those two special abilities. That's the closest it could get. Does that make more sense?

Why you think there is no point in using No Quarter, I do not fully understand. It is basically the equivalent of an instant kill, but a little harder to pull off. It happens in the same turn and right after the enemy's first attack. So, there is no delay. I imagine in the execution of such a special ability, the enemy strikes a hero with such a might knockout blow that he is afforded one last stab, perhaps even before the hero falls to the ground. Maybe it could even be narrated as one blow: "The Orc blade enters Bain's right side, and the great brute lifts him off the ground with it, thrusting the blade clean through his torso and out the other side." No Quarter makes things much more deadly, as it basically ignores all the rules for Wounds and death.

I've already addressed the subject of the OP in my previous reply, so I won't say anymore on that.

[Farath]

Thanks james for your clarification. I indeed didn’t distinguish between killing a hero in one blow vs killing him in one turn.
By seeing no point in using No Quarter I meant, I don’t find it very attractive personally. Kills are always frustrating for players and instant kills even more so. In my campaigns heroes seldom die, mainly only if they really act almost suicidal like walking into a dragon lair without second thought. Nevertheless I believe my players find the combats in my game exciting. There is more than death that makes a combat thrilling.

Or to put it another way, without No Quarter a foe is able to kill a hero simply one round later and even without making a dice roll, right? I mean, the hero is already knocked out, lying on the floor helpless until the end of the combat. So No Quarter saves one round for foes in combat.
In a direct confrontation (1:1) it may be reasonable to kill a hero at the end of the combat, but there you have enough time to simply kill him one round later. In a mass combat situation a foe would rather turn to the next hero, as he is the higher thread. Here No Quarter might give an advantage. But if you are victorious after all it doesn’t make much of a difference.

In my game I’ve now house ruled No Quarter not to be more lethal but still to be more dangerous:
If the creature has just wounded a character, reduce its Hate point score by one point to immediately roll a second attack on the same target using the creature’s secondary weapon (against the usual TN): if the roll succeeds with a great or extraordinary success, the target is considered to been knocked out (regardless of damage inflicted).

Does that make more sense now?