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Unless I'm misreading it, No Quarter makes it VERY easy for the enemy to insta-kill companions once they're wounded. Is there a similar special ability or house rule for No Quarter that gives them a dangerous and evocative ability without threatening a TPK?

I think you may be mireading it.
It is not after a wound. It is only when a companion is knocked unconcious, and the advesary spends a point of Hate, and it is the secondary weapon skill that needs to hit...

And "Protect Companion" is always an option, too.

Yes. Because a point of Hate must be spent, it's also something Noldor can 'Nope!' with Might of the Firstborn.

As a matter of fact, now there is a post about this issue, I've always found myself not very comfortable with the idea of the companions impossible to be killed by the first blow of an opponent, no matter how powerful he/she was... too unrealistic for me.

So I think that the No Quarter rule is great, and even that it should be somehow expanded to all adversaries... after all, the companions are perfectly apt to kill their adversaries with their first strike... tsk, tsk, not fair... not very heroic, either...

TOR isn't meant to be a 'meatgrinder' game. So be careful about making adversaries more lethal.

I've had a Mountain Troll kill a PC in one hit.

But I think Angelalex242's right. PC's are meant to have an edge up on your average enemy. PC's killing hordes of orcs is part of the feel of Middle Earth.
One Ring isn't DCC. If that's your jam, you should play Death Frost Doom.
In fact, everyone should play Death Frost Doom. Because it's awesome. It's just awesome is a differnt way than One Ring is awesome.

Well, I've played some other Middle-Earth RPGs... most venerated Iron Crown's one, for example... in that game you could (can) be killed singleblowed... and that danger prevented (prevents) lots of unrealistic foolhardy actions from players...

In my opinion, it didn't make a "meatgrinder game" out of that game.

As a matter of fact, I think that some invulnerability ("to have an edge"?) for companions may make TOR a "meatgrinder" in the opposite way... as Arthur Fisher said, in some players' and fans' opinion (I quote) "PC's killing hordes of orcs is part of the feel of Middle Earth". Funny... I never felt about Middle-Earth that way... It sounds much more World of Warcraft or Warhammer to me.

In Middle-Earth, a single and craven goblin killed Lord Balin with a single arrow... and a powerful warrior-prince from Minas Tirith called Boromir didn't perform much better against a bunch of orcs/uruks...

Balin rolled an eye on his weary protection roll. Boromir was just plain outgunned.

Something to keep in mind, is that the enemies of Middle-Earth main advantage is their sheer number. Orcs are brutal sure, but a 1v1 fight any starting character will do just fine against them. Provided they are not weary starting the battle. But throw hordes of attackers and it becomes a very different ball game. They are not great fighters, the orcs just have more numbers.