Throat Slicer - How to best utilize it?

[Derrick Winters]

Heroes of the Streets includes a feat that makes Coup de Grace a useful option in Combat:

Throat Slicer.

It allows you to CdG an unconscious, bound or pinned target as a standard action if you are using a 1-handed, light, or natural weapon.

How to create the conditions for it in a reliable manner?

I'm thinking of several approaches...

1) A grapple-focused character.

Frank Barker
Human Barbarian (Feral Gnasher) 7
15 PB
STR 18(10+2 racial)
DEX 12(2)
CON 14(5)
INT 10(0)
WIS 12(2)
CHA 7(-4)

Alternate racial traits: Heart of the Fields

1st: Rage, Savage Bite(1d4); Racial Heritage (Goblin), Improved Unarmed Strike
2nd: Impromptu Armament, Uncanny Dodge; Throw Anything
3rd: Lockjaw(Grab: +1 size), Improved Grapple
4th: Rage Power(Raging Grappler), +1 STR
5th: Improvised Weapon Mastery, Throat Slicer
6th: Rage Power(Strength Surge)
7th: DR 1/-, Greater Grapple

Grapple CMB: 7 BAB +4 feats +4 grab + 4 STR +2 Rage = +21(before magic items, size increases, buffs etc)

Grapple CMD: 10+7 BAB +4 feats +4 STR +1 DEX +0 Rage = 26(before magic items, size increases, buffs etc) (+7 Surge)

So you rage, charge, bite, grab, trigger raging grappler(bite dmg again!).

On your opponents turn, you can use Strength surge to increase CMD so the bugger doesn't break/escape your grapple.

On your second turn, you maintain the grapple as move action(automatic dmg because you grapple with a bite, inflict prone on your opponent with raging grappler); choosing to PIN him.

You have +5 from maintaining, so +26 CMB to pin...

Then, use a standard action to CdG him.

With what? Improved Lockjaw says you can't use your bite!
Well, you still have your Unarmed Strike, which counts as light weapon, iirc.

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The second option would be a Hunter with a grapple-focused companion. The companion grapples and pins, and the Hunter uses Throat slicer to CdG.

[ProfPotts]

This Feat looks very similar to the Slaying Sprint Feat from the Rival Guide, except that Slaying Sprint has much higher prerequisites (Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, bab +13), more limited usage (it's still a full-round action to perform a coup de grace, but you can move up to half your speed instead of just a 5ft step; you can only use it with light or one-handed weapons - natural attacks aren't mentioned) and, perhaps importantly, doesn't provoke AoO when performing the coup de grace. Still, if you're using Throat Slicer on someone you've pinned, and aren't being threatened by his mates anyway, then that's hardly a disadvantage. Of course Slaying Sprint works against any helpless targets (not just unconscious, bound or pinned), so there's that...

... actually, does Heroes of the Streets have any added details in defining the 'helpless' condition? If so it may be worth the ca$h just for that!

[Castilonium]

Bushwhack

[Faelyn]

Tetori monk is typically the best grappling based character around and has scaling unarmed damage which works with Throat Slicer. Two more feats I would highly suggest would be Grabbing Style (removes the -4 penalty for grappling with only one hand) and Celestial Obedience for Falayna (grants +4 bonus to all Grapple checks and CMD).

[I3igAl]

You could be an Order of the Hammer Cavalier. You get a free grapple check on a full attack and have a Camel with that feat.
You hold the enemy down your Camel bites his neck.

A Blood Conduit Bloodrager could also be an awesome user of that feat. With the Abyssal Bloodline you might become a pretty awesome grappler.

[Alex Mack]

I3igAl wrote:

You could be an Order of the Hammer Cavalier. You get a free grapple check on a full attack and have a Camel with that feat.

You hold the enemy down your Camel bites his neck.

Make that a Constable Cavalier. He can grapple on a charge.

[Bob Bob Bob]

The best way is probably Snapping Turtle Style, specifically Snapping Turtle Clutch, which lets you grapple as an immediate action when an opponent misses you with a melee attack. So grab them on their turn, pin them on yours, stab away. Combine with Greater Grapple to maintain as a move and you can one round coup de grace.

[Alex Mack]

Human Order of the Hammer Constable Cavalier can get it going by level 5. If you dip 1 level of unchained monk or fighter or bloodrager it'll work from level 3 onwards.

1 IUS Imp. Grapple, Snapping Turtle Style
3 Snapping Trurtle Clutch
5 Throat Slicer

[DethBySquirl]

Probably not the best way to do it, but I'd love to see it utilized on a Vigilante. It seems like it could be thematically appropriate with things like Living Shield, Mighty Ambush, Pull Into The Shadows, etc. Something akin to the sorts of close range stealth takedowns you might see in a video game.