No, not steaks, though steak is delicious. Mmmmmmmm.
Anyway. Under weaknesses for a vampire, it says they need to be helpless to be staked. Right here homeboy, check it out:
"Driving a wooden stake through a helpless vampire's heart instantly slays it (this is a full-round action). However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the head is also severed and anointed with holy water."
Ok. So...what happens if you're holding a wooden stake, and you make a called shot to a vampire's heart and make it? Are they just not slain? Is the Helpless condition crucial? Or, what if the vampire is helpless, and you drive a wooden crossbow bolt through his heart? Or an arrow? Or a wooden spear? Or a long, long pole with a wooden stake attached to the end of it? Do they specifically need the Wooden Stake weapon and the Helpless condition to be slain, and nothing else will work? Is that what's going on?
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I think they need wooden stake specifically to kill them, and they do need to be helpless. That is why color spray or the sleep hex are great for vampire slayers. knock them out and steak through the heart. If they aren't helpless and you reduce them to 0 or less they turn to mist because it has to be THROUGH THE HEART! that accuracy requires a still patient for the precision.
On a side note, are wooden stakes capable of penetrating a breastplate? if not then vampires are much harder to kill.
Needs to be helpless. Says so right there. Also needs to be a full round action. It is like coup de gras. It can only happen under the specific circumstances.
I think you're reading too much into the sentence. It is assumed that the vampire would be some form of 'helpless' to allow an adventurer to land a killing blow like that. I think the more important statement is 'stake through the heart'. If for some reason you can't easily drive a stake through the heart, say, when the vampire is doing everything to squirm around and out of the way, then you can't magically land a called shot to that point.
I think they need wooden stake specifically to kill them, and they do need to be helpless. That is why color spray or the sleep hex are great for vampire slayers. knock them out and steak through the heart. If they aren't helpless and you reduce them to 0 or less they turn to mist because it has to be THROUGH THE HEART! that accuracy requires a still patient for the precision.
On a side note, are wooden stakes capable of penetrating a breastplate? if not then vampires are much harder to kill.
When did undead lose their undead traits?
They didn't. Likely a hasty post or they didn't realize what the undead type was immune to.
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RAW the rules describe it as require helpless and a full round action.
As a GM, I would be inclined to allow a called shot to the heart (per Called Shot Rules) to kill him if done with a wooden stake.
Edit: Called Shot Rules actually cover this oddly enough.
Heart
A called shot to the heart represents an attempt at a killing blow. If the hit isn't either a critical hit or a debilitating blow, the attempt fails and is just a normal hit. A called shot to the heart can be used for any small, likely fatal location on a creature, such as the only weakness on an unimaginably ancient red dragon. Called shots to the heart are challenging (–10 penalty).
Called Shot: A called shot to the heart is just a normal hit with no extra effect.
Critical Called Shot: A critical hit to the heart pierces the organ, causing exhaustion and 1d4 points of Constitution bleed damage. A successful Fortitude save reduces this to fatigue and 1 point of Constitution bleed damage. In either case, stopping the bleeding requires either regeneration (spell or special ability), magic healing that heals as many points of damage (from one or more sources) as the original blow dealt, or a successful DC 20 heal check that takes 1d4 rounds to complete.
A critical hit to the heart against a vampire made with a piercing weapon composed entirely of wood leaves the vampire impaled through the heart by the weapon if it fails its Fortitude save.
Debilitating Blow: A debilitating blow to the heart destroys it, instantly killing any creature that relies on its heart to survive. Creatures that succeed at a Fortitude save suffer exhaustion and take 1d6 points of Constitution damage and 1d4 points of Constitution bleed damage, as do creatures that can survive without a heart.
A debilitating blow to the heart against a vampire made with a piercing weapon made entirely of wood affects the vampire as a critical hit to the heart; for example, it still receives a Fortitude save to avoid the consequences.
Wow. Good find, Claxon!
RAW the rules describe it as require helpless and a full round action.
As a GM, I would be inclined to allow a called shot to the heart (per Called Shot Rules) to kill him if done with a wooden stake.
By this logic you should be able to "called shot" one hit kill just about any creature in the game. After all most things are killed by being stabbed in the heart. Pathfinder is not designed to work like this. There are no hit locations and hitpoints are an abstraction. Allowing one shot kills fundamentally changes the game. At high levels when you have a high BAB you could just "one shot" every creature you meet.
Or think about it like this. What if a GM did this to you! Round 1: "The dragon with the +40 to hit "calls his shot" and stabs you in the heart. You are dead despite your 150 hp."
What is good for the goose is good for the gander!
RAW the rules describe it as require helpless and a full round action.
As a GM, I would be inclined to allow a called shot to the heart (per Called Shot Rules) to kill him if done with a wooden stake.
By this logic you should be able to "called shot" one hit kill just about any creature in the game. After all most things are killed by being stabbed in the heart. Pathfinder is not designed to work like this. There are no hit locations and hitpoints are an abstraction. Allowing one shot kills fundamentally changes the game. At high levels when you have a high BAB you could just "one shot" every creature you meet.
Or think about it like this. What if a GM did this to you! Round 1: "The dragon with the +40 to hit "calls his shot" and stabs you in the heart. You are dead despite your 150 hp."
What is good for the goose is good for the gander!
No it isn't. Screw equality, just say it works for vampires and nobody else.
I partially take it back there are rules for this, I should have known better! Never heard of a debilitating blow however, how does that work?
I don't know. You might find it in one of the books, or on the SRD.
Ahh "debilitating blow" "a hit for 50 points or more damage" the old death by massive damage thing ...I will be using this on PCs from now on...muhahaha!
Just kidding, I don't really love the called shot thing except for cinematic type stuff like knocking something out of someones hand or shooting a rope, etc. It would be way to mean to try to called shot critical a PC.
Honestly, I had no frakkin clue that rule existed. Probably because my group never uses called shot rules.
And to Mike Frank and you're post afte my first, it is supposed to quite deadly and devastating. But it is very balanced by the fact that it actually only does anything more on a critical called shot. Not to mentioned that Called Shots to the Heart are made at -10 penalty. Of course with those penalties you're probably relying on a natural 20 to hit anyways, and even then your likely hood to confirm with that -10 penalty is still very low too. So I don't think you have to worry about PCs one shoting things they shouldn't be able to. Sure you can one shot that level 1 commoner with a called shot to the heart at level 10 by using a keen nodachi (crit range 15-20), but you could have also killed him by breathing too hard in his general direction.
Not to mentioned that Called Shots to the Heart are made at -10 penalty. Of course with those penalties you're probably relying on a natural 20 to hit anyways, and even then your likely hood to confirm with that -10 penalty is still very low too. So I don't think you have to worry about PCs one shoting things they shouldn't be able to.
True Strike makes called shots much easier.
True Strike makes called shots much easier.
As already noted, using trike strike or similar abilities negates the called shot.
What would make a vampire helpless? With their immunities and ability to turn to mist (such as if grappled) there can't be much.
Have an Inventor with you make a vacuum cleaner for when that sucker tries to mist on ya.
What would make a vampire helpless? With their immunities and ability to turn to mist (such as if grappled) there can't be much.
The main one is reducing them to 0 HP and forcing them to assume Gaseous Form and retreat to their coffin. Once at rest, the vampire is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.
Would Holy Word paralyze Undead, though?
Holy word would still Blind, Deafen, and Kill Undead. So it doesn't have no effect.
Holy Word has absolutely no text whatsoever that even remotely suggests or hints that it bypasses normal immunities. Undead targets "become" paralyzed, if you wish, the effect to which the Undead are immune.
Mindless creatures aren't confused by Word of Chaos, either.
True Strike negates called shots by default rules.
Automatic Hits: Some effects in the game, like true strike or the flash of insight ability of cyclopes, provide automatic or nearly automatic hits. Using such an ability on a called shot turns it into a normal attack, with none of the benefits or penalties associated with called shots. From a story perspective, this is because the effect cannot distinguish between a hit in general and a hit in a particular area, but it's also necessary to keep the power of such abilities in line with their original intended effects. Some Game Masters may prefer a more theatrical or dangerous game in which magic can make a shot through the eye nearly certain, in which case this rule can be ignored.
Good rule then.