Samurai regaining resolve

[Kayas]

I posted the in the normal rules forum but my society gm recommended I try this question here also.

Has there been any rulings on this mechanic?

Whenever the samurai defeats the target of his challenge, he regains one daily use of his resolve, up to his maximum number of uses per day. Defeating the target of his challenge usually involves reducing the target to 0 hit points or fewer, but the GM might rule that an enemy who surrenders or flees the battle is also defeated.

My local GMs are also struggling with the interpretation of this statement. It's vague as to what it really means by the word "defeat". There are other classes with a similar mechanic that the wording is very clear.

For example, Gunslinger is very specific about regaining Grit when it says, "When the gunslinger reduces a creature to 0 or fewer hit points with a firearm attack while in the heat of combat, she regains 1 grit point." This explanation is very specific to how it's done and that's "with a firearm attack".

Samurai resolve is very ambiguous because it says "defeat". Then it explains what "defeat" usually is, but not that it has to be done specifically by the samurai, just that it has to be done. However, the statement that follows, "but the GM might rule that an enemy who surrenders or flees the battle is also defeated", seems to refer to a party situation. A samurai wouldn't typically force a surrender or flee on his own as he would be amongst his party most of the time.

If it's ruled to work like Gunslinger Grit, then that's fine. I would find it very limiting though as this is the only way to recover Resolve and it requires the use of a second skill, both of which are limited by character level. Grit points can be increased by other means besides level and regained by other means besides reducing an enemy to 0 hp.

[Nefreet]

Sounds to me like you need to consult your GM when you sit down at a table =).

[Kayas]

I have consulted with him and he asked me to see how other pathfinder society groups are handling this. We're basically looking for a third party society based ruling.

[Talon3182000]

As a gm for 20 years seem straight forward to me.
Defeat mean the creature is killed or fleas.
Don't matter if it was a group kill or single the result is the same.
The group is a team there no I in team. So there should be no penalty for team play.
I hope this helps.

[Muser]

If you win a combat against the challenged foe, ding goes your resolve!

[The Fox]

Here is the text from the PRD:

PRD wrote:

Resolve (Ex): ... Whenever the samurai defeats the target of his challenge, he regains one daily use of his resolve, ...

That sure sounds like it needs be the samurai who defeats the target, not his teammates.

But how to adjucate the situation when the target flees or surrenders?
Easy. In the PFS scenarios, the enemies' moral is listed as to what causes them to flee or surrender. If the cause was an action taken by the samurai, then the samurai regains one use of resolve.

[Bbauzh ap Aghauzh]

I agree with The Fox.

[Hayato Ken]

For mortal combat most probably the samurai needs to down his foe. But in case enemies surrender or flee that is mostly hard to determine why exactly. I would rule a clause that the samurai has to contribute something meaningfull or most of the damage. Or "tank" most of the damage.
Then yes, regain resolve.

I think in PFS things like that are more difficult, because other team members might not wait for you to do the last strike, which in turn could lead to a PvP discussion. That´s the reason for my ruling too.

[The Fox]

Hayato Ken wrote:

For mortal combat most probably the samurai needs to down his foe. But in case enemies surrender or flee that is mostly hard to determine why exactly. I would rule a clause that the samurai has to contribute something meaningfull or most of the damage. Or "tank" most of the damage.

Then yes, regain resolve.

I think in PFS things like that are more difficult, because other team members might not wait for you to do the last strike, which in turn could lead to a PvP discussion. That´s the reason for my ruling too.

Yeah, my interpretation is very much the same. Suppose the target will flee or surrender when brought below 5 hp, and the samurai hits the target and brings it to 4 hp. Even if someone else hits it after that, the samurai should be credited with defeating the target. I did not mean to imply in my earlier post that it should only be if the samurai scored the last hit.