The Spellkiller Inquisition - Is the list of "Defeat" conditions exclusive?


Rules Questions


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.
Ultimate Combat wrote:

Spellkiller Inquisition

Granted Powers: You gain the Disruptive feat as a bonus feat (even if you do not meet the prerequisites). When you defeat an enemy (whether by reducing it to 0 or fewer hit points, taking the enemy captive, or accepting a truce), you gain a +2 sacred or profane bonus to AC for 1 minute per level. You gain a sacred bonus if you are good, profane if you are evil; if you are neutral, you choose either sacred or profane when you select this inquisition...

The Spellkiller Inquisition uses nearly identical verbiage to the "Decisive Defeat" definition from the Ultimate Campaign chapter covering Story Feats and the terms used to define their conditional triggers. It omits two follow-on sentences, however, which would drastically change the frequency with which the Spellkiller Inquisition would provide a mechanical benefit to the player.

Is this omission intentional, and designed to reduce the utility of the inquisition, or should the "defeat" conditions that trigger it be treated as inclusive of the broader definition of defeat (bold text below) which appears in the "Decisive Defeat" definition?

Story Feats - Glossary - Decisive Defeat:
Decisively Defeat: You overcome a foe in some way, such as by killing the creature, knocking it unconscious, or causing it to be taken prisoner. You must be a significant participant in the conflict to defeat the opponent, even if another strikes the final blow. Whether or not merely causing the enemy to flee qualifies is up to the GM. Generally, driving off an enemy while causing little actual harm does not qualify as a decisive defeat.


Let's open this up a bit. Have any of you good people played a character with this inquisition, or been the DM for a player using it?

How have you seen this ability treated, or how do you adjudicate it?

What's your threshold for "Defeat" in this context?

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