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In 3.5 where it was not an actual rule, IIRC I did not use it because it is too easy to do 50 points of damage.
I know the save is only 15, but a 1 will come up eventually.
In pathfinder it is an optional rule, that I never use.
I have almost been killed by it.
Had to make the save 3 rounds in a row vs a bunch of cyclops that got lucky crits vs my 95hp lvl10 fighter. While my fort save was +8, it was still really tense!
I've seen 5 PC's slain to this abomination of an optional rule. I do not use it in my campaigns. Worst one I saw was a level 16 arcane trickster standing 80 feet away minding his own business when the fighter charged a neutral CR 6 Beetle just to get into a fight. The 2nd one charged off a cliff at the trickster for some reason and laid a 41 damage crit on it, sucking out a natural 1 (the trickster was small sized and the 3.5 rule subtracted -10 for each size below medium). Way to many things can accidentally do 50 damage at higher level. I felt sick the first two PC's I killed with it in my homegame and took it out for the next one.
I don't think that rule has ever come up, and I doubt we would use it even if it did.
In 3.5 where it was not an actual rule, IIRC I did not use it because it is too easy to do 50 points of damage. . . .
Massive Damage was a friend's barbarian's death attack. No study for three rounds needed. I think she might have even taken Ability Focus. ;)
I've seen PCs and monsters alike killed by it in v3.5.
Haven't seen it in Pathfinder yet though.
Along with the other posters, I've only seen deaths from massive damage occur in 3.5, and can't recall ever doing so in Pathfinder. I believe this is so because the change to require at least half the victim's max HP made it significantly less gnarly.
The problem with the rule is that it usually only comes into play at high level, where even a Wizard can easily make a DC 15 fortitude save. I hate "don't roll a 1 mechanics', and this exemplifies that the most. Never have used it, its one of those rules I conveniently forget.
Don't use it.
The GM has vastly more actions than the PCs do, and does not have (much of) a vested interest in the survival of monsters. Every time the rule comes up for the players, it's a shrug from the GM, and he moves on. Every time it comes up against the players, you are risking your character's life on a single d20 roll. And, as a general rule, the GM rolls a lot more d20s than the players ever do.
As has been pointed out, this is a horrible optional rule. Sure, it's exciting for you, but sooner or later it's going to happen to you.
I played with the rule in Rise of the Runelords. We had a wizard with maximized fireball and it was an important part of our strategy for dealing with those giants. It was rare, but it helped a lot when a giant just upped and died. It never got a PC in that one though.
As an aside, it was a maze spell that took out my PC in the surprise round of the final battle.
The second time I went through RotR we used it again. I created a cohort (through leadership)because we needed a party healer. In the very first battle, she died from a failed massive damage save. (In the surprise round, too boot.)
Aside from that it didn't affect things one way or the other.
Until the final battle with Karzog. The barbarian won init, crit on a charge and Karzoug rolled a 1.
Massive letdown. We then decided to stop using the rule.
In all cases we used the 50 pts of damage version.
In the future I would suggest:
A) Big Bads are immune to it. B) mumbo jumbo up a reason that raise dead doesn't need a 5000 gp diamond to fix that death.
Don't use it.
The GM has vastly more actions than the PCs do, and does not have (much of) a vested interest in the survival of monsters. Every time the rule comes up for the players, it's a shrug from the GM, and he moves on. Every time it comes up against the players, you are risking your character's life on a single d20 roll. And, as a general rule, the GM rolls a lot more d20s than the players ever do.
And this is why 'if the players can do it, so can the GM, so it's fair' is a nonsense argument.
My Fighter-turned-Paladin-by-an-artifact died to this rule. Fortitude save of +21 or so... Natural one. *sigh*
I could see Massive Damage working for a KO effect. You could even let the player choose between "KO" and "maiming".
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My old GM used it for a while, but misremembered how it worked from 3.5-- for some reason, he thought it was just "half your total HP".
The result? At level 1, just about EVERY attack that hits becomes "Fort save or die." And at level 2, your odds don't improve all that much.
I know the rule exists to acknowledge that at higher levels, PCs are able to survive things they logically shouldn't, but I'll add my voice to the choir of "don't use this rule".
I don't remember what game I was playing (Pre-pathfinder though), but I had a Paladin on a horse with a lance and I charged a dragon. We were using massive damage rules. My character did I think the 50 hitpoints or half hitpoints. I can't remember. It has been a running gag since then that my Paladin killed the monster that was supposed to be a long battle in the first round. Needless to say we don't use Massive Damage anymore.
And this is why 'if the players can do it, so can the GM, so it's fair' is a nonsense argument.Don't use it.
The GM has vastly more actions than the PCs do, and does not have (much of) a vested interest in the survival of monsters. Every time the rule comes up for the players, it's a shrug from the GM, and he moves on. Every time it comes up against the players, you are risking your character's life on a single d20 roll. And, as a general rule, the GM rolls a lot more d20s than the players ever do.
No, this is one reason (among others listed above) why massive damage is simply a bad mechanic, in general. It might be acceptable as a KO or a persistent wound or something else non-lethal, but as an instakill, it's just no fun for anyone.