Pathfinder 1E Troll + coup de grace

[Ezequielramone]

I'm on my cellphone, so I'll be quick. What happen when the PCs make a coup de grace to a troll? The cdg says that if the troll don't success the fort save he dies, but the troll says he only dies whit fire. There is some faq or errata about this?

 

[Savage Wombat]

I allow PCs to coup-de-grace trolls if they're using fire or acid. Otherwise it just fails.

 

[billd91]

You don't have to use fire or acid to perform a coup de grace on a troll (or other regenerating creature). The regeneration stops working for a round after the damage that stops it is applied. So the easiest method is to pound it into being under 0 hit points so it falls unconscious, scorch it with some fire or acid, and then perform the coup de grace with your best damaging weapon. When the regeneration is shocked into dormancy for that round after fire or acid is applied is when the troll is most vulnerable.

 

[delericho]

You don't have to use fire or acid to perform a coup de grace on a troll (or other regenerating creature). The regeneration stops working for a round after the damage that stops it is applied. So the easiest method is to pound it into being under 0 hit points so it falls unconscious, scorch it with some fire or acid, and then perform the coup de grace with your best damaging weapon. When the regeneration is shocked into dormancy for that round after fire or acid is applied is when the troll is most vulnerable.

Yep, this.

Note that this is one of the changes that was made between 3.5e and Pathfinder.

 

[Umbran]

Yep, this.

Note that this is one of the changes that was made between 3.5e and Pathfinder.

Yah. From the Pathfinder SRD on Regeneration:

"Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, cause a creature’s regeneration to stop functioning on the round following the attack. During this round, the creature does not heal any damage and can die normally. The creature's descriptive text describes the types of damage that cause the regeneration to cease functioning."

This is in contrast to what you see in the d20 srd, in which all damage that isn't of the specific types is considered non-lethal damage - you could try to perform a coup de grace, but it would deal non-lethal damage, knock the thing unconscious, and it would keep regenerating.

 

[Wicht]

This is one of those situations where you should know the rules, understand the rules, and generally use the rules - but use them for best dramatic effect by knowing when to be dogmatic about applying them verbatim and knowing when to not.

For instance, if there is only a single troll, I will sometimes remind the players, for the sake of speed of the game, that they need to apply fire before and after chopping off the head of the troll for good measure. It would be tedious in many cases to do otherwise. But in a dramatic fight, where they have brought one down to 0 and there are two more, its a good time to not remind them and let them down another only to have the first get back up.

 

[Ezequielramone]

Thanks to all of you. It was my fault, I assumed that regeneration work the same way as it did in 3.5 now it is very clear.
Thanks again for your quick help.
If they don't use fire and perform a cdg then the troll will just have a lot of negative hps, but won't die.