For when you have no other choice....

[Stormthorn]

Self Terminate [???]
A great warrior can, with a simple swift action, deny their enemy satisfaction of a kill.
Prerequisites: 13 str, one mental score of at least 11(To rationalize the self-termination), a neck and the ability to move it
Benefits: As a free action a character may attempt to break his own neck with a quick head snap, which results in his immidiate death. The character is entitled to a fort. save to survive but may opt to fail it. A succesful save still results in 2d6+1 points of lethal damage be taken. Characters without constitution scores or that are immune to critical hits are unafected by this ability.
Normal: umm...hello! You cant normaly snap your own neck! Think of the training it would take to overcome all those survival instincts like that. The best most people could do is whiplash.

[DaMullet]

I think the sarcasm in the Normal box could be done without, but this would make an excellent flavor feat for a Lawful fighter, especially if you cared enough about his background to give him a samurai-esque heritage.

[Fascisticide]

Maybe if it could be done without free hands if would be useful...

But I'm curious, when you attack yourself, are you considered helpless?

[thehothead]

Unless you've got one of your hands fighting off the other, then most likely yes.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Can't you just coup de grace yourself and fail the fort save without a feat?

[Neek]

But that's a full round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Your enemy may still get the kill.

[Collin152]

Bah, your still dying. Side's waste of a valuable resource, considering you will most likely lose a level after using this, if you even return to life.

[Torpedo Ted]

I'm just curios, would you get xp for killing yourself? Oh, right, you'd be dead...

[Demented]

Who says dead people don't get xp?
(Roleplaying xp, at least.)

[Collin152]

Do you get XP for killing... the Drama? the Plot? Desire? Hope? The Mood?
Do you get XP for killing a thought?

[levi]

I know fighters run out of decent things to spend feats on at high levels, but this is just silly. Ok, in all seriousness, I think it could be done better.

Honorable Death
You have the capacity to perform a swift suicide or assist in one.
Benefit: You may perform a coup de grace as a swift action on a willing target (including yourself), who does not need to be helpless. This action doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. A willing subject automatically fails it's fortitude save.
Normal: A coup de grace is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity and may only be used on helpless targets.

With this version, you have more options for taking yourself out, or you can be a speedy second for someone else who wishes to do so. However, that sort of thing isn't to my taste. I've just never understood it. Personally, I'd go for something rather different.

Never Taken Alive
You are incredibly difficult to subdue without the use of lethal force.
Prerequisites: Con 13, Diehard
Benefit: If you are currently engaged in combat or held in captivity, you stay conscious even if you've accumulated nonlethal damage exceeding your current hit point total.
Normal: You become unconscious if you accumulate nonlethal damage exceeding your hit point total.

It might be overpowered, but hey, it's actually of pretty limited utility. When was the last time you got attacked by something that tried to take you alive?

[Collin152]

I know fighters run out of decent things to spend feats on at high levels, but this is just silly. Ok, in all seriousness, I think it could be done better.

Honorable Death
You have the capacity to perform a swift suicide or assist in one.
Benefit: You may perform a coup de grace as a swift action on a willing target (including yourself), who does not need to be helpless. This action doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. A willing subject automatically fails it's fortitude save.
Normal: A coup de grace is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity and may only be used on helpless targets.

With this version, you have more options for taking yourself out, or you can be a speedy second for someone else who wishes to do so. However, that sort of thing isn't to my taste. I've just never understood it. Personally, I'd go for something rather different.

Never Taken Alive
You are incredibly difficult to subdue without the use of lethal force.
Prerequisites: Con 13, Diehard
Benefit: If your are currently engaged in combat or held in captivity, you stay conscious even if you've taken subdual damage exceeding your current hit point total.
Normal: You become unconscious if you take subdual damage exceeding your hit point total.

It might be overpowered, but hey, it's actually of pretty limited utility. When was the last time you got attacked by something that tried to take you alive?

So your essentially Immune to Subdual damage.

[DaMullet]

That's how I read it. Of course, as he said, how often do the hostiles NOT deal lethal damage to you?

[Haedrian]

Can we just call it seppuku ? and do it the samurai way?

[Maroon]

Silly question: how do you train this?

"Well done, pupil! You have successfully mastered the ancient Neck-Snapping Technique of the Excited Rabbit. Now you may go out into... er... wait a minute... Ye gods! Not again!"

[Haedrian]

Silly question: how do you train this?

"Well done, pupil! You have successfully mastered the ancient Neck-Snapping Technique of the Excited Rabbit. Now you may go out into... er... wait a minute... Ye gods! Not again!"

No no no, you're doing it all wrong, you need to put a HARDER force lyke thi- *crack* *silence* *thud*

=

Ok students, today we're doing practicals, watch very carefully, I shall do this only once.

[levi]

Can we just call it seppuku ? and do it the samurai way?

Well, in a word, no. Seppuku, when properly performed, isn't fast, and I'd argue, not even a coup de grace. There are ways to kill oneself that are far faster than seppuku, especially if one has a quality katana or wakizashi at your disposal.

It begins with a stab into the guts (potentially fatal, but not quick), and proceeds to slice through them and upwards into the more vital organs. Once one is unable to continue, your second decapitates you.

Rules wise, I'd handle this as a standard, full round, or multiple round action that provokes. You auto-hit and auto-crit (plus sneak attack, if you have it) against yourself for as many attacks as it takes. There should be some Fortitude or Will saves (or both, or perhaps Concentration checks) involved. Once you fail a save and are, therefor, unable to continue, your second decapitates you, preferably as a readied action.

Of course, if you're in a desperate situation, without the time or a second to do it properly, you could use the feat to perform a quick jab upward under the ribcage into your heart. I imagine you'd still retain your honor. It's also nice if your second has the feat, so he can finish you off quickly.

I specifically wrote my version of the feat to be generic in both a cultural aspect and the means in which you kill yourself. It could just as easily be used for snapping ones own neck, performing a quick and dirty seppuku, blowing ones head off with a shotgun, or any of a myriad other options. I figured there was no point in restricting it to psudo-Japanese characters weilding a wakazashi. Actually, the main reason I came up with my own version what that I felt the neck snapping only restriction was unneccessary. (The fact that the original was worded rather unproffessionally was a contributing factor also.)

So your essentially Immune to Subdual damage.

Yes and no. You still take nonlethal damage and once the fight ends (or you cease being in captivity), you still pass out. You also pass out from nonlethal damage that dosn't come from combat, such as falling. However, for the most part, when it matters, yeah, nonlethal damage doesn't matter to you.

Silly question: how do you train this?

Well, I imagine that once you've killed enough people, you can figure out how to do the same thing to yourself. As for how you work up the mental state to follow through with it, I have no idea. I can't really fathom it, but many people can and do, so apparently, you either have it or you don't.

[Stormthorn]

I would like to note that A: This was designed to be done using neck muscles alone, so you could be tied up or even lose your hands and still do it AND B: I designed this for either a very silly world or a world with some hard-core RPers.

The fact that the original was worded rather unproffessionally was a contributing factor also

yes, well, not all of us can spend our time thinking up book worthy wordings to our feats on account of us having other things to do.

[Collin152]

Yes well, it doesn't take a scholar to exclude sarcasm, you know.
And if it's all self induced, why even have a save?

[Stormthorn]

I was thinking about the possibility for abuse by having someone compel the character with this feat to use it. That way at least i can say "Well, managed to compel me to attempt suicide but you forget to tell me not to attempt a save"

[Collin152]

No, you can never be compelled to do suicidal things.

[Stormthorn]

Not in my world.

Heck, in real life it doesnt take any magic to convince someone to commit suicide.

[Demented]

Charm person. Dare them that they can't do it, and promise you'll resurrect them if they succeed, but nonetheless insist that it can't be done.

Voila, voluntary save-failure.

Of course, the suicide-to-be would need to have a major desire for attention to consider it.