Killing Blow / Escape from Binding

[Mobius]

¿Does beginning or ending a Rip-From Count interrupt a Killing Blow? The ARB says, "The act of escaping will automatically interrupt a Killing Blow" which might mean finishing the count ('I've escaped') interrupts the KB or starting the count ('I am escaping') interrupts the KB (ARB pg. 69).

That is, a monster affected by Bindomancy can't use any game abilities (like Dodge, with certain exceptions like the Monster ability, Phase, etc.) so they're "incapacitated" which is the only prerequisite for administering a KB (ARB pg. 95); but the act of "Ripping free" seems to suggest they're not "incapacitated".

As such, there seems to be: "Incapacitated - but able to Rip-out"; "Incapacitated - but totally immobile (ala Prison/Paralyze/Unconscious)"; and "Incapacitated - in the middle somewhere".

This raises some questions: a person under Vertigo is skill-less and "cannot walk away" ¿are they "Incapacitated"?; if a person is tied to a chair, but has one hand-free, ¿is that free enough?; someone under a Phyiscal Web is being KBed, a second person starts the "Cut-out" count, ¿is the KB interrupted?; can you two people hold a third's arms and KB her?

If "Beginning" breaks the KB, then all the examples cannot be KBed; if "Ending" breaks the KB, then all the examples can be KBed.

Apparently, this has been answered before on the "Old Board" but I don't have access to them and I couldn't find anything in the previous ARC postiongs or Addendum. Apologies if this is covered ground. Thank you for your time.

 

[Polare]

Ripping from from a binding effect interrupts a Killing Blow, period. Beginning a Rip count, ending a Rip count, or continuing a Rip count are all counted as part of the process of Ripping from the effect, and that process interrupts a Killing Blow.

This raises some questions: a person under Vertigo is skill-less and "cannot walk away" ¿are they "Incapacitated"?; if a person is tied to a chair, but has one hand-free, ¿is that free enough?; (...) can you two people hold a third's arms and KB her?

As to several of the specific situations you outline (such as the "they're tied up! or maybe kind of tied up! what about if they are a little less tied up?" type), these are not covered by the rulebook and would be up to a local Marshal's interpretation. The rulebook does not attempt to cover all possible situations (it's already long enough!); it is designed to leave unanswered questions up to local Marshals on the scene.

In general, you should assume that if the person cannot usefully interrupt a carefully aimed stab or coup de grace on their own, it will take someone else's assistance to interrupt that killing blow - but again, any specific situation not covered by the rulebook is up to a local Marshal's ruling. For example, for this case:

someone under a Phyiscal Web is being KBed, a second person starts the "Cut-out" count, ¿is the KB interrupted?

I would personally rule that the KB would not be interrupted, as the KB itself isn't interrupted, and by the time the person being killed is free enough to do something about it the KB would already have finished. On the other hand, if the person cutting the incapacitated victim free were to knock the killer's weapon out of the way, that would usefully interrupt the KB.

(also: it's Entangle, not "Physical Web" - Web is by definition a magical effect which cannot be cut from)

Bryan Gregory
ARC