Cleave and other obscure combat mechanics

[onderduiker 15]

The redditor grapefruitsc recently made a post there mentioning a hidden Cleave mechanic, whereby after killing an enemy with a melee or ranged attack (or a droid special weapon), the killer can perform an extra action in that round: if the action queue is empty or cleared then this is an automatic Attack if a target is in range (which may include taking a step or two to get in range), otherwise it's the next action queued against another target in range, whether that's a combat feat, Force power, grenade or item use. If no action is queued against a target in range, or no target is in range, then there's no extra action.

I've confirmed that this mechanic exists (among other things, by using attacks to kill 6 enemies within 9 seconds, or just 3 combat rounds) and performs as described above in both games. Does anyone know more about it, and the mechanics of combat rounds in general? For example, although I think the extra action is simply triggered by killing, it might depend on the order of action of the killer and the target within the combat round (if the target acts first and is then killed, does the killer still get an extra action?).

I've little to no knowledge of D&D rules beyond these two games, so I'm also wondering if there may be other combat mechanics like Cleave of which I'm unaware: I already know about Death Blows triggering in the first game (but not the second), and other variables supposedly affected by Combat Difficulty that don't actually apply, in either game.

[JCarter426 1,214]

Cleave and most of those other obscure mechanics are leftovers from Neverwinter Nights. I'd be quite surprised if any of them worked, although that testing sounds thorough enough. I might test some more on my own when I have a chance.

Here's the write-up for it from the D&D SRD:

Cleave, Great Cleave, Great Cleavage

[onderduiker 15]

I'm pretty sure Great Cleave isn't implemented in either game, and that Cleave doesn't have any prerequisites (it triggered for characters with less than 13 Strength and no Power Attack) and it isn't restricted to melee attacks (ranged attacks and special weapons also triggered it) or any particular class (my main character in the first game is a Scoundrel who became a Jedi Consular, and I've also checked with Juhani (Jedi Guardian), HK-47 (Combat Droid) and, in the second game, T3-M4 (Expert Droid) with his Shock Arm).

The practical implications are that if a character could kill most enemies in a single round, then Cleave could allow two kills per round, which could allow melee and ranged attacks to compare more favourably with area of effect Force powers, at least in the first game: at level 20, Force Wave inflicts 30 damage and Force Storm or Advanced Throw Lightsaber 10-60 (35 average) damage, which can kill most enemies late in the first game with 3-5 uses; in 3-5 rounds, an attacker triggering Cleave each time could kill up to 6-10 enemies, so if there were fewer enemies in range then attackers could actually kill faster than Force users.

Ranged attacks would be far more likely to find another target in range for the extra action, but in the first game I don't think they could ultimately inflict enough damage to kill in a single round without Sneak Attack or Master Speed: a party led by Bastila, Juhani or Jolee debilitating enemies, then a Scoundrel and Mission, both ranged, killing up to 4 between them in a single round could be more powerful than I originally thought (your Scoundrel with Master Speed active could probably be left alone to kill in a single round even with automatic Attacks, but Mission might need micromanaging so that she can do so by queueing Rapid Shot against successive targets).

Otherwise, melee attackers focusing on Strength and maximizing number of attacks with an off hand attack and, where possible, Master Speed, Master Fury or Wookiee Frenzy would be more likely to kill with standard Attacks in a single round, but less likely to have another target in range unless swarmed by other melee attackers. In the first game, characters like Carth, Canderous or Zaalbar might be capable of killing in a single round with no Master Speed, but only if they were micromanaged like Mission to use Flurry.