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[Yukiryuu]

I was running a solo game where the players assassin was tasked to kill various people.

On one person she snuck up behind them and slit their throat. I used the combat rules and said the victim was at half health, but in the real world you die almost instantly if your throat is cut.

So... I guess I want to ask how to go about rules for sneak attacks? sorry if this doesn't make much sense

[VoidKnight]

Modifier from behind + modifier from surprise + damage from the neck is pretty much an instant critical to the head...

I'm surprised the person lived.

[Tarrant12]

Don't forget it's a critical location so criticals occur at 10% not 50%

[alphawhelp]

but in the real world you die almost instantly if your throat is cut.

I just want to say that you only die almost instantly if the back of your neck is cut, which is where the spinal cord is, having the front of your throat slit is actually a long and painful process of drowning to death on your own blood.

to answer your question, putting a knife to someone's throat is equivalent to the "Put At Weapon's Point" maneuver, which levies a -150 penalty to defense.  Surprise would be another -90, but realistically speaking, someone who is helpless against an attack (i.e. sleeping, completely paralyzed, etc) is at -200 to defend themselves, so I would not stack those two penalties to -240, but only up to -200.  Whether you are doing this from behind or the front matters not, because as I've already stated the penalty can't logically get worse than -200, however, if you don't have surprise, doing it from behind (-80) would stack with the -150 to -200, so it's in your best interest to do it from behind anyway.

Then striking a vulnerable point causes an automatic critical, unless they've got a really good physical resistance, chances are you'll hit the "targeted location is destroyed" critical level, which, immediately destroying a vulnerable point causes instant death.

[Lizbeth]

I want to point out that when player says "I cut his throat" he means "my character tries to cut this NPC's throat", then you roll the dice, use rules and interpret the result. If rules+dices says that stated NPC is left with half hp — then the player's character failed to make a clean cut.

[Sharpandpointies]

Based on discussions I've had with paramedics and doctors for writing I was doing -

Depends on what part of the throat gets cut.  Cut the actual windpipe, the person might well survive, though it's not a pleasant situation and they'll be pretty helpless.  They could very well choke to death on their own blood as Alphawhelp suggests.

Cut the jugular and they'll be dead in a few minutes, tops.  Conscious for part of that time, especially with pressure on the wound, but not really in any shape to fight.  And they're not stopping the bleeding without serious medical attention or magic, and they probably can't get that attention in the Anima setting.

Cut the carotids, and we're into 'die almost instantly' territory: shock, down in seconds, dead shortly after.

And I agree with Lizbeth's interpretation.  When a player sneaks up behind someone and 'cuts his throat', (s)he is giving it a try.  If they don't dish out the requisite damage to pull off a lethal critical, or drop the person from LP damage, then they didn't quite get the carotids, or the person jerked at the last second on reflex, or heard them at the last moment, or whatever.

It's an attempt.  It might very well fail.  :) 

Situationally, there would be all kinds of modifiers.  Killing a dude while he's asleep is considerably easier than when he's standing there unaware.  And as a GM, I would likely wave off any dice rolls if the player gives a shot at killing a guy lacking combat skills while he's snoozing (like a 2nd level Freelancer Merchant, for example).

But killing an Anima 7th level fighter while he's sacked out, for example, would require some rolls.  :)

[Yukiryuu]

OK. Thanks for helping
Anima combat is hard for me to understand so I always feel slightly stupid when it turns out to be really simple.

[VoidKnight]

OK. Thanks for helping
Anima combat is hard for me to understand so I always feel slightly stupid when it turns out to be really simple.

Hey, don't worry about it. It takes a bit of practice but remember that everything is up to interpretation.

[Sharpandpointies]

What he said.  Please don't feel stupid; oftentimes it's a matter of being too close to the problem.