Use of the Maim rule..

[garhkal]

Under combat, one of the "optional rules" is that an NPC can opt to maim instead of kill, if they score a killing shot.

Do you always have them choose this? Do you look at the npcs reasons for fighting first? Do you extend it to inanimate objects (like if the pcs ram into a wall at flank speed and go boom!!)?
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Exoviper]

[impfrontier]

Split-second control has nothing to do with the damage chart result.

The maim option is simply a means to keep the heroes alive or for the heroes to keep from killing their foe -- note that a maiming can only be chosen by the attacker if a "Killed" result is rolled on the damage chart. Maiming will require some serious down-time for the individual and probably cybernetics on the hit location affected.

[Ray]

It's a method to prevent the loss of a beloved character. Particuilarily when a MOOK shoots him. That's right insulting (And shows that even Mooks are deadly in Star Wars, a reason I love the game!).

Arms and Legs are easy enough to explain. Head "Maims" may require new eyes or a electronic voicebox. Torso is harder to explain, but your internal organs might be damaged *JUST* enough to survive barely, but not enough for Bacta to heal.

Or, for the Groin Shot:

"Ummmmmmmm, Jack, are you feeling all right? You look... Different!" "Well, considering that I lost that part of me, I figured that going all the way would be the way to go. Do you think Triple-Ds are big enough?"

[Sandokiri]

I've only played in three partial campaigns - and in the longest one, the GM made extensive (and usually humorous though expensive) usage of the maiming rules. It got bad enough that we had to set up the "Colin Wynne Starfighter Wings and Body Parts Fund" in our budget.

And by starfighter wings, I'm not talking about military organisations, of course; two X-wings and a rare starfighter called the Penetrator, all suffered the loss of wings in various funny fashion (though NONE of us were laughing when one of Penetrator's wings hurtled into the Chimaera...)

Body parts were somewhat milder: a right hand, smashed by a mace, and a left buttock.
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"Worry to lose is to lead to the evil augury."
*Find yer own truth.*

[garhkal]

Nice examples all, but still does not answer part of the quesiton, about when do you decide a npc is going to use that option....
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Ray]

When you care enough about the NPC.

Don't use it for Mooks (Like Greedo). But for major characters (Boba Fett).

'Course, you could have a Mook character that somehow becomes a major threat to the party.

A Lifer Veteran Stormtrooper Sargent who gets a limb or two removed, gets cybernetic replacements, and then goes rogue, hunting the group.

Make him even angrier when he goes, "You ruined my life!" and they're all "OK... Who are you?"

[Sandokiri]

Ok, as for when NPC's decide to start going all Arthur vs. Black Knight on the heroes... usually when it's humorous (The bounty hunter blows yer arse away... literally!) or when the enemies are shooting to capture instead of kill, and stunning just doesn't seem to work, or if a specific group of enemies would rather inflict *financial ruination* on the heroes, instead of just death. Not all victories need have a kill tally.
_________________
"Worry to lose is to lead to the evil augury."
*Find yer own truth.*

[Ray]

Economic Warfare was used by my group a couple of times.

One infamous one where we bought out 54% of the Voting Stock of a company and fired the current CEO (Who had put a bounty on our heads.).

[Pathwalker]

I decided a while back that death by wild die was a bit unsporting and that Jedi just trying to maim an opponent could accidentally kill them from shock and thus came up with these rules:

Loss of Limb/Permanent Damage
If a damage roll comes up with a wild die of "6"...
->If the damage without extra from the wild section is < killed result and wild section would make it a kill, instead of being killed, affected body part/area is permanently damaged in some way (e.g. limb removed, eye gouged out, etc.). Then, only the non-wild section counts as incurred damage, but S-1D counts as W-1D.

Jedi Maiming Rather Than Killing
On a similar vein to above, treat "16" as damage required for Jedi to remove a limb, with anything above that as incurred damage with minimum being a wound result. Note that >32 damage in this case will kill. The shock of losing a limb is very traumatic after all!