Held

Being held is worse than being helpless, because the target is basically helpless AND unable to move. Any creature that is held is also helpless. “Held” includes magical sleep, such as from the sleep spell. It does not include regular sleep, which is only “helpless”.

Attacking a held target

If combat is in progress, the attacker gets “double max-damage auto-hit attacks”: attack routines used against the target are doubled, and every hit scores maximum damage.1) DMG 70.

However, if the attack is being made outside of combat (i.e. when any living enemies have been disabled, fled, or otherwise pose zero threat to the party), the attacking character may instantly slay or bind a helpless target at a rate of one target per round.2) DMG 70 3) If the attacker has multiple attack routines and believes they could kill more targets per round with the “double max-damage auto-hit attacks” option, they are free to use that instead. It could be a gamble though, since that option does not auto-slay.