Pathfinder 1E Barbarian Rage and Unconscious

[Aluvial]

Hi! I can't seem to find a good thread for this... so I'm starting one.

Does a barbarian drop out of rage when they become unconscious? I vote yes, and then a corresponding loss of CON/HP and lots of barbarians die. The 3.5 FAQ says no. What do you say?

Aluvial

 

[delericho]

Character death is a pain. Since there's nothing in the rules that says a character does drop out of rage (and so likely die), I'm going to err on the side of ruling they don't.

 

[Blackbrrd]

I just read a thread about the difference between Pathfinder and 3.5 and one of them was that the Pathfinder Barbarian goes out or rage (and most likely dies) when he goes unconscious unlike how it is in 3.5. The comment of the post was that it made Barbarians have the survivability of a one-legged rabbit, especially at high levels.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Yes, unless he has Raging Vitality (also called the barbarian rage feat tax...), but he has to have enough rage rounds left over to continue to rage or else he loses those temporary hps and can easily die.

Note: These are the Pathfinder Rules not 3.5 FAQ, so if you are playing Pathfinder this is the RAW, if you are playing 3.5 then go with the 3.5 rules.

From http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian under RAGE.
[h=4]Rage (Ex)[/h] A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear's endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.


While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.


A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.

 

[Clyde Lee Graham]

I just read a thread about the difference between Pathfinder and 3.5 and one of them was that the Pathfinder Barbarian goes out or rage (and most likely dies) when he goes unconscious unlike how it is in 3.5. The comment of the post was that it made Barbarians have the survivability of a one-legged rabbit, especially at high levels.

This is correct, Pathfinder Barbarians go out of rage when rendered unconscious. However, I seem to remember that there are a couple of Barbarian Rage Powers that change this.

 

[Aluvial]

Dropping out of rage seems more realistic, even if it is deadly. I can't see you being ticked off when you get knocked out. I was also looking at a 3.5 druid spell that allows you to remain conscious, when you would normally be unconscious (can't remember the name).

What Rage Powers allow you to continue to rage when unconscious? I'm very unfamiliar with the barbarian systems.

Thanks everyone!

Aluvial

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

@Aluvial - I point you at my previous post. If this is Pathfinder you are playing then get the feat Raging Vitality which allows you to continue to rage while you are unconscious. You still expend rage rounds and you keep your temporary hit points. Without Raging Vitality you lose the temporary hit points as per RAW as soon as you fall unconscious. Thus you could instantly die when you hit 0 hit points if you had something like 20 temporary hit points at level 10 and a con of 18 (you'd be at -20 hit points and below your con). I've posted in full the rules and links above.

If this is 3.5, there are different rules and I won't comment on them as I am not versed very well in those. Though Pathfinder is based off of 3.5 and is for the most part compatible, they ARE different rule sets and there are conversions available for 3.5 to Pathfinder.

I hope this answers your question.

 

[Herzog]

Even if dropping out of rage seems more realistic, it means any barbarian of 5th level or higher that drops below 0 hp during his rage is auto-killed. They should have dropped the additional hp from rage from high con when they introduced this rule.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Even if dropping out of rage seems more realistic, it means any barbarian of 5th level or higher that drops below 0 hp during his rage is auto-killed. They should have dropped the additional hp from rage from high con when they introduced this rule.

That depends on their Con. If a barbarian has 16 con at 5th level and rages he goes up to 20 con (or 2 hit points per level) = 10 hit points.

Barbarian hits 0 hit points and falls unconscious, per RAW he loses his 10 temporary hit points and is reduced to -10 hit points at this time.

Barbarian is DYING not DEAD, he hasn't hit his -16 hit points (for his 16 Con) yet so he has 6 rounds to either stabilize (by rolling) or get healed. Now with the -10 + the DC of 10 he's only got a 5% chance (only a 20) to stabilize on his own, his only real hope is to get healed by someone.

RAW for Pathfinder on injury and dying.

See:
A dying character loses 1 hit point every round. This continues until the character dies or becomes stable.

See Stabilization:
On the character's next turn, after being reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), and on all subsequent turns, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become stable. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. A character that is stable does not need to make this check. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. If the character fails this check, he loses 1 hit point. An unconscious or dying character cannot use any special action that changes the initiative count on which his action occurs.

 

[Keldin]

it means any barbarian of 5th level or higher that drops below 0 hp during his rage is auto-killed.

Actually, in Pathfinder, characters don't die until they hit their hit points drop to the negative of their Constitution score (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Injury-and-Death), not -10 like in D&D. In some cases, this can be worse, of course, but most Barbarians probably have a Con score higher than 10. Add in Raging Vitality, and that's four extra rounds (or more) that the character survives.