Came to my attention (thanks to a tweet from Mike Mearls) that there is no official rule in the Player's Handbook about what the minimum value of a character's hit point maximum is allowed to be. Since there is no official rule, this means AL DMs are free to determine what the minimum hit point maximum is at their tables (but see below for a reason that there might still be an effective 'official' hit point maximum even in the absence of an explicit rule).
To provide some guidance, here are what I perceive as the correct rules interpretations revolving around the two most likely choices:
- Minimum hit point maximum is zero
A character cannot fall below zero hit points and cannot have more hit points than the character's hit point maximum (Basic Rules, p.74). This means that a character with a maximum of zero hit points cannot gain hit points to go above zero current hit points. This has a number of effects:
1. Such a character cannot gain any benefit from healing effects that increase hit points.
A spell like Healing Word that only restores hit points would have no effect on the character; since healing spells stabilize characters by raising them above zero current hit points (Basic Rules, p.76), this means spells that restore hit points do not, of themselves, cause unconscious characters to stabilize. The character could still be stabilized by a spell or effect that specifically says it stabilizes a dying character (such as Spare the Dying or making a Wisdom(Medicine) check), and would still gain the non-hit point healing benefits of spells that have those benefits (so a Heal spell would still cure disease and blindness on a dying character with a hit point maximum of zero, but it would not stabilize him). The character could also still receive a benefit from a spell like Aid that increases the character's hit point maximum, which would then allow the character to benefit from a subsequent healing spell to restore hit points.
2. Such a character dies if subjected to any damage.
A character with a hit point maximum of zero also has current hit points of zero. If such a character receives even one point of damage, that damage exceeds the characters hit point maximum and the character dies instantly. (Basic Rules, pp. 75-76)
3. The DM must determine what spells, if any, can return a character who died with a hit point maximum of zero from the dead.
Both the Raise Dead and Revivify spells specify that a character returns to life with "1 hit point". They do not specify that the character's hit point maximum increases, however. If the DM allows Raise Dead and Revivify to also raise the formerly dead character's maximum hit points to 1 along with their current hit points (note that references to 'hit points' are usually references to 'current hit points' -- Basic Rules, p.74), then the character can be returned to life.
Note that, if the DM determines that Raise Dead will not raise a deceased character's hit point maximum, then that character cannot be brought back to life via Spellcasting Services or Faction Charity, as both rules presume the use of Raise Dead as the spell that brings the character back to life. (ALDMG v4, pp. 6-7 (Spellcasting Services), 8-9 (Faction Charity)). Note also that this restriction would not apply to the Dark Powers in Season 4, as no specific spell is noted as being used by the Dark Powers (though Resurrection is suggested by the text, it is not specified that Resurrection is the spell used by the Dark Powers, also see below).
Resurrection and True Resurrection specify that a character returns to life with "all its hit points"; a DM could interpret this as allowing a character to be restored to full hit points and full maximum hit points via these spells (or via Wish, if used to duplicate the effect of Resurrection or True Resurrection). If the DM determines that "hit points" as referenced by these spells only refer to current hit points, then these spells would not bring a character back from the dead who had been reduced to zero maximum hit points. This means that, if the DM rules that Revivify, Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection are all ineffective at restoring a character's maximum hit points, then no spell can be used to bring such a character back from the dead. Such a character would be permanently dead and retired from Adventurers League, unless it is playing in Season 4 or a similar season where some mechanic like Dark Powers Charity is available.
- Hit point maximum cannot fall below 1
None of the above problems apply if the DM rules that a character's hit point maximum cannot fall below 1. However, this interpretation arguably goes against the write-up of numerous monsters with life drain or other effects that reduce a character's hit point maximum, that specify that the monster's opponent "dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0." If a monster's power specifies that it can reduce an opponent's hit point maximum to zero, the DM arguably does not have the power to rule otherwise in an Adventurers League game.
My own recommendation, and the one I plan to follow in my own AL games, is that monsters with attacks that reduce hit point maximum can reduce that maximum to zero, but that spells that bring characters back from the dead restore both the character's current and maximum hit points to the specified value in the spell (1 hit point for Raise Dead/Revivify, full hit points for Resurrection/True Resurrection). This largely avoids the organizational problems that might otherwise result from allowing characters to be reduced to zero maximum hit points.
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Pauper
To provide some guidance, here are what I perceive as the correct rules interpretations revolving around the two most likely choices:
- Minimum hit point maximum is zero
A character cannot fall below zero hit points and cannot have more hit points than the character's hit point maximum (Basic Rules, p.74). This means that a character with a maximum of zero hit points cannot gain hit points to go above zero current hit points. This has a number of effects:
1. Such a character cannot gain any benefit from healing effects that increase hit points.
A spell like Healing Word that only restores hit points would have no effect on the character; since healing spells stabilize characters by raising them above zero current hit points (Basic Rules, p.76), this means spells that restore hit points do not, of themselves, cause unconscious characters to stabilize. The character could still be stabilized by a spell or effect that specifically says it stabilizes a dying character (such as Spare the Dying or making a Wisdom(Medicine) check), and would still gain the non-hit point healing benefits of spells that have those benefits (so a Heal spell would still cure disease and blindness on a dying character with a hit point maximum of zero, but it would not stabilize him). The character could also still receive a benefit from a spell like Aid that increases the character's hit point maximum, which would then allow the character to benefit from a subsequent healing spell to restore hit points.
2. Such a character dies if subjected to any damage.
A character with a hit point maximum of zero also has current hit points of zero. If such a character receives even one point of damage, that damage exceeds the characters hit point maximum and the character dies instantly. (Basic Rules, pp. 75-76)
3. The DM must determine what spells, if any, can return a character who died with a hit point maximum of zero from the dead.
Both the Raise Dead and Revivify spells specify that a character returns to life with "1 hit point". They do not specify that the character's hit point maximum increases, however. If the DM allows Raise Dead and Revivify to also raise the formerly dead character's maximum hit points to 1 along with their current hit points (note that references to 'hit points' are usually references to 'current hit points' -- Basic Rules, p.74), then the character can be returned to life.
Note that, if the DM determines that Raise Dead will not raise a deceased character's hit point maximum, then that character cannot be brought back to life via Spellcasting Services or Faction Charity, as both rules presume the use of Raise Dead as the spell that brings the character back to life. (ALDMG v4, pp. 6-7 (Spellcasting Services), 8-9 (Faction Charity)). Note also that this restriction would not apply to the Dark Powers in Season 4, as no specific spell is noted as being used by the Dark Powers (though Resurrection is suggested by the text, it is not specified that Resurrection is the spell used by the Dark Powers, also see below).
Resurrection and True Resurrection specify that a character returns to life with "all its hit points"; a DM could interpret this as allowing a character to be restored to full hit points and full maximum hit points via these spells (or via Wish, if used to duplicate the effect of Resurrection or True Resurrection). If the DM determines that "hit points" as referenced by these spells only refer to current hit points, then these spells would not bring a character back from the dead who had been reduced to zero maximum hit points. This means that, if the DM rules that Revivify, Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection are all ineffective at restoring a character's maximum hit points, then no spell can be used to bring such a character back from the dead. Such a character would be permanently dead and retired from Adventurers League, unless it is playing in Season 4 or a similar season where some mechanic like Dark Powers Charity is available.
- Hit point maximum cannot fall below 1
None of the above problems apply if the DM rules that a character's hit point maximum cannot fall below 1. However, this interpretation arguably goes against the write-up of numerous monsters with life drain or other effects that reduce a character's hit point maximum, that specify that the monster's opponent "dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0." If a monster's power specifies that it can reduce an opponent's hit point maximum to zero, the DM arguably does not have the power to rule otherwise in an Adventurers League game.
My own recommendation, and the one I plan to follow in my own AL games, is that monsters with attacks that reduce hit point maximum can reduce that maximum to zero, but that spells that bring characters back from the dead restore both the character's current and maximum hit points to the specified value in the spell (1 hit point for Raise Dead/Revivify, full hit points for Resurrection/True Resurrection). This largely avoids the organizational problems that might otherwise result from allowing characters to be reduced to zero maximum hit points.
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Pauper