PHB3 minotaur death blow

[Nikosandros]

For example, a minotaur has 10 HP. He is hit for 15 points of damage. His minotaur power allows him an attack before he drops, and he chooses an attack that allows him to heal 5. As the minotaur power interupts the damage, he heals before the damage is resolved, bringing him from 10 to 15 HP. He then takes the 15 damage, which still drops him to zero. Now if his minotaur power triggered attack had allowed him to heal 6 HP instead, he would still be conscious with 1 HP.

Or at least that's my read on it...

Yes, I agree with your interpretation. Since you are interrupting the damage, the healing is resolved first and, if sufficient, it might prevent the minotaur from dropping.

 

[Klaus]

Agreed. Other useful powers would be those that grant, say, resist all or a bonus to saves (because you'd be making death saves shortly).

 

[Journeymanmage]

When reduced to 0hp, the minotaur PC can strike a blow as an immediate Interrupt. Interrupts can prevent completion of the triggering action, that is how they differ from Reactions. That would mean that if the minotaur kills the person who took him to 0, he never got hit and takes no damage, creating a recursive loop? Or do you treat it as effectively a Reaction, so he still takes the damage?

Focusing on the concept that the II is interrupting the Resolving of an action:
Attacker hits, does damage, drops Minotaur PC to 0 or few hp ...
Minotaur PC uses his II to interrupt the Resolving of what happens at 0 HP.
The way the II in this case is phrased it is Not interrupting the Hit, it is Not interrupting the damage ...
- The II is interrupting the Resolving of the damage. IE: PC is at or below 0 HP and therefore falls unconscious.

I think this scenario needs to be viewed this way:
Initial Attack:
1.a. Roll to Hit = Hit
1.b. Resolve Hit -- Roll damage
-
2.a. Roll Damage = X damage
2.b. Resolve Damage -- (HP remaining - X damage)
-
3.a. Minotaur drops to 0 or fewer HP
. II - Trigger: Reduced to 0 hp.
. 4.a. Resolve Trigger - make a MBA
. 4.b. Roll to Hit = (in this case assume Hit) Hit
. 4.c. Resolve Hit -- Roll damage
. -
. 5.a. Roll damage = X damage
. 5.b. Resolve Damage -- (HP remaining - X damage) (assume this puts Attacker at or below 0 HP)
. -
. 6.a. Attacker reduced to 0 or fewer HP
. 6.b. >> Resolve Attacker being reduced to 0 or fewer HP = Attacker KO'd

3.b. >> Resolve Minotaur PC being reduced to 0 or fewer HP = Minotaur PC KO'd

-
Steps 4, 5, 6 all occur between 3.a. and 3.b. IE: Minotaur PC going to 0 HP and the effect of what 0 HP means (being KO'd).

 

[Plane Sailing]

There was a big debate over this issue about Orcs with a similar power.

Some people thought it invalidated the attack, which seems nonsensical to me. The only way that makes logical and thematic sense for me is that the trigger is reaching 0hp, and thus an attack is made before the minotaur (or orc etc) succumbs to the effect of reaching 0 or less hp.

 

[Vaeron]

There seems to be a lot of confusing of Interrupts with Reactions in this thread. if you're brought to 0 hp, and you hit back before falling unconscious, that's a Reaction or more often a Free Action, depending on the power.

 

[Nikosandros]

There seems to be a lot of confusing of Interrupts with Reactions in this thread. if you're brought to 0 hp, and you hit back before falling unconscious, that's a Reaction or more often a Free Action, depending on the power.

From the minotaur's racial write-up:

Ferocity: When you drop to 0 hit points or fewer, you can make a melee basic attack as an immediate interrupt.