D&D 5E Concentration + Temp HP

[i_dont_meta]

Say you cast Heroism upon yourself. With a 16 in your Spell Casting Ability you grant yourself 3 Temp HP. Being a Concentration spell, if you took just 2 HP damage would a Concentration check be required to maintain the spell?


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[Lucas Blackstone]

Yes, you still took damage, it just came off the temporary hit points first. They aren't a force field or anything like that. For something much closer to what you are seeking you would want the abjurer ward from the Abjuration tradition in the Wizard class. That ward takes the damage for you, and once it is depleted, then you take remaining damage.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I would say no. Temporary hit points prevent you from taking damage, almost like they were a force field or something like that.

That's a judgment call which depends on how your DM describes damage, though. Expect some variation between tables.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Say you cast Heroism upon yourself. With a 16 in your Spell Casting Ability you grant yourself 3 Temp HP. Being a Concentration spell, if you took just 2 HP damage would a Concentration check be required to maintain the spell?

Yes. See here for detailed discussion: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi...hen-temporary-hitpoints-absorb-all-the-damage

 

[thekindgm]

I'd like to quote the SRD here.

Temporary hit points aren’t actual hit points; they are a buffer against damage, a pool of hit points that protect you from injury

Based on this, I believe that if you take damage and all of it is absorbed by your temporary hit points, you don't have to roll a Concentration Saving Throw. However, if the damage taken is more than your current temporary hit points you will have to roll because actually take damage.

 

[i_dont_meta]

I'd like to quote the SRD here.


Based on this, I believe that if you take damage and all of it is absorbed by your temporary hit points, you don't have to roll a Concentration Saving Throw. However, if the damage taken is more than your current temporary hit points you will have to roll because actually take damage.

This is how I read it as well. Apparently Crawford & Co. see it otherwise. To each their own, yeah?


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[discosoc]

Sage Advice covers this. Here's the text...

If I have 10 temporary hit points and I take 30 damage
from an attack while concentrating on a spell, what is
the DC of the Constitution save to maintain my concentration?
The DC is 15 in that case. When temporary hit
points absorb damage for you, you’re still taking damage,
just not to your real hit points.
In contrast, a feature like the wizard’s Arcane Ward can
take damage for you, potentially eliminating the need to
make a Constitution saving throw or, at least, lowering the
DC of that save.

 

[thekindgm]

This is how I read it as well. Apparently Crawford & Co. see it otherwise. To each their own, yeah?

I just saw Crawford had answered this question. Based on the wording you'd think that it protected you from that. Sometimes the wording of a rule isn't that great.
Anyway, a DM can rule it however they want, especially in 5e since it's supposed to be very open ended.