D&D 5E Negative Hit Points & Dying. I think I may have been playing it wrong. Please help.

MasterTrancer · Jan 16, 2015

painted_klown said:
Ok, I went back and re-read everything with my new found understanding. What I was failing to do, was pay close attention to the wording in the rules. Re-reading, had me questioning prone and standing back up.

Under combat, the rules state you fall unconsious. In the conditions section, the rules state the players fall prone, etc.

If a player is healed while unconsious, are they still laying prone afterwards, or are they automatically standing up again? I would assume they are still prone.

If I am interpreting the rules correctly, when the players stand up, they can still move AND take their action in combat, but they can only move half their normal speed for that round. Is that correct?

You're correct, yes. At least, this is how I'd see the situation.

painted_klown · Jan 16, 2015

MasterTrancer said:
You're correct, yes. At least, this is how I'd see the situation.

Thank you. Just wanted to make sure I will be ruling this correct for my players.

MasterTrancer · Jan 16, 2015

painted_klown said:
Thank you. Just wanted to make sure I will be ruling this correct for my players.

You will always be ruling correct, insofar you're consistent with your prior decisions

thalmin · Jan 16, 2015

DEFCON 1 said:
Nope. Cats don't have Bite attacks. If they nibble your toes you take no damage. If you look in the Basic Rules, you'll see that Cats only have Claw attacks for 1 damage each. So the three kittens would need to swat you with their paws with a +0 to their attack roll, and if successful, you take the hits as 3 Failed Death Saves.

So you must be very careful if you drop to 0 hit points to not fall on top of the the bowl of kibbles.

painted_klown · Jan 16, 2015

thalmin said:
So you must be very careful if you drop to 0 hit points to not fall on top of the the bowl of kibbles. &#55357;&#56881;

But it would be the Purr-fect way to die.

Sorry, I had to do it.

Nebulous · Jan 16, 2015

painted_klown said:
But it would be the Purr-fect way to die.

Sorry, I had to do it.

I'm afraid your comment is supurrfluous. Exactly the kind of thing a purrile, childish gamer might make!

Redthistle · Jan 16, 2015

Purring Kitten (1st-level Enchantment spell) Casting Time: 1 action, Range: 5 feet, Components: V, Duration: Until the kitten falls asleep and loses its concentration, up to 5 minutes.

While the spell is in effect the target is dazed and loses track of time and troubles. Creatures with allergies to cats have resistance; creatures that hate cats have immunity.

DracoSuave · Jan 16, 2015

Nebulous said:
Hmm, so zero hit points = 1 death save, but unconscious = crit = 2 death saves? I guess I always equate zero hit points with BEING unconscious, but maybe they're different. Not sure how though.

Taking -damage- while unconscious is 1 death save. This can be anything from a stray fireball to a crossbow bolt.
Taking a crit while unconscious is 2 death saves. If someone rolls a crit with that crossbow, boom.
And, BEING unconscious means that attacks from within 5 feet automatically crit because you're also helpless as part of being unconscious.

Consider this your sense of urgency--5th edition can be VERY killer in the right DM's hands. If you are outnumbered and someone gets knocked to 0, there is a very good chance they won't survive to make a death saving throw.

Derren · Jan 25, 2015

DracoSuave said:
Taking -damage- while unconscious is 1 death save. This can be anything from a stray fireball to a crossbow bolt.
Taking a crit while unconscious is 2 death saves. If someone rolls a crit with that crossbow, boom.
And, BEING unconscious means that attacks from within 5 feet automatically crit because you're also helpless as part of being unconscious.

Consider this your sense of urgency--5th edition can be VERY killer in the right DM's hands. If you are outnumbered and someone gets knocked to 0, there is a very good chance they won't survive to make a death saving throw.

On the other hand, PCs become invulnerable to damage when reduced to 0hp.
If you know the dragon is going to breath fire next turn which will invoke the massive damage rule on you you are better off to stab yourself as then, no matter how much damage the enemy does, you only have to do a death save.

Paraxis · Jan 25, 2015

Derren said:
On the other hand, PCs become invulnerable to damage when reduced to 0hp.
If you know the dragon is going to breath fire next turn which will invoke the massive damage rule on you you are better off to stab yourself as then, no matter how much damage the enemy does, you only have to do a death save.

Thats not how that works. From PHB pg. 197.

Damage at O Hit Points.
lf you take any damage while you have O hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. lf the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

You take the failed death save(s) and if the damage is enough to send you to negative total HP you still die instantly.

D&D 5E Negative Hit Points & Dying. I think I may have been playing it wrong. Please help.

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