Catoblepas aura?

[avin]

Is there anybody around who could explain how Catoblepas aura works?

Half healing surge value damage on a "death save trow" fail? What's a "death save"?

Am I suppose to assume that everybody in the aura makes a save every turn?

 

[Mesh Hong]

When a PC is at 0 HPs or less they are unconscious and dying. At the end of each of their turns they must make a death saving throw which is like a normal saving throw with the following outcomes:

fail - target checks a failed death saving throw box, if this takes the PC to 3 failed death saving throws they are dead.
success - nothing happens, PC is still dying but isn't nearer to death
rolls a 20 - the PC may immediately spend a healing surge, if they do so they become conscious.

The Catoblepas aura (as written in your example) will also take an amount od damage equal to their healing surge value whenever they fail a death saving throw.

A PC who's HPs drop to minus bloodied value dies, the Catoblepas aura greatly increases the chance of you dying by reaching negative bloodied value rather than by simply failing 3 death saving throws. (i.e. the second one is guaranteed to kill you, even if the first doesn't!)

 

[Camelot]

Reference the Player's Handbook, page 295:

Death Saving Throw: When you are dying, you need to make a saving throw at the end of your turn each round. The result of your saving throw determines how close you are to death.
- Lower than 10: You slip one step closer to death. If you get this result three times before you take a rest, you die.
- 10-19: No change.
- 20 or higher: Spend a healing surge. When you do so, you are considered to have 0 hit points, and then your healing surge restores hit points as normal. You are no longer dying, and you are conscious but still prone. If you roll 20 or higher but have no healing surges left, your condition doesn't change.

You are considered "dying" when your hit points are 0 or lower, and you die immediately if your negative hit point value is the same as your positive bloodied value.

So, the catoblepas' aura only affects characters who are already dying. It just makes their death come sooner. Rather than having to wait for it to fail three death saving throws, it deals damage so it can make the character reach their negative bloodied value, thus killing them instantly.

Hope that helps!

 

[Stumblewyk]

Disclaimer: I don't have MM3, I'm just hypothesizing based on the OPs description of the aura - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

If you are at 0 hit points or fewer (unconscious), you must make a death saving throw every round you are not stabilized (by an ally's heal check), or not healed (by magical means or otherwise). 3 failures (rolling 9 or lower) means you die. You also die if you take damage that reduces you to your negative bloodied HP value.

In the case of the catoblepas, if you're unconscious and within it's aura, you take 1/2 your surge value as damage every time you fail a death saving throw.

 

[Insight]

Sounds to me like the Catoblepas kills a dying enemy in 2 rounds no matter what, as long as that enemy is within the aura. That's pretty nasty. Unless the damage happens on a failed save, which while still nasty, is a bit less so.

EDIT: I looked it up in the Compendium. The damage only happens on a failed death save. It's an aura 5 btw, which is pretty darned nasty.

 

[Stumblewyk]

Sounds to me like the Catoblepas kills a dying enemy in 2 rounds no matter what, as long as that enemy is within the aura. That's pretty nasty. Unless the damage happens on a failed save, which while still nasty, is a bit less so.

It looks like it's on a failed save. So, unless the damage that brought you below 0 HP was enough to equal your surge value, you're still going to get your 3 failed death saving throws in (assuming the catoblepas doesn't go for the coup de gras).

Edit: looked up the Catoblepas on the Compendium - it's 1/2 Bloodied value on a failed save. Yeah...that'll mess you up. Conceivably 1 failed save, and definitely 2 of them will do you in, as long as you're unconscious and within 5 squares of the Catoblepas. Nasty.

 

[avin]

Thank you guys.