Death and Dying

[Oldtimer]

Also, it says nothing about "stopping at 0". I've never even heard of the idea before this thread.

I never claimed it did.

Now, rules in the 1e DMG do take precedence over the PH, but IIRC the question was addressed in either a Sage Advice or From the Sorcerer's Scroll article back in the day and the DMG rule was called out as optional.

As you say, DMG took precedence over PHB when they differed. We never saw that piece of Sage Advice, but then we seldom read Sage Advice. Maybe it was later changed to be optional, but my point was just that 1e AD&D had a rule (at least for some time) that you were still alive at 0 hit points.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I never claimed it did.


As you say, DMG took precedence over PHB when they differed. We never saw that piece of Sage Advice, but then we seldom read Sage Advice. Maybe it was later changed to be optional, but my point was just that 1e AD&D had a rule (at least for some time) that you were still alive at 0 hit points.

Well, yeah, I don't recall ever playing 1e with '0 is dead', but we might have before the DMG came out. I think a lot of strange house rules got started during those months between the two books being released. Everyone was of course playing with the PHB, but with all kinds of grafted together (basically OD&D) rules. I actually remember it seeming odd that in 1e you could have no hit points and be alive.

I mean, ALL rules are optional. I HAVE those Dragons, and I doubt I paid any attention to what Sage Advice said when I read them back in the day.