Death's Door [Optional rule]

[CRGreathouse]

When your character’s current hip points drop to between –(1 + Con bonus) and –(9 + Con modifier) inclusive, he’s dying.

Let me get this straight: a character with Con 14 is dying between -3 and -11; a character with Con 9 is dying between -1 and -8?

 

[CRGreathouse]

if dying is a full-round action which the dying char takes automatically, then the sequence would be...

INIT 14; A deals lethal damage to B
INIT 13; B starts full-round "die" action ("urgh....")
INIT 12; C has option to help
...
...
INIT 14; A does something else
INIT 13; B completes their full-round "die" action (if it weren't so terminal, it would be possible for B to take an action here too )

a full-round action takes a full ROUND to complete, not just your go (thats something like a full-ATTACK action...)

You're confusing a full round action (finished on your initiative count unless otherwise noted) and a full-round spell (finished just before your next initiative count).

 

[Nik_the_Pig]

Let me get this straight: a character with Con 14 is dying between -3 and -11; a character with Con 9 is dying between -1 and -8?

Yep, and a character with Con 10 is dying between -1 and -9 (unconscious on 0, dead on -10) as per standard.

The idea is that those hardier characters can retain consciousness a little longer and then hold onto life a fraction longer than their weaker compatriots.

I know it adds another effective bonus to Con but my games tend not to have characters with overly min/maxed stats and as of yet hasn't seemed to have unbalanced things.