Does Barbarian rage end if Barb goes unconscious?

[Particle_Man]

I am assuming that the rage continues, if for no other reason than that the alternative ruling would give an automatic sentence of death to any barbarian of 5th level or higher that goes unconscious (barring the die hard feat, or something similar).

However, my friends remain unconvinced, and it would be nice to have some rules, erratta, or even an faq that said definitively what happens.

 

[Crothian]

The rage doesn't end. Very simple, the rage says it lasts for 3+con modifier in rounds. If going unconscious ended the rage it would say so.

 

[the black knight]

This came up at the end of a game when a player snidely said to the player running the barbarian (who had nearly died during the session), 'well, you did die, because when you go unconscious, your rage ended, dropping your hit points to below negative ten.'

It was a cheap shot, sure, but I was unconvinced. There's no rule that I know of that says your rage ends if your character goes unconscious. To me, raging significantly alters your metabolism for a short time, and dropping out of rage is ill-advised beacuse it has harsh physical side effects, stuff that can kill you, in fact (am I thinking of 1e with that one?), but overall I would say the rage continues until a number of rounds equal to your level expires.

 

[Taloras]

I think the version i always heard was that if the barb was unconscious at the end of the round, it dropped. Which gave till the end of the round for the cleric to get there. But that may just have been my group. We dont usually have barbarians. Then again, a rage is a mental state...if hes unconscious, how is he raging? On the other hand, undead can rage(I think)

There is nothing in the RAW that I can see that says anything one way or the other.

 

[shilsen]

There is nothing in the RAW that I can see that says anything one way or the other.

Since the RAW mentions a duration for the rage and does not mention unconsciousness as a method to prematruely end the rage, I think it's safe to say that the RAW supports the "rage does not end with unconsciousness" approach.

 

[Raigon]

I have always assumed that the rage lasted for the same fixed amount of time no matter what. In one of my current games a barb went unconcious while rageing, and was saved because the extra hit points gave the cleric time to save him.

 

[green slime]

IMC:

Raging is a conscious act, the choice of the Barbarian. It is an emotional state. The spell clam emotions negates a barbarian rage.

While conscious, a person can choose to hold their breath. They can hold their breath for so long, they pass out. Once unconscious, they start breathing.

While unconscious due to injuries (which being below 0 hp indicates) people do not laugh, cry, get angry, become morose, or experience any other emotional state.

IN summary: becoming unconscious prematurely ends the rage, and in all likelihood, will kill the barbarian.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm with Green Slime. It may not follow the RAW, but it just makes sense to me.

 

[Hypersmurf]

While conscious, a person can choose to hold their breath. They can hold their breath for so long, they pass out. Once unconscious, they start breathing.

While conscious, a barbarian can choose to end his rage. Once unconscious, he loses that option...

-Hyp.

 

[Vurt]

IMC:

Raging is a conscious act, the choice of the Barbarian. It is an emotional state. The spell clam emotions negates a barbarian rage.

While conscious, a person can choose to hold their breath. They can hold their breath for so long, they pass out. Once unconscious, they start breathing.

Breathing is a poor example. Your body has a specific mechanism to regulate breathing that is hard to overcome. If you were to try holding your breath, chances are your conscious decision would be overridden well before you passed out.

While unconscious due to injuries (which being below 0 hp indicates) people do not laugh, cry, get angry, become morose, or experience any other emotional state.

A lot of these emotions flood the body system with adrenaline, endorphins, etc., producing physiological changes. Do these changes immediately subside when a person falls unconscious, or does it take a little time?

IN summary: becoming unconscious prematurely ends the rage, and in all likelihood, will kill the barbarian.

Unless you're playing grim-and-gritty style rules, I do not feel this change would make for a better game. In short, and I don't mean to imply anything about your own gamings-style, I would never play a raging barbarian in your campaign. I don't think the added stress would be fun for me.

Cheers,
Vurt