Dumb Question about Barbarian Rage

[ptolemy18]

Hello all,

When barbarians go below 0 hit points, do they also "get knocked out of rage"? Or does the rage continue while they're unconscious, until it gets to the end of its normal duration?

I ask because, obviously, if a barbarian goes out of rage, they lose 4 CON -- 2 hit points per level -- so it seems that, once a high-level barbarian gets reduced to -1 hit points, they'd pretty much instantly die (6th level barbarian -- "You're knocked down to -1 hit points... then you automatically go out of rage and go to -13 hit points").

Do barbarians have to be really, really careful when they're at low hit points, or am I misinterpreting this?

Jason

 

[Thanee]

The rage continues.

It's a bit weird to think about, but it only works that way.

Bye
Thanee

 

[ptolemy18]

The rage continues. It's a bit weird to think about, but it only works that way.

Whew. I assumed it continued in the game I ran last night... but then I was worried that I'd messed up and was just pulling strings to keep the players alive...

Jason

 

[KarinsDad]

There was a lot of debate over this in the 3E days, but Rage is no different than any other game mechanic that has a duration.

The effect continues until the duration runs out, or something dismisses / dispels it.

There are no rules that unconsciousness dismisses Rage.

The problem people had was that they associated Rage with some form of mental condition (e.g. adrenaline surge) that didn't match in their minds with an unconscious character.

 

[Tonguez]

The problem people had was that they associated Rage with some form of mental condition (e.g. adrenaline surge) that didn't match in their minds with an unconscious character.

Except that Adrenaline Surge is a physcial effect and the adrenaline lingers in the body even if the person is unconcious (however I agree with your point about people linking rage with a mental effect)

 

[Tatsukun]

Yeah, if it stoped at 0 hp, every 5th level barbarian (or higher) would instantly die at 0.
That would be odd.

-Tatsu

 

[Kae'Yoss]

They are still raging in side. They usually charge the white light.

Or maybe they have dreams. Dreams filled with rage. In their dream, they see everything through a crimson curtain, slaughtering enemies by the dozen on some battlefield. Considering that this is their exact condition when they rage, anyway, it's understandable that most Barbarians claim they'd never fallen to a foe - their rage blens seemlessly into that dream, they don't even know that they were down.

 

[dcollins]

When barbarians go below 0 hit points, do they also "get knocked out of rage"?

Just chiming in with another nod that the answer is "no". I believe there's a FAQ entry that confirms that auto-death for raging barbarians isn't an issue like this.