D&D 5E Dying From Exhaustion While Petrified

[Dausuul]

By strict RAW... yeah, technically there is nothing making you immune to starvation and thirst.

There aren't a lot of cases where I would say a DM was flat-out wrong (as opposed to "making a different decision from what I'd prefer") for going by RAW, but this is one.

 

[Reynard]

By strict RAW... yeah, technically there is nothing making you immune to starvation and thirst.

Except by RAW you are turned into stone.

 

[Dausuul]

Except by RAW you are turned into stone.

No, you are turned into "a substance," which is typically but not necessarily stone. In any case, the rules specifying consequences for not eating or drinking make no exceptions for people turned into stone, nor do the petrification rules create any such exception.

I'm not saying this makes sense. It doesn't. It's obviously dumb and no DM should go by the book on this. But it is what the book says, or rather doesn't say.

 

[Krachek]

when DM can’t kill PCs the usual ways they need to innovate.
We may also consider that total muscular paralyzation like in hold person can lead to suffocation and death.

 

[Reynard]

No, you are turned into "a substance," which is typically but not necessarily stone. In any case, the rules specifying consequences for not eating or drinking make no exceptions for people turned into stone, nor do the petrification rules create any such exception.

I'm not saying this makes sense. It doesn't. It's obviously dumb and no DM should go by the book on this. But it is what the book says, or rather doesn't say.

the book doesn't say that, in any way whatsoever.

 

[ezo]

the book doesn't say that, in any way whatsoever.

Actually, the book does say that, as far as the substance part:

As to the rest of it, the book does NOT give a specific rule that while you are petrified you do not need to eat or drink, so there is no exception to the starvation rules. Ceasing to age is also not a valid point to the requirement of not needing food or drink. It simply means you don't age, not that your other metabolic functions cease as well.

Which was the point @Dausuul said later:

But it is what the book says, or rather doesn't say.

We all (hopefully) know it is a common case of the idea that not every scenario that comes up in an RPG can be explicitly covered and common sense should prevail. Which is also why @Dausuul said:

I'm not saying this makes sense. It doesn't. It's obviously dumb and no DM should go by the book on this.

 

[aco175]

No, you are turned into "a substance," which is typically but not necessarily stone.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think if you need some RAW justification for applying common sense, look at the word “inanimate “. This indicates that the petrified person is now an object, not a creature. And, according to the rules for objects, they do not need to eat or drink.

 

[Reynard]

I think if you need some RAW justification for applying common sense, look at the word “inanimate “. This indicates that the petrified person is now an object, not a creature. And, according to the rules for objects, they do not need to eat or drink.

Another reason to prefer PF2E: fewer of these weird arguments.
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Petrified per PF2E: You have been turned to stone. You can't act, nor can you sense anything. You become an object with a Bulk double your normal Bulk (typically 12 for a petrified Medium creature or 6 for a petrified Small creature), AC 9, Hardness 8, and the same current Hit Points you had when alive. You don't have a Broken Threshold. When the petrified condition ends, you have the same number of Hit Points you had as a statue. If the statue is destroyed, you immediately die. While petrified, your mind and body are in stasis, so you don't age or notice the passing of time.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Another reason to prefer PF2E: fewer of these weird arguments.

As usual, "natural language" fails to save the day.