Hmmm, first time in a while I have read the FAQ. I see that the Harm spell does in fact still leave the target with 1 HP. I used to have a player who would whine about it every week when I told him that was the case... And he couldn't even cast Harm! And a suggested house rule will be seeing use, eventually...
The harm spell deals 10 points of damage per caster
level (to a maximum of 150 points at 15th level) and cannot
take a target’s hit points to less than 1. If the target
creature makes a successful saving throw, the damage is
reduced by half, but the spell still cannot reduce the target’s
hit points to less than 1. What happens when the spell deals
50 points of damage or more to the target (as it might to
any creature that has 51 hit points or more)? Does the
death from massive damage rule apply? What if I have 110
hit points and an 11th-level caster casts harm on me? I’ll
take 109 points of damage from the spell if I fail my save, or
55 points if I make my save, right? In either case, I’ll have
to make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid death from
massive damage, right? If my hired lackey, who has 49 hit
points, receives the same spell, he’ll take either 48 points of
damage or 24 points. In either case, he’s not subject to
death from massive damage. Is this correct?
Technically, that’s right. If you take 50 points of damage
(or more) all at once, you’re subject to the death from massive
damage rule (see page 145 in the Player’s Handbook). It makes
no difference what the source of that damage is.
In the case of the harm spell, the death from massive
damage rule creates a situation that’s arguably absurd, because
once you have 51 hit points or more, you suddenly become
susceptible to instant death from the spell when lesser beings
(with fewer hit points) do not. If the situation really bothers
you, you might try one of the following house rules:
No Instant Death from Harm Spells: The death from
massive damage rule doesn’t apply to damage inflicted from a
harm spell.
Expended Instant Death from Harm Spells: Whenever you
fail your save against a harm spell, you must make a DC 15
Fortitude save or die, no matter how much damage the spell
actually deals to you. If your save against a harm spell
succeeds, you still have to make a DC 15 Fortitude save or die
if the spell deals at least 50 points of damage to you.
The first unofficial rule should prove easier to remember
and use, and it matches the intent behind the harm spell better
than the second rule. The second rule, however, provides a
better fit with the death from massive damage rule.
The Auld Grump, the first house rule, not the second...
