Injury and Death
There are many ways in which a character can face mortal peril. Below are some of the most commonly encountered forms.
Hit points mean two things in the game world: the ability to take physical punishment and keep going, and the ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one. As a character gains hit points, they are not only tougher and able to power through worse punishments, they are also able to better minimize the amount of physical harm that damaging sources actually do to them. These representations are all flavor, and all hit points are counted the same mechanically.
Hit point loss
What Hit Points RepresentHit points mean two things in the game world: the ability to take physical punishment and keep going, and the ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one. As a character gains hit points, they are not only tougher and able to power through worse punishments, they are also able to better minimize the amount of physical harm that damaging sources actually do to them. These representations are all flavor, and all hit points are counted the same mechanically.
Hit Point Damage
Damage alone does not mechanically affect a character's performance until they reach 0 or lower. While it's encouraged to role play the effects of said damage outside of combat, a 1 hit point character is technically every bit as capable as one at full hit points. Disabled (0 hit points)
When a character's hit point total is exactly 0, they remain conscious but are Disabled. A Disabled character is unable to walk or stand unaided (whether by a wall, crutch of some form, or assisting character), and can only take a single Move Action or equivalent each round without suffering further damage. If a Disabled character performs a Standard Action or Full-Round Action (or any other action considered to be strenuous, regardless of the action type), at the end of that action they take 1 damage. If this damage puts them below 0, they are now . A Disabled character can perform a Swift Action, Immediate Action, or Free Action as normal, but are still subject to damage if the action is considered by the DM to be strenuous. Dying (below 0 hit points)
A character below 0 hit points is . A character is Unconscious and in mortal peril. Each round on a character's initiative, they roll a DC 10 Constitution check. If the check succeeds, the character's state does not worsen, and they repeat the process the next round. If the check fails, they progress closer to death. A natural 1 counts as two failed checks, and a natural 20 puts the character at 0 hit points and Disabled. If the character accumulates 3 failed checks, the character is Dead. If a character recieves hit points from Fast Healing or Regeneration, they do not have to roll a check that round. If a dying character recieves direct healing (such as from a cure spell or lay on hands), they are healed as though they were at -1 HP, regardless of their actual negative hit point total before recieving healing. A character at negative hit points that does not have the condition (such as with the Diehard feat) does not gain this benefit. Instant Death
A character who's hp is reduced low enough, whether by the blow that knocks them Unconscious or further damage, may die outright. If a character's negative hit point total is greater than half their maximum hit points (minimum 10), they must make a DC 15 Fortitude Save or die outright. A character who's negative hit point total exceeds their maximum hit points (minimum 20) dies outright with no save. Nonlethal Damage Nonlethal damage, also referred to as temporary or subdual damage, is counted up separately from regular hit point damage. When a creature's nonlethal damage total meets their current hit points, they are Staggered, and when their non-lethal damage total exceeds their current hit points, they are knocked Unconscious. Non-lethal damage heals at a rate of 1 hp per hour. Whenever a creature regains normal hit points, they can also remove an equal amount of non-lethal damage. A creature cannot have more nonlethal damage than their maximum hit point total (or 10 points if the creature has fewer than 10 hit points). Any nonlethal damage in excess of this is converted to lethal damage.
Damage alone does not mechanically affect a character's performance until they reach 0 or lower. While it's encouraged to role play the effects of said damage outside of combat, a 1 hit point character is technically every bit as capable as one at full hit points. Disabled (0 hit points)
When a character's hit point total is exactly 0, they remain conscious but are Disabled. A Disabled character is unable to walk or stand unaided (whether by a wall, crutch of some form, or assisting character), and can only take a single Move Action or equivalent each round without suffering further damage. If a Disabled character performs a Standard Action or Full-Round Action (or any other action considered to be strenuous, regardless of the action type), at the end of that action they take 1 damage. If this damage puts them below 0, they are now . A Disabled character can perform a Swift Action, Immediate Action, or Free Action as normal, but are still subject to damage if the action is considered by the DM to be strenuous. Dying (below 0 hit points)
A character below 0 hit points is . A character is Unconscious and in mortal peril. Each round on a character's initiative, they roll a DC 10 Constitution check. If the check succeeds, the character's state does not worsen, and they repeat the process the next round. If the check fails, they progress closer to death. A natural 1 counts as two failed checks, and a natural 20 puts the character at 0 hit points and Disabled. If the character accumulates 3 failed checks, the character is Dead. If a character recieves hit points from Fast Healing or Regeneration, they do not have to roll a check that round. If a dying character recieves direct healing (such as from a cure spell or lay on hands), they are healed as though they were at -1 HP, regardless of their actual negative hit point total before recieving healing. A character at negative hit points that does not have the condition (such as with the Diehard feat) does not gain this benefit. Instant Death
A character who's hp is reduced low enough, whether by the blow that knocks them Unconscious or further damage, may die outright. If a character's negative hit point total is greater than half their maximum hit points (minimum 10), they must make a DC 15 Fortitude Save or die outright. A character who's negative hit point total exceeds their maximum hit points (minimum 20) dies outright with no save. Nonlethal Damage Nonlethal damage, also referred to as temporary or subdual damage, is counted up separately from regular hit point damage. When a creature's nonlethal damage total meets their current hit points, they are Staggered, and when their non-lethal damage total exceeds their current hit points, they are knocked Unconscious. Non-lethal damage heals at a rate of 1 hp per hour. Whenever a creature regains normal hit points, they can also remove an equal amount of non-lethal damage. A creature cannot have more nonlethal damage than their maximum hit point total (or 10 points if the creature has fewer than 10 hit points). Any nonlethal damage in excess of this is converted to lethal damage.
Ability Score Loss
Some attacks reduce the opponent’s score in one or more abilities. These come in the form of Ability Damaged and Ability Drained.Ability Score Damage
Spells and other abilities can all deal damage directly to your ability scores. This damage does not actually reduce an ability, but it does apply a penalty to the skills and statistics that are based on that ability. For every 2 points of damage you take to a single ability, apply a –1 penalty to skills and statistics listed with the relevant ability. If the amount of ability damage you have taken equals or exceeds your ability score, you immediately suffer the effects of catastrophic ability score loss (see below) until the damage is less than your ability score (except constitution, which results in death). Unless otherwise noted, damage to your ability scores is healed at the rate of 1 per day to each ability score that has been damaged (or double if the character gets complete bed rest). Ability damage can be healed through the use of spells, such as Restoration, Lesser.Ability Score Drain
Ability drain actually reduces the relevant ability score. Modify all skills and statistics related to that ability. This might cause you to lose skill points, hit points, and other bonuses. Ability drain can be healed through the use of spells such as Restoration.Catastrophic Ability Score Loss
While any loss is debilitating, losing all points in an ability score can be devastating. The following effects take place if a score is drained to zero, or ability score damage is equal to or greater than a creature's ability score. Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. They lie Helpless on the ground. Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. They stand motionless, rigid, and Helpless. Constitution 0 means that the character is Dead. Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is Unconscious in a coma-like stupor, Helpless. Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, Helpless. Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, Helpless. Ability Damage is recovered at a rate of 1 point per day to each damaged ability score (or double if the character gets complete bed rest). Ability Drain does not recover naturally. Both Ability Damage and Ability Drain can be recovered through the use of some spells, such as lesser restoration and restoration.Level Drain
(Repeated from the Level Drained condition) When a character is level drained, their maximum and current health are both reduced by the maximum of the Hit Die of their highest class level (4 for d4, 8 for d8, etc), and receive a -1 penalty to all d20 rolls. A drained character's HD/level/Caster Level is considered lowered by the amount drained for all level dependant variables not already affected by the above penalty (e.g. Caster Level check DC's targeting them and Combat Maneuver Defense). Any spells or abilities used by a drained character with level dependent effects use the caster's lowered level. This does not remove access to cast spells or use level dependent abilities so long as their Caster Level is at least 1. If a character is drained an amount of levels equal to or greater than their level (or Hit Dice if applicable), then they are immediately slain. Drained levels can be recovered at a rate of one level per day with a successful Fortitude Save (DC according to draining source), or through the use of spells such as Restoration. All level drain is removed from a creature that is slain. Some abilities and spells (such as Raise Dead) bestow permanent level drain. These are treated just like temporary negative levels, but they do not allow a new save each day to remove them, and remain when a creature is slain. A creature whose permanent negative levels equal its Hit Dice cannot be brought back to life through spells like Raise Dead and Resurrection without also receiving a Restoration spell, cast the round after it is restored to life.Example:
Drogo is a Wizard 5/Fighter 2 and is drained three levels. His current and maximum hit point totals are reduced by 18 (Wizard being his highest class level with a d6 hit die), He receives a -3 penalty to all d20 rolls, Any spells Drogo casts after being drained have a counter or dispel DC 3 lower than otherwise, and he would now be susceptible to spells or abilities that affect creatures of 4 or more HD. He would retain his normal compliment of spells as a 5th level Wizard, but any spell cast would be done with a Caster Level of 2. Were he to be drained 2 additional levels, his Caster Level would be 0, and he could no longer cast spells.
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