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Damage and Healing

Injury and death are frequent threats, as detailed in the following rules.

Hit Points Δ

Hit Points (HP) represent an entity's ability to withstand damage. Entities with more Hit Points are more difficult to kill. Your Hit Point maximum is the number of Hit Points you have when uninjured. Your current Hit Points can be any number from that maximum down to 0, which is the lowest Hit Points can go.

Whenever you take damage, subtract it from your Hit Points. Hit Point loss has no effect on your capabilities until you reach 0 Hit Points.

If you have half your Hit Points or fewer, you're Bloodied, which has no game effect on its own but which might trigger other game effects.

Temporary Hit Points Δ

Some spells and other effects confer Temporary Hit Points (TPH), which are a buffer against losing actual Hit Points.

Lose Temporary Hit Points First

If you have Temporary Hit Points and take damage, those points are lost first, and any leftover damage carries over to your Hit Points. For example, if you have 5 Temporary Hit Points and take 7 damage, you lose those points and then lose 2 Hit Points.

Duration

Temporary Hit Points last until they're depleted or you finish a Long Rest.

Temporary Hit Points Stack Δ

Temporary Hit Points can be stacked up to half the entity's Hit Point maximum.

For example: if a spell grants you 12 Temporary Hit Points when you already have 10, and your character's hit point maximum is 37 HP, you can add 8 of those 12 TPH to your existing 10, for a total of 18 TPH which is half your character's hit point maximum.

They're Not Hit Points or Healing

Temporary Hit Points can't be added to your Hit Points, healing can't restore them, and receiving Temporary Hit Points doesn't count as healing. Because Temporary Hit Points aren't Hit Points, a creature can be at full Hit Points and receive Temporary Hit Points.

If you have 0 Hit Points, receiving Temporary Hit Points doesn't restore you to consciousness. You still apply the TPH buffer to protect your character against further damage while waiting for true healing.

Resting Σ

Adventurers can't spend every hour adventuring. They need rest. Any entity can take 1 hour-long Short Rests in the midst of a day and an 8-hour Long Rest to end it. Regaining Hit Points is one of the main benefits of a rest.

Short Rest

A Short Rest is a 1-hour period of downtime, during which an entity does nothing more strenuous than reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. To start a Short Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point. You may gain the benefits of a short rest at most twice per day.

Benefits of the Short Rest

When you finish a Short Rest the rest, you gain the following benefits:

  • Recover Hit Points. You recover 8 HP and you can roll as many D8 as your character's level to regain additional Hit Points.
  • Regain Empowering Points. You regain a number of Empowering Points equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
  • Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Short Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.

Interrupting a Short Rest

A Short Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:

  • Rolling Initiative
  • Casting a spell other than a cantrip
  • Taking any damage

An interrupted Short Rest confers no benefits.

Long Rest

A Long Rest is a period of extended downtime—at least 8 hours—available to any entity. During a Long Rest, you sleep for at least 6 hours and perform no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. To start a Long Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point.

During sleep, you have the Unconscious condition. You may gain the benefits of a long rest only once per day.

Benefits of the Long Rest

When you finish a Long Rest, you gain the following benefits:

  • Recover Hit Points. You recover 12 HP and you can roll as many D12 as your character's level to regain additional Hit Points. If your Hit Point maximum was reduced, it returns to normal.
  • Regain Empowering Points. You regain a number of Empowering Points equal to twice your Proficiency Bonus.
  • Ability Modifiers Restored. If any of your ability modifiers were reduced, they return to normal.
  • Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, its level decreases by 1.
  • Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Long Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.

Interrupting a Long Rest.

A Long Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:

  • Rolling Initiative
  • Casting a spell other than a cantrip
  • Taking any damage
  • 1 hour of walking or other physical exertion

If you rested at least 1 hour before the interruption, you gain the benefits of a Short Rest.

You can resume a Long Rest immediately after an interruption. If you do so, the rest requires 1 additional hour per interruption to finish.

Damage Rolls Δ

Each weapon, spell, and damaging entity ability specifies the damage it deals. You roll the damage dice, add any modifiers, and deal the damage to your target. If there's a penalty to the damage, it's possible to deal 0 damage but not negative damage.

When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier—the same modifier used for the attack roll—to the damage roll. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage and whether to add any modifiers. Unless a rule says otherwise, you don't add your ability modifier to a fixed damage amount that doesn't use a roll, such as the damage of a Blowgun.

Talents may provide additional dice or modifiers to add to your damage rolls.

Critical Hits

When you score a Critical Hit, you deal extra damage. Roll the attack's damage dice twice, add them together, and add any relevant modifiers as normal. For example, if you score a Critical Hit with a Dagger, roll 2d4 for the damage rather than 1d4, and add your relevant ability modifier. If the attack involves other damage dice, such as those provided by Talent features, you also roll those dice twice.

Saving Throws and Damage

Damage dealt via saving throws uses these rules.

Damage against Multiple Targets

When you create a damaging effect that forces two or more targets to make saving throws against it at the same time, roll the damage once for all the targets. For example, when an entity casts Fireball, the spell's damage is rolled once for all entities caught in the blast.

Half Damage

Many saving throw effects deal half damage (round down) to a target when the target succeeds on the saving throw. The halved damage is equal to half the damage that would be dealt on a failed save.

Damage Types

Each instance of damage has a type, like Fire or Slashing. Weapons, spells, abilities, and any other source of damage specifies Damage type in its description. Damage types have no rules of their own, but other rules, such as Resistance, rely on them.

Resistance and Vulnerability

Some entities and objects have Resistance or Vulnerability to certain damage types. If you have Resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against you (round down). If you have Vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against you. For example, if you have Resistance to Cold damage, such damage is halved against you, and if you have Vulnerability to Fire damage, such damage is doubled against you.

No Stacking

Multiple instances of Resistance or Vulnerability that affect the same damage type count as only one instance. For example, if you have Resistance to Necrotic damage as well as Resistance to all damage, Necrotic damage is reduced by half against you.

It is possible to have both Resistance and Vulnerability to the same damage type.

Order of Application

Modifiers to damage are applied in the following order: adjustments such as bonuses, penalties, or multipliers are applied first; Resistance is applied second; and Vulnerability is applied third.

For example, an entity has Resistance to all damage and Vulnerability to Fire damage, and it's within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. If it takes 28 Fire damage, the damage is first reduced by 5 (to 23), then halved for the entity's Resistance (and rounded down to 11), then doubled for its Vulnerability (to 22).

Immunity

Some entities and objects have Immunity to certain damage types and conditions. Immunity to a damage type means you don't take damage of that type, and Immunity to a condition means you aren't affected by it.

Healing

Hit Points can be restored by:

  • Magic, such as the Cure Wounds spell or a Potion of Healing
  • A successful use of the Healer's Kit
  • Short and Long Rest

When you receive healing, add the restored Hit Points to your current Hit Points. Your Hit Points can't exceed your Hit Point maximum, so any Hit Points regained in excess of the maximum are lost. For example, if you receive 8 Hit Points of healing and have 14 Hit Points and a Hit Point maximum of 20, you regain 6 Hit Points, not 8.

Dropping to 0 Hit Points Δ

When an entity drops to 0 Hit Points, it either dies outright or falls unconscious, as explained below.

Instant Death Δ

Here are the main ways a creature can die instantly.

Monster Death. A monster dies the instant it drops to 0 Hit Points, although the Game Master can ignore this rule for an individual monster and treat it like a character.

Hit Point Maximum of 0. An entity dies if its Hit Point maximum reaches 0. Certain effects drain life energy, reducing an entity's Hit Point maximum.

Massive Damage Δ. When damage reduces a character to 0 Hit Points and damage remains, the character dies if the remainder equals or exceeds half of their Hit Point maximum rounded up. For example, if your character has a Hit Point maximum of 17, currently has 6 Hit Points, and takes 15 damage, the character drops to 0 Hit Points, but 9 damage remains. The character then dies, since 9 equals half their Hit Point maximum rounded up.

Character Demise Θ

If your character dies, others might find a magical way to revive your character, such as with the Raise Dead spell. Or talk with the GM about making a new character to join the group.

Falling Unconscious

If you reach 0 Hit Points and don't die instantly, you have the Unconscious condition until you regain any Hit Points, and you now face making Death Saving Throws.

Knocking Out an Entity

When you would reduce an entity to 0 Hit Points with a melee attack, you can instead reduce the entity's Hit Points to 1 and give them the Unconscious condition. They then start a Short Rest, at the end of which that condition ends on them. The condition ends early if the entity regains any Hit Points or if another entity takes an action to administer first aid to it, making a successful DC 10 Medicine (DEX) check.

Death Saving Throws Σ

Whenever you start your turn with 0 Hit Points, you must make a Death Saving Throw to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang on to life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn't tied to an ability score. You're in the hands of fate now.

Two Failures. Roll 1d20. If the roll is 10 or lower, you fail. Successes are not counted, keep track of your failures. On your second failure you are on the Brink of Death.

Failures don't need to be consecutive; keep track of them until you collect two. Their number is reset to zero when you regain any Hit Points or become Stable.

Rolling a 1 or 20. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for a Death Saving Throw, you are immediately on the Brink of Death. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you become Stable.

Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 Hit Points, you suffer a Death Saving Throw failure. If the damage is from a Critical Hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds half your Hit Point maximum, you die.

Stabilizing an Entity You can take the Help action to try to stabilize an entity with 0 Hit Points, which requires a successful DC 10 Medicine (DEX) check.

A Stable entity doesn't make Death Saving Throws even though they have 0 Hit Points, but they still have the Unconscious condition. If the entity takes damage, it stops being Stable and starts making Death Saving Throws again. A Stable entity that isn't healed regains 1 Hit Point after 1d4 hours.

Brink of Death

As soon as your character reaches the Brink of Death, failing two Death Saving Throws, the Initiative Order and any ongoing turn pauses.

You must make a choice for your character:

  • Cheat death through sheer Adrenaline, provided you have enough Empowering Points
  • Try to cheat death by making a Sentence roll
  • Accept your faith and embrace death, gaining the Last Breath condition
Adrenaline

Spend a number of Empowering Points equal to half your character's level (rounded up). Your character immediately restores 1 HP—ending the Uncoscious condition—and gains a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to three times their level.

Sentence

Make a DC 13 Wisdom Saving Throw and consider the outcome of the roll:

  • Natural 1. On a Critical Failure, your character dies and can be revived only by a True Resurrection or Wish spell.
  • Failure (< 13). On a Failure, your character dies but each ally regains 1 Empowering Point—if they miss any—or advantage on their next D20 Test.
  • Success (≥ 13). On a Success, your character becomes Stable and gains their maximum amount of Temporary Hit Points (half their Hit Point maximum).
  • Natural 20. On a Critical Success, your character restores 1 HP—ending the Uncoscious condition—and gains the maximum amount of Temporary Hit Points (half their Hit Point maximum).
Last Breath

Choosing the death of your character grants them the Last Breath condition.

  • Immunity. Your character is immune to all damage and conditions other than Last Breath; their HP remains 0 and cannot be healed by any means.
  • Stand up. If Prone, your character stands up without spending movement.
  • Power Through. Your character restores all their Empowering Points and rerolls any Critical Failure.
  • Interrupt Initiative. Your character gets a full turn and an additional Action that must be used immediately. The Ready action is not available.
  • Farewell. At the end of your turn, your character dies and cannot be resurrected by any means whatsoever.