Damage And Healing

Combat Overview

Damage reduces hit points. When you reach 0 HP you are disabled; go negative and you are dying; reach −CON and you are dead. Everything on this page flows from that single track.

HP States at a Glance

HP range State Condition What you can do
1 → max Active — Full actions; no restriction.
0 Disabled Staggered One standard or one move action only. Taking a standard action immediately drops you to −1 HP (dying). Free, swift, and immediate actions are still allowed.
−1 → −(CON−1) Dying Unconscious Cannot act. Lose 1 HP per round at the start of your turn. 10% chance each round to self-stabilize. Helpless — subject to coup de grâce.
−CON Dead Dead Gone. Resurrection magic required.
Nonlethal Damage Subdual damage, unarmed strikes, saps, and spells that knock out rather than kill — plus the feats, weapons, and spells that deal it.
Nonlethal Damage

Taking Damage

Subtract damage dealt from your current HP. Most damage is lethal and tracked on the standard HP total. Damage types affect what bypasses Damage Reduction (DR) and Energy Resistance:

Physical

Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing. DR notation specifies which types bypass it — e.g. DR 5/bludgeoning, DR 10/magic, DR 15/— (overcome by nothing).

Energy

Fire, cold, electricity, acid, sonic. Energy Resistance reduces damage of a given type by a fixed amount per hit (e.g. Fire Resistance 10). Immunity negates entirely.

DR notation

DR X/type — reduce damage by X unless the attack is of the listed type. DR stacks only with DR from different sources of the same type, or not at all otherwise. See Special Abilities for full DR stacking rules.

Disabled at 0 HP

At exactly 0 HP you are disabled — staggered and on the edge of collapse. You can still act, but narrowly:

  • You may take one standard or one move action each turn (not both). Free, swift, and immediate actions are unaffected.
  • Taking a standard action (attacking, casting a spell, using a strenuous ability) immediately costs you 1 HP, dropping you to −1 and the dying condition.
  • Taking a move action does not cost HP.
  • You are helpless and subject to coup de grâce — a full-round action that deals an automatic critical hit and forces a Fort save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or you die instantly.
  • Receiving any magical healing while at 0 HP raises you above 0 and removes the disabled condition, even if only 1 HP is restored.

Dying (Negative HP)

Below 0 HP you are dying — unconscious, helpless, and bleeding out. Each round at the start of your turn:

  1. You lose 1 HP.
  2. Roll d% — on a result of 10 or less (10%) you self-stabilize. HP loss stops; you remain unconscious at your current negative HP total until healed above 0.

If nothing stabilizes you and you reach −CON HP, you die.

Stabilizing a Dying Creature

Method How it works
Self-stabilize 10% chance each round (after HP loss). No action required — automatic on the die roll.
Heal check An adjacent ally spends a standard action (provokes AoO) and makes a DC 15 Heal check. On success, the dying creature stabilizes. This does not restore HP.
Magical healing Any positive HP restored (cure spell, channel energy, potion) immediately stabilizes the creature. If the healing brings HP to 1 or higher, the creature is conscious and disabled or fully active depending on HP total.

Death

A creature dies when its HP reaches −CON (e.g. −14 for a creature with CON 14). Death also occurs from:

  • Instant-death effects — certain spells (finger of death, slay living) and abilities kill outright on a failed save, regardless of current HP.
  • Coup de grâce — a full-round action against a helpless creature; automatic critical hit + Fort save (DC 10 + damage) or die.

Optional Rule: Massive Damage

If a single hit deals 50 or more damage, the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or die instantly regardless of current HP. This is an optional rule — confirm with your GM before assuming it is in play.

Recovery and Natural Healing

A stabilized creature remains unconscious at its negative HP total. It does not heal naturally while at negative HP — it must be brought above 0 HP by magical healing or long-term care first.

Method HP restored
Rest (8 hours) 1 HP per character level. Requires at least 8 hours of uninterrupted rest. Any combat or strenuous activity during that period negates the healing.
Full bed rest (24 hours) 2 HP per character level. Must do nothing but rest for a full day.
Long-term care (Heal DC 15) A successful Heal check (DC 15) on a resting patient doubles the natural healing rate for that rest period. One healer can attend up to 6 patients at once.
Fast healing / Regeneration Restore HP at the start of each turn. See Special Abilities for full rules.

Ability Score Damage, Drain & Penalty

Not all stat loss is the same. The three types interact with rest and magic differently:

Type Display Heals how? If CON reaches 0?
Damage Temporary (italic or noted) 1 point per night of rest. Lesser restoration removes all. Unconscious; death if any other ability reaches 0 simultaneously.
Drain Permanent (crossed out) Does not heal with rest. Requires restoration or greater restoration. Death.
Penalty Circumstantial (noted) Ends when the source ends (spell expires, condition removed). Treated as 0 for modifier purposes but does not cause death.

Full rules for ability damage from poison, disease, and energy drain are in Special Abilities.

Dying Character Calculator

HP until death

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Rounds until death

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Self-stabilize chance

10%

(per round)