Dead

The creature is no longer alive. Its soul has departed its body. It no longer participates in combat and cannot take any actions.

How Death Occurs

A creature dies when any of the following occur:

• Its hit points drop to a negative amount equal to its Constitution score (e.g., a creature with CON 14 dies at –14 HP).
• It is killed outright by a death effect (such as finger of death or power word kill).
• It fails a massive damage save — if a single hit deals 50 or more points of damage, the creature must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or die instantly.
• An ability score (usually Constitution) is reduced to 0 by damage, drain, or a special attack.

Effects

• Cannot take any actions.
• The soul departs the body; spells that target living creatures or require a willing subject have no effect.
• The body is an object and can be targeted by spells that affect objects.
• Undead-creating spells (animate dead, etc.) can be used on the corpse; the resulting undead is not the original creature.

Returning from Death

• The soul must be willing to return — a soul that does not wish to return cannot be raised.
• Constructs, elementals, outsiders, and undead cannot be raised by raise dead.
• A creature that has been dead long enough to be reduced to dust or destroyed remains cannot be raised by raise dead — at minimum resurrection is required.

The HP Death Chain

Characters typically pass through these states before death:

Common Sources

Reaching negative HP equal to Constitution; death effects (finger of death, slay living, power word kill, phantasmal killer on a failed save); massive damage (50+ in one hit, DC 15 Fort or die); Constitution reduced to 0 by poison, ability drain, or energy drain; certain trap effects.