Death

Dropping To Zero Hit Points

When you drop to lower than zero hit points you either die outright or fall unconscious, as explained in the following sections. If you do not die outright, you roll on the Lingering Injuries Table. You are considered Disabled when you drop to exactly zero hit points. In this status your speed is halved and you cannot use Bonus Actions or Reactions. You also cannot cast concentration spells or use the extra attack feature. You still roll on the lingering injuries table when dropping to zero hit points.

Instant Death

Massive damage can kill you instantly. When you drop to your maximum hit points below zero, you are dead.

Death Saving Throws

When a creature drops below zero hit points they begin taking death saving throws in order to attempt to stabilize themselves. On their turn, the DM will roll a flat d20 roll and will not reveal the result to the party. Upon rolling a 14 or higher, the creature passes their death saving throw, while a roll of 13 or less is considered a failure. Upon three successful saving throws the creature is stabilized, while upon three failing death saving throws the creature is dead. If you roll a 1 it is considered as two failures, while a 20 is considered two successes. If you take any damage while at below zero hit points you automatically take a death saving throw failure, unless you also receive healing that turn. The Coup de Grace Action deals an additional death saving throw failure.

Stabilizing a Creature

You have multiple ways to stabilize a creature. You can do it via spell, healing or medicine check. Alternatively, the creature can stabilize themselves by passing three death saving throws. When healing a creature to stabilize them, the creature is stabilized when they are healed above zero hit points. You can also avoid using a spell and administer first aid, rolling a Medicine check to stabilize the creature. The DC is calculated as thus:

DC = 8 + Negative Hit Points