Hit Points

Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more difficult to kill. Those with fewer hit points are more fragile.
A creature's current hit points (usually just called hit points) can be any number from the creature's hit point maximum down to 0. This number changes frequently as a creature takes damage or receives Healing.
Whenever a creature takes Damage, that damage is subtracted from its hit points. The loss of hit points has no effect on a creature's capabilities until the creature drops to 0 hit points.

Dropping to 0 Hit Points

When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright or fall Unconscious, as explained in the following sections:

• Death
• Falling Unconscious

Additionally, whenever a creature with at least 1 hit point is reduced to 0 hit points, that creature gains a level of Exhaustion.

Creature Hit Points

A creature usually dies or is destroyed when it drops to 0 Hit Points. A creature's hit points are presented both as a die expression and as an average number. For example, a monster with 2d8 hit points has 9 hit points on average (2 × 4½).
A creature's size determines the die used to calculate its Hit Points, as shown in the Hit Dice by Size table.

Hit Dice by Size

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Monster Size	Hit Die	Average HP per Die
Tiny	1d4	2 1/2
Small	1d6	3 1/2
Medium	1d8	4 1/2
Large	1d10	5 1/2
Huge	1d12	6 1/2
Gargantuan	1d20	10 1/2

A creature's Constitution modifier also affects the number of Hit Points it has. Its Constitution modifier is multiplied by the number of Hit Dice it possesses, and the result is added to its hit points. For example, if a monster has a Constitution of 12 (+1 modifier) and 2d8 Hit Dice, it has 2d8+2 hit points (average 11).

Temporary Hit Points

Some spells and special abilities confer temporary hit points to a creature. Temporary hit points aren't actual hit points; they are a buffer against damage, a pool of hit points that protect you from injury.
When you have temporary hit points and take Damage, the temporary hit points are lost first, and any leftover damage carries over to your normal hit points. For example, if you have 5 temporary hit points and take 7 Damage, you lose the temporary hit points and then take 2 damage.
Because temporary hit points are separate from your actual hit points, they can exceed your hit point maximum. A character can, therefore, be at full hit points and receive temporary hit points.
Healing can't restore temporary hit points, and they can't be added together. If you have temporary hit points and receive more of them, you decide whether to keep the ones you have or to gain the new ones. For example, if a spell grants you 12 temporary hit points when you already have 10, you can have 12 or 10, not 22.
If you have 0 hit points, receiving temporary hit points doesn't restore you to consciousness or Stabilize you. They can still absorb damage directed at you while you're in that state, but only true Healing can save you.
Unless a feature that grants you temporary hit points has a duration, they last until they're depleted or you finish a Long Rest.