Struggled to find clarification for the unconscious game mechanic.
What happens if all monsters are defeated but there was a player making death saving throws during combat? Do they immediately stabilize with 0 hit points and go through the 1d4 hour procedure to regain 1 health? (kind of forcing the characters to take a short break?)
Unless someone else stabelises them, (healing kit, medicin check, spare the dying cantrip or any healing skill/spell) they keep on makeing saveing throws untill they either have 3 saves or 3 fails.
If someone is unconscious at the end of battle, I switch into story mode to keep up the tension. "You have slain the owlbear, but Danak lies unconscious and bleeding out on the floor. What do you want to do?" Then I give the party twenty or thirty seconds at the table to decide what to do next before calling for another death save. That usually gets them sorted out in a hurry.
Personally, I would keep initiative active since someone is still in danger and seconds count.
I have seen characters die outside of combat because everyone went to loot bodies and investigate other areas. I have even seen people leave one of their party members unconscious and face down in a pool of water.
I have since started keeping people on initiative order until everything from combat is resolved.
I would keep the initiative order until the danger has passed, which includes dying characters.
This can also be useful if one of the enemies they just defeated is more important and was subject to the Clone spell and had an important item on them. They died, but immediately woke up in the cloned body elsewhere and still have the rest of the round / their turn to go to the shelf, crush a sapphire and teleport that item to themselves using Instant Summons if the player characters focus on saving their friend(s) rather than looting that specific enemy's body.
Can also be useful if they're in a dangerous environment like an unstable roof that only has X number of turns before it collapses, or in a lair where lair actions continue because the real owner of the lair wasn't in the fight. Or perhaps they only have X turns before reinforcements turn up, or something.
Basically, initiative doesn't end until you're willing to tell your party "it's safe for now, seconds/minutes don't matter".
You can also end the initiative but still ask the dying character's player to make a death save when you reasonably think 6 seconds has passed in-game.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
if all player characters are at 0 when battle ends, i let them all just finish their death saves in no particular order. those that fail 3x are perma-dead. Those that stabilize are unconscious for the short rest until they can recover some hit points and can wake up....that assumes whatever baddies were there weren't smart enough to finish them off (which has always been the case in the very few times i've had that scenario unfold - which is usually the result of one character being blatantly obnoxious and triggering way more than the party can handle).
Summed up from the PHB: a character does death saving throws until dying or surviving. To stabilize and prevent death another member of the party must make a medicine check of 10. I recommend this not just due to it being in the PHB but because it makes sense, its a low threshhold to help (especially if there can be an advantage to it) and it is one of the only times medicine is generally used if none of your party members are dabbling in such things.
They will also still be unconcious for either 1 hour or 1d4 hours, before regaining HP back to wake up.
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Hello everyone!
Struggled to find clarification for the unconscious game mechanic.
What happens if all monsters are defeated but there was a player making death saving throws during combat? Do they immediately stabilize with 0 hit points and go through the 1d4 hour procedure to regain 1 health? (kind of forcing the characters to take a short break?)
Unless someone else stabelises them, (healing kit, medicin check, spare the dying cantrip or any healing skill/spell) they keep on makeing saveing throws untill they either have 3 saves or 3 fails.
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]If someone is unconscious at the end of battle, I switch into story mode to keep up the tension. "You have slain the owlbear, but Danak lies unconscious and bleeding out on the floor. What do you want to do?" Then I give the party twenty or thirty seconds at the table to decide what to do next before calling for another death save. That usually gets them sorted out in a hurry.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Personally, I would keep initiative active since someone is still in danger and seconds count.
I have seen characters die outside of combat because everyone went to loot bodies and investigate other areas. I have even seen people leave one of their party members unconscious and face down in a pool of water.
I have since started keeping people on initiative order until everything from combat is resolved.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I would keep the initiative order until the danger has passed, which includes dying characters.
This can also be useful if one of the enemies they just defeated is more important and was subject to the Clone spell and had an important item on them. They died, but immediately woke up in the cloned body elsewhere and still have the rest of the round / their turn to go to the shelf, crush a sapphire and teleport that item to themselves using Instant Summons if the player characters focus on saving their friend(s) rather than looting that specific enemy's body.
Can also be useful if they're in a dangerous environment like an unstable roof that only has X number of turns before it collapses, or in a lair where lair actions continue because the real owner of the lair wasn't in the fight. Or perhaps they only have X turns before reinforcements turn up, or something.
Basically, initiative doesn't end until you're willing to tell your party "it's safe for now, seconds/minutes don't matter".
You can also end the initiative but still ask the dying character's player to make a death save when you reasonably think 6 seconds has passed in-game.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
if all player characters are at 0 when battle ends, i let them all just finish their death saves in no particular order. those that fail 3x are perma-dead. Those that stabilize are unconscious for the short rest until they can recover some hit points and can wake up....that assumes whatever baddies were there weren't smart enough to finish them off (which has always been the case in the very few times i've had that scenario unfold - which is usually the result of one character being blatantly obnoxious and triggering way more than the party can handle).
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Summed up from the PHB: a character does death saving throws until dying or surviving. To stabilize and prevent death another member of the party must make a medicine check of 10. I recommend this not just due to it being in the PHB but because it makes sense, its a low threshhold to help (especially if there can be an advantage to it) and it is one of the only times medicine is generally used if none of your party members are dabbling in such things.
They will also still be unconcious for either 1 hour or 1d4 hours, before regaining HP back to wake up.