System Reference Document 5.2.1
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knockinG out a crEaturE
When you would reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points 
with a melee attack, you can instead reduce the crea -
ture to 1 Hit Point and give it the Unconscious condi -
tion. It then starts a Short Rest, at the end of which 
that condition ends on it. The condition ends early 
if the creature regains any Hit Points or if someone 
takes an action to administer first aid to it, making a 
successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
Glossary” and have no rules of their own, but other 
rules, such as Resistance, rely on damage types.
Resistance and Vulnerability
Some creatures and objects have Resistance or 
Vulnerability to certain damage types. If you have 
Resistance to a damage type, damage of that type 
is halved against you (round down). If you have 
Vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type 
is doubled against you. For example, if you have 
Resistance to Cold damage, such damage is halved 
against you, and if you have Vulnerability to Fire 
damage, such damage is doubled against you.
No Stacking
Multiple instances of Resistance or Vulnerability 
that affect the same damage type count as only one 
instance. For example, if you have Resistance to Ne -
crotic damage as well as Resistance to all damage, 
Necrotic damage is reduced by half against you.
Order of Application
Modifiers to damage are applied in the following 
order: adjustments such as bonuses, penalties, or 
multipliers are applied first; Resistance is applied 
second; and Vulnerability is applied third.
 For example, a creature has Resistance to all dam -
age and Vulnerability to Fire damage, and it’s within 
a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. If it 
takes 28 Fire damage, the damage is first reduced 
by 5 (to 23), then halved for the creature’s Resis -
tance (and rounded down to 11), then doubled for 
its Vulnerability (to 22).
Immunity
Some creatures and objects have Immunity to cer -
tain damage types and conditions. Immunity to a 
damage type means you don’t take damage of that 
type, and Immunity to a condition means you aren’t 
affected by it.
Healing
Hit Points can be restored by magic, such as the 
Cure Wounds spell or a Potion of Healing, or by a 
Short or Long Rest (see “Rules Glossary”).
 When you receive healing, add the restored Hit 
Points to your current Hit Points. Your Hit Points 
can’t exceed your Hit Point maximum, so any Hit 
Points regained in excess of the maximum are lost. 
For example, if you receive 8 Hit Points of healing 
and have 14 Hit Points and a Hit Point maximum of 
20, you regain 6 Hit Points, not 8.
Dropping to 0 Hit Points
When a creature drops to 0 Hit Points, it either dies 
outright or falls unconscious, as explained below.
Instant Death
Here are the main ways a creature can die instantly.
 Monster Death.  A monster dies the instant it 
drops to 0 Hit Points, although a Game Master can 
ignore this rule for an individual monster and treat 
it like a character.
 Hit Point Maximum of 0. A creature dies if its Hit 
Point maximum reaches 0. Certain effects drain life 
energy, reducing a creature’s Hit Point maximum.
 Massive Damage. When damage reduces a char -
acter to 0 Hit Points and damage remains, the char -
acter dies if the remainder equals or exceeds their 
Hit Point maximum. For example, if your character 
has a Hit Point maximum of 12, currently has 6 Hit 
Points, and takes 18 damage, the character drops to 
0 Hit Points, but 12 damage remains. The character 
then dies, since 12 equals their Hit Point maximum.
Character Demise
If your character dies, others might find a magical 
way to revive your character, such as with the Raise 
Dead spell. Or talk with the GM about making a new 
character to join the group. “Rules Glossary” has 
more information on being dead.
Falling Unconscious
If you reach 0 Hit Points and don’t die instantly, you 
have the Unconscious condition (see “Rules Glos -
sary”) until you regain any Hit Points, and you now 
face making Death Saving Throws (see below).
Death Saving Throws
Whenever you start your turn with 0 Hit Points, 
you must make a Death Saving Throw to determine 
whether you creep closer to death or hang on to life. 
Unlike other saving throws, this one isn’t tied to an 
ability score. You’re in the hands of fate now.
 Three Successes/Failures. Roll 1d20. If the roll 
is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A 
success or failure has no effect by itself. On your 
third success, you become Stable (see “Stabilizing a 
Character” below). On your third failure, you die.
 The successes and failures don’t need to be con -
secutive; keep track of both until you collect three 
of a kind. The number of both is reset to zero when 
you regain any Hit Points or become Stable.