Hit Points
When your hit point total reaches 0, you're disabled. When it reaches –1, you're dying. When it gets to a negative amount equal to your Constitution score, you're dead.
Disabled (0 Hit Points)
When your current hit point total drops to exactly 0, you are disabled.
You gain the staggered condition and can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you are now at –1 hit points and dying.
Healing that raises your hit points above 0 makes you fully functional again, just as if you'd never been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.
You can also become disabled when recovering from dying. In this case, it's a step toward recovery, and you can have fewer than 0 hit points (see Stable Characters and Recovery).
Dying (Negative Hit Points)
If your hit point total is negative, but not equal to or greater than your Constitution score, you're dying.
A dying character immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions.
A dying character loses 1 hit point every round. This continues until the character dies or becomes stable.
Dead
When your character's current hit points drop to a negative amount equal to his Constitution score or lower, or if he succumbs to massive damage, he's dead. A character can also die from taking ability damage or suffering an ability drain that reduces his Constitution score to 0 (see Special Abilities).
Certain types of powerful magic, such as raise dead and resurrection, can restore life to a dead character.
-PFSRD.COM, 'Hit Points' and 'Injury and Death'.
By the rules when you hit 0 hit points you are disabled.
Disabled (0 Hit Points)
When your current hit point total drops to exactly 0, you are disabled.You gain the staggered condition and can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you are now at –1 hit points and dying.
Healing that raises your hit points above 0 makes you fully functional again, just as if you'd never been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.
You can also become disabled when recovering from dying. In this case, it's a step toward recovery, and you can have fewer than 0 hit points (see Stable Characters and Recovery).
If the character starts to die then they must make constitution checks in order to stabilize(stop dying).
Dying (Negative Hit Points)
If your hit point total is negative, but not equal to or greater than your Constitution score, you're dying.A dying character immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions.
A dying character loses 1 hit point every round. This continues until the character dies or becomes stable.
If that's all you're doing you're preventing death wholesale.
Not necessarily a bad thing. PF needs to be better about the PCs that; death shouldn't be the only penalty for failure.
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Thanks that really helps. But what about monsters?
Do you use this on Encounters as well or just for players? It seems like after a fight the room is going to be full of half dead monsters. Does this mean players have to go around dealing Coup de grâce or is it assumed they die at some point after the players leave.
By RAW, it applies to monsters.
Most GMs just have the monsters die at zero.
By RAW, it applies to monsters.
Most GMs just have the monsters die at zero.
[nitpick]
The exception being undead and constructs, which are destroyed at 0 hp.
[/nitpick]
It should apply to enemies too - imagine a fight where two of your opponents are down (and dying), two others are still fighting. Now someone channels positive energy...
(e.g. your group cleric without Selective Channel or the cleric of team not completely evil)
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It should apply to enemies too - imagine a fight where two of your opponents are down (and dying), two others are still fighting. Now someone channels positive energy...
(e.g. your group cleric without Selective Channel or the cleric of team not completely evil)
Do this all the time. Players learn to not spam channel in the middle of combat unless they want to raise the whole army back.
Thanks that really helps. But what about monsters?
Do you use this on Encounters as well or just for players? It seems like after a fight the room is going to be full of half dead monsters. Does this mean players have to go around dealing Coup de grâce or is it assumed they die at some point after the players leave.
For me generally even if the pcs don't do enough damage to take the monsters to negative Con, unless they're taking actions that would/could stabilize/heal any stragglers or there's a story reason to have them linger, I assume they fail all their stabilization checks and die sooner or later.