Ability Damage Immunity vs Death

[Willow_Frost]

Hi, I was just wondering where the Dead status effect is affected by ability damage immunity. I ask this because the Dead condition reads as follows:

-- The character's hit points are reduced to a negative amount equal to his Constitution score, his Constitution drops to 0, or he is killed outright by a spell or effect. 

And ability damage reads as follows:

-- Some attacks or special abilities cause ability damage or drain, reducing the designated ability score by the listed amount.

So theoretically, I was thinking immunity to ability damage causes immunity to the Dead status. Am I wrong?

think you for your time, and have a great day.

[UnArcaneElection]

Immunity to Constitution damage/drain would protect you from death by Constitution damage/drain, but not from death by the other means. (Note that the first thing you quoted has "or" in it, not "and".)

[Bob Bob Bob]

That's a list of things that cause the Dead condition, not what the condition is. The last part of the sentence ("or he is killed outright by a spell or effect") makes absolutely no sense otherwise. As UnArcaneElection said, immunity to Con damage/drain would make you immune to dying that way but not affect the other two mentioned ways (HP damage and "killed outright").

[Trekkie90909]

To be more specific, three separate things can cause the "dead" condition:

--Magnitude of negative HP total equal to (or greater than) constitution score.

--Constitution score drops to 0 (or below).

--Death effect (a spell or ability which imparts the "dead" condition).

Immunity to ability damage does not cause immunity to the "dead" condition from any of these 3 possibilities.

--Characters/NPCs can still take damage, which can still drop their HP total to their negative con score total or below.

--Characters/NPCs are now immune to con damage, but not drain. They are therefore less likely to die from this, but not immune.

--Death effects, unless they specifically work by causing ability score damage, are unaffected by the immunity and function normally.