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Does granting someone temporary hit points count as magical healing for purposes of stabilization? My gut is telling me no, but I can't find any clear answer in the rules. I know that someone becomes stabilized, at least as long as the temp hp are present if they are raised to or above 0 hp, but what if they're at -4 and get zapped with a virtue spell? Does that 1 temporary hit point stabilize them for the minute they've got it? If so, when it goes away, do they continue bleeding out or are they stabilized at -4?
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Does granting someone temporary hit points count as magical healing for purposes of stabilization? My gut is telling me no, but I can't find any clear answer in the rules. I know that someone becomes stabilized, at least as long as the temp hp are present if they are raised to or above 0 hp, but what if they're at -4 and get zapped with a virtue spell? Does that 1 temporary hit point stabilize them for the minute they've got it? If so, when it goes away, do they continue bleeding out or are they stabilized at -4?
No, Temporary hit points do not count as healing, as healing effects are specifically delineated by being called healing in their effect blocks.
Lets look at cure light wounds...
School: Conjuration (healing)
That right there specifies it as a healing effect.
Virtue, says
School: Transmutation
Notice specifically the absence of the healing type.
Even in Cure it talks about curing 1d8 + 1 per level (5 max) damage.
This is not present in Virtue, which describes it as a:
With a touch, you infuse the subject with a tiny bit of life, granting him 1 temporary hit point.
The wording is very different. If you need healing to stabilize you need to look for the healing keyword.
I agree with Dissinger. A healing spell would close the wounds and stop the bleeding, wheras the temporary hit point, that "infuses you with a tiny bit of life" just grants you six more seconds before you die.
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This is interesting though. So if a PC is at -4 and bleeding out and the wizard rushes over and hits them with false life for 13, they'd now be up and fighting with 9 HP but still bleeding 1/rd until "cured"?
And if they don't loose 1/rd since they're stable at positive hp, when the temp hp wear off at the end of the spell, if they haven't been healed, would they again be bleeding out a 1/rd?
This is interesting though. So if a PC is at -4 and bleeding out and the wizard rushes over and hits them with false life for 13, they'd now be up and fighting with 9 HP but still bleeding 1/rd until "cured"?
Ok, sorry, I mixed up temporary hit points and those gained from CON increase.
Nevertheless, it's tricky. temporary hit points disappear if not used (i.e. drained by damage). At first glance I would rule that temporary hit points, such as gained by aid or false life, stabilize the recipient if they brought him back from negative hp and disappeared with the ending of the spell and not by the business end of a sword.
However, hit point gained by CON increase would not stabilize the recipient (ruling that a higher CON does not automatically close wounds). But that would mean that
a) A CON increase may boost a character from -5 to 15 hp and he would still bleed and
b) a healthy character who gained a 20 hp increase from bear's endurance spell would start to bleed at 19 hp. Not exactly desirable...
Hmm. Haven't found a solution so far.
Any character at 0 or higher hp is by definition not "dying", which means not bleeding every turn, however that happens.
A cure spell (or heal check) specifically stabilizes an individual, regardless of hp level (as long as not dead).
So 3rd level Wizard at -4 hp:
1) Virtue - +1 temporary hitpoint, -3 total, not stable. Makes a check the next round to stabilize, if not that temporary hit point is gone. This is actually a great idea, as it keeps them alive, and lets them try to stabilize on their own each round you cast a virtue on them (whereas a heal check might fail and let them bleed out).
2) Aid/False Life - +8 temporary hitpoints, +4 total, stable. After the spell expires, if hasn't received healing, will be dying again.
3) Bear's Endurance - +6 total hit points, +2 total, stable. After the spell expires, if hasn't received healing, will be dying again.
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Any character at 0 or higher hp is by definition not "dying", which means not bleeding every turn, however that happens.
A cure spell (or heal check) specifically stabilizes an individual, regardless of hp level (as long as not dead).
So 3rd level Wizard at -4 hp:
1) Virtue - +1 temporary hitpoint, -3 total, not stable. Makes a check the next round to stabilize, if not that temporary hit point is gone. This is actually a great idea, as it keeps them alive, and lets them try to stabilize on their own each round you cast a virtue on them (whereas a heal check might fail and let them bleed out).2) Aid/False Life - +8 temporary hitpoints, +4 total, stable. After the spell expires, if hasn't received healing, will be dying again.
3) Bear's Endurance - +6 total hit points, +2 total, stable. After the spell expires, if hasn't received healing, will be dying again.
Resurrect...
Where does it say that a cure spell stabilizes a character?
I can't find that reference...
What I can find are the following:
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Dying: A dying creature is unconscious and near death. Creatures that have negative hit points and have not stabilized are dying. A dying creature can take no actions. On the character's next turn, after being reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), and on all subsequent turns, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become stable. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. A character that is stable does not need to make this check. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. If the character fails this check, he loses 1 hit point. If a dying creature has an amount of negative hit points equal to its Constitution score, it dies.
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First Aid: You usually use first aid to save a dying character. If a character has negative hit points and is losing hit points (at the rate of 1 per round, 1 per hour, or 1 per day), you can make him stable. A stable character regains no hit points but stops losing them. First aid also stops a character from losing hit points due to effects that cause bleed (see Conditions for rules on bleed damage).
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Cure Light Wounds
School conjuration (healing); Level bard 1, cleric 1, druid 1, paladin 1, ranger 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will half (harmless); see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless); see text
When laying your hand upon a living creature, you channel positive energy that cures 1d8 points of damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +5). Since undead are powered by negative energy, this spell deals damage to them instead of curing their wounds. An undead creature can apply spell resistance, and can attempt a Will save to take half damage.
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Stabilize
School conjuration (healing); Level cleric 0, druid 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one living creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance: yes (harmless)
Upon casting this spell, you target a living creature that has –1 or fewer hit points. That creature is automatically stabilized and does not lose any further hit points. If the creature later takes damage, it continues dying normally.
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Virtue
School transmutation; Level cleric 0, druid 0, paladin 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 min.
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
With a touch, you infuse a creature with a tiny surge of life, granting the subject 1 temporary hit point.
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Healing
After taking damage, you can recover hit points through natural healing or through magical healing. In any case, you can't regain hit points past your full normal hit point total.
Natural Healing: With a full night's rest (8 hours of sleep or more), you recover 1 hit point per character level. Any significant interruption during your rest prevents you from healing that night.
If you undergo complete bed rest for an entire day and night, you recover twice your character level in hit points.
Magical Healing: Various abilities and spells can restore hit points.
Healing Limits: You can never recover more hit points than you lost. Magical healing won't raise your current hit points higher than your full normal hit point total.
Healing Ability Damage: Temporary ability damage returns at the rate of 1 point per night of rest (8 hours) for each affected ability score. Complete bed rest restores 2 points per day (24 hours) for each affected ability score.
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Temporary Hit Points
Certain effects give a character temporary hit points. These hit points are in addition to the character's current hit point total and any damage taken by the character is subtracted from these hit points first. Any damage in excess of a character's temporary hit points is applied to his current hit points as normal. If the effect that grants the temporary hit points ends or is dispelled, any remaining temporary hit points go away. The damage they sustained is not transferred to the character's current hit points.
When temporary hit points are lost, they cannot be restored as real hit points can be, even by magic.
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I also looked at the channel energy ability - it references healing as well.
From what I can tell, RAW (not the way I play - I use "if you receive magical healing you stabilize" too) you do not stabilize when you receive magical healing - only through magical healing to positive HP, the successful use of first aid or the stabilize spell.
By way of example:
If you were at -6 HP, received a cure spell for 5 HP, leaving you at -1 HP, you would continue "dying" (as per condition) and continue to attempt to stabilize (although the DC of the CON check would be reduced).
I would say, RAW, you could use Virtue to stave off death, but the character would still have to eventually stabilize, either on their own or through first aid or being brought to positive normal HP.
*snip*
Check out Stable Characters and Recovery: "If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even 1 point of damage, he becomes stable and stops losing hit points."
You have to read all the rules. ;)
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*snip*Check out Stable Characters and Recovery: "If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even 1 point of damage, he becomes stable and stops losing hit points."
You have to read all the rules. ;)
LOL.
And I though I had scoured everything. Search let me down! It put me below the section I really needed to read :P
Thanks.