Scenario: a barbarian who has imprudently omitted taking Vital Strike is wearing a Shawl of Life-Keeping. He's raging and eats a big one....
If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
Unconsciousness can result from having negative hit points (but not more than the creature’s Constitution score)
This magical shawl is woven from silken, diaphanous material. Once per day, the wearer can speak a command word to transfer some of her life energy into the shawl (up to 10 hit points). If she is wearing the shawl and is reduced to –1 hit points or below, the shawl immediately heals her an amount equal to the number of hit points stored in the shawl. This healing cannot prevent the wearer from being killed. The life energy stored in the shawl lasts for 24 hours or until it heals the wearer, whichever comes first. If the shawl is destroyed, the stored life energy is lost.
Mr. 10th-level Raging Lunkhead gets clonked to -1. Which of these happens?
A. The shawl "immediately" kicks in to bring him up to 9hp. Lunkhead remains conscious.
B. Lunkhead falls unconscious and "immediately" loses 20hp as rage shuts off, and dies (unless his CON is 21+). Shawl does nothing.
C. Like B, except shawl activates in vain to heal a corpse.
D. Like B, except shawl activates, leaving Lunkhead at -11.
Z. Lunkhead is a half-orc with the Orc Ferocity racial trait.
I would assume A, as if you're healed back to positive as it happens, then you can't go unconscious. I seem to recall several other things that heal as you dip below, and they specified that you stay up.
I would assume A, as if you're healed back to positive as it happens, then you can't go unconscious. I seem to recall several other things that heal as you dip below, and they specified that you stay up.
Thanks. That's an answer I was hoping for...but I'm really looking for RAW here, as I'd need the rule on proverbial speed-dial if called on it at a PFS table.
My assumption is that "A" is absolutely the answer in the case of Orc-Ferocity racial trait (since the character would not go unconscious anyway at that point and therefore not lose his rage).
(BTW, the OP's first sentence should have read: "...imprudently omitted taking Raging Vitality..." I'm sure it made no sense the other way.)