How do death effects interact with regeneration? Would a target reduced to 0HP by a death effect that has regeneration die, or would they just go to dying 3? Stated differently do death effects trump regeneration or does regeneration trump death effects?
Some spells and abilities can kill you immediately or bring you closer to death without needing to reduce you to 0 Hit Points first. These abilities have the death trait and usually involve negative energy, the antithesis of life. If you are reduced to 0 Hit Points by a death effect, you are slain instantly without needing to reach dying 4. If an effect states it kills you outright, you die without having to reach
dying 4 and without being reduced to 0 Hit Points.
This monster regains the listed number of Hit Points each round at the beginning of its turn. Its dying condition never increases beyond dying 3 as long as its regeneration is active. However, if it takes damage of a type listed in the regeneration entry, its regeneration deactivates until the end of its next turn. Deactivate the regeneration before applying any damage of a listed type, since that damage might kill the monster by bringing it to dying 4.
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Well, if the creature dies without ever gaining the Dying condition, then Regeneration wouldn't trigger. All it does (other than the HP gain every round) is prevent a creature from actually dying when its Dying condition value is too high.
So I would say that Death effects trump Regeneration.
Yes, Death effects can kill the target outright and render Regeneration irrelevant.
Regeneration recovering from death effects is a special ability that the Tarrasque has, though, so there is an exception.