Would that work for an attack that leaves me in negative hp greater than my CON score?
(...)
Would the healing occur after the damage is dealt? before? or during it?
Since dropping below 0 HP makes you unconscious (barring something like Ferocity), which would make you unable to cast, the process of casting must be completed before the damage is done. Therefore, the healing is applied before any damage.
You can cast this spell only when you have fewer than one-quarter of your total hit points. With a gasping utterance, you summon invigorating air to fill your lungs. You heal 2d8 points of damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +10). You can cast this spell either as a swift action on your turn or as an immediate action when you are brought to below 0 hit points. If you do not breathe, you can’t benefit from this spell.
The spell actually specifies you can cast it as an immediate action when brought below 0 HP. So, being below 0 HP will not prevent you from casting the spell.
You still cannot cast the spell when dead for a couple of reason. First of all dead people don’t get actions even free actions, much less immediate actions. Second of all dead people do not breathe and the spell specifies that you need to breath to benefit from the spell. That is the RAW answer. Personally I would not have a problem allowing this spell to be used to prevent death. It is a 3rd level spell that does not heal that much damage. If the character using it is a paladin I would recommend Hero’s Defiance instead. Hero’s defiance specifies the it heals before the damage takes place.
|
One of the problems with immediate action abilities has always been that Pathfinder lacks a clearly defined order of operations. If an immediate action happens in response to another action, does the immediate action fully resolve before the triggering condition completes or only after the triggering condition is fully resolved? Particularly important if the condition is "you die."
Some immediate actions are clearly spelled out, some only work if you assume one way or the other (it's not consistent), and some don't matter. This one does matter, it's not spelled out, and it could be read either way.
So. . . ask your GM.
Am I the only one who thinks that an interpretation that makes the spell impossible to use is objectively wrong?
The spell actually specifies you can cast it as an immediate action when brought below 0 HP. So, being below 0 HP will not prevent you from casting the spell.
This makes no sense. After the damage is applied, you cannot cast the spell, which means the spell must let you cast it basically between calculating the damage and it being applied to your hit points. Otherwise the spell only ever works if you have something like Ferocity.
The healing is done as part of the spell, so if the casting is started before the damage is applied, the healing must also be applied before the damage is.
All the above also applies to Hero's Defiance. It also applies to the Resiliency Rogue Talent because "A dying creature can take no actions."
|
|
Am I the only one who thinks that an interpretation that makes the spell impossible to use is objectively wrong?
Except it's not impossible to use this spell with that interpretation. The spell can be cast at other times, it doesn't have to be when you go below 0 HP. The argument can be made that the "below 0 HP" ability is a nice bonus option for the spell if you happen to have a racial, class, or feat-based ability that lets you act below 0 HP.
Having said that, I agree with your interpretation. The vast majority of characters couldn't use the below 0 portion otherwise. And there's no flavor text in the spell or in the surrounding text in the book indicating this is particularly relevant to one race/class/etc.
Am I the only one who thinks that an interpretation that makes the spell impossible to use is objectively wrong? . . . .
Quite possibly. Specific trumps General.
This is a case of the specific overruling the general. The spell specifies it can be cast as an immediate action when you are brought below 0 HP, so you can.
Even if that wasn't clearly the intended use of the spell, one could make the argument that someone with die hard or ferocity would be awake and able to take the action normally. But if an ability says it works one way on its own, the minutia of every other possible ability shouldn't influence that isolated wording.