Death and Dying

When any creature is subject to sufficient damage to take their Hit Point total to 0, they die. Unlike other games, there are no grace period rounds or rolls of the dice to cling to life longer. A creature cannot survive with 0 Hit Points.

The goal of this rule is to prevent “pogo-sticking” of characters by frequent healing. This should encourage meaningful choices during gameplay in the decisions made during a combat encounter and in this crucial juncture for a character.

Dire Choice

When a character is taken to 0 Hit Points and is not subject to an effect that would kill them outright (such as a poison effect or falling in lava) the character is faced with a Dire Choice: Death or a Lasting Injury. This Dire Choice is only presented to a player and is not a choice for any NPC. A character can only choose the Lasting Injury option once per Recovery.

Death

Upon a character reaching 0 Hit Points, they fall prone and if Death is chosen then the following occurs:

• Dying Words: The character, if plausible (by the GM) pursuant to the conditions and injuries, may utter a few brief words.
• Retaliation: The character gains 2 Action Points, and they regain all spent Hero Dice. They may immediately use these Action Points for a final action (even if it is not the player’s turn). They may use any available weapon or can even cast a spell. Additionally, they may choose to add their Hero Dice to the attack or damage roll (using the same damage type as the attack).
• Heroic End: The character’s death inspires their comrades around them. They roll on the Heroic End table, granting a benefit to all of their allies within 40 feet.

Lasting Injury

Once per Recovery, when a character reaches 0 HP they may choose to suffer a lasting injury rather than die. If chosen the following occurs:

• They are unconscious for 1d4 hours.
• They no longer benefit from their Vitality modifier to HP until they finish a Recovery.
• If they suffer any damage prior to completing a Rest, they die.
• They cannot participate in any downtime activity during Recovery.
• They roll on the Lasting Injury table and suffer its short-term effects until they finish a Recovery.

See /core-mechanics/death-and-dying/heroic-end/ and /core-mechanics/death-and-dying/lasting-injury/ for the roll tables referenced above.