Does a creature die outright if they drop below negative max hit points of their polymorphed form?












19












$begingroup$


Does a creature die outright if they drop below negative max hit points of their polymorphed form?
I know a creature will revert to their normal form upon reaching 0 hit points, but a creature dies immediately if it takes damage that reduces it to negative hit points. Does that mean the polymorphed creature dies, or does it just revert and carry damage past 0 over?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    Jan 24 at 16:29






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    Jan 24 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:10










  • $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
    $endgroup$
    – RallozarX
    Jan 24 at 17:34
















19












$begingroup$


Does a creature die outright if they drop below negative max hit points of their polymorphed form?
I know a creature will revert to their normal form upon reaching 0 hit points, but a creature dies immediately if it takes damage that reduces it to negative hit points. Does that mean the polymorphed creature dies, or does it just revert and carry damage past 0 over?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    Jan 24 at 16:29






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    Jan 24 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:10










  • $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
    $endgroup$
    – RallozarX
    Jan 24 at 17:34














19












19








19





$begingroup$


Does a creature die outright if they drop below negative max hit points of their polymorphed form?
I know a creature will revert to their normal form upon reaching 0 hit points, but a creature dies immediately if it takes damage that reduces it to negative hit points. Does that mean the polymorphed creature dies, or does it just revert and carry damage past 0 over?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




Does a creature die outright if they drop below negative max hit points of their polymorphed form?
I know a creature will revert to their normal form upon reaching 0 hit points, but a creature dies immediately if it takes damage that reduces it to negative hit points. Does that mean the polymorphed creature dies, or does it just revert and carry damage past 0 over?







dnd-5e spells polymorph character-death hit-points






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Jan 24 at 19:44









V2Blast

25k383155




25k383155










asked Jan 24 at 16:26









RallozarXRallozarX

63413




63413












  • $begingroup$
    I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    Jan 24 at 16:29






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    Jan 24 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:10










  • $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
    $endgroup$
    – RallozarX
    Jan 24 at 17:34


















  • $begingroup$
    I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    Jan 24 at 16:29






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    Jan 24 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:10










  • $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
    $endgroup$
    – RallozarX
    Jan 24 at 17:34
















$begingroup$
I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
Jan 24 at 16:29




$begingroup$
I'm looking for it now, but I'm pretty sure that the first question already has an answer somewhere. The second question is a good one, though.
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
Jan 24 at 16:29




2




2




$begingroup$
Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
$endgroup$
– Sdjz
Jan 24 at 16:44




$begingroup$
Related on the first one: How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
$endgroup$
– Sdjz
Jan 24 at 16:44












$begingroup$
I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Jan 24 at 17:10




$begingroup$
I have removed your second question as it is a different question only related to the first by the spell it was asking about (despite being about very different aspects of the rules). Since we only have a one question per post limit they really needed to be separated. Please do reask the other question in a new post though. You can find the removed part in the edit history.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Jan 24 at 17:10












$begingroup$
@Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
$endgroup$
– RallozarX
Jan 24 at 17:34




$begingroup$
@Rubiksmoose got it, I'll re-ask that.
$endgroup$
– RallozarX
Jan 24 at 17:34










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















36












$begingroup$

No, you transform back before you can be instantly killed



The rule for instant death says:




Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.




The important part to note is that it only calculates the damage needed to instantly kill you after being reduced to 0 HP.



However, polymorph has a special interaction with dropping to 0 HP:




The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops
to 0 hit points or dies.




So when you drop to 0 HP, your form changes. This would happen before the instant death calculation.



The spell then specifically tells us how to deal with damage greater than the HP of the polymorphed form:




If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess
damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage
doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't
knocked unconscious.




So, unless the remaining damage brings your original form down to 0 HP and then has enough remaining such that it at least as much as the hit point maximum, you are not instantly killed.



Ruling otherwise is going to be very lethal for PCs and NPCs alike



This ruling makes a lot of sense and ruling otherwise would severely limit the forms that a caster would risk transforming into. For example, most casters would not risk turning into a spider with 1 HP if 2 HP of damage would instantly kill them in that form. The spell is meant to empower the user, not put them at greater risk for death.



But PCs wouldn't be the only ones suffering from a ruling like this. How happy would you be as a DM if your players were able to polymorph enemies into spiders and literally just step on them to instantly kill them?






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
    $endgroup$
    – Joshua
    Jan 24 at 22:44



















4












$begingroup$

The creature doesn't die, they revert back to their normal form and take rollover damage. Polymorph says:




The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to
its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it
had before it transformed. If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0
hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form.







share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:11













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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









36












$begingroup$

No, you transform back before you can be instantly killed



The rule for instant death says:




Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.




The important part to note is that it only calculates the damage needed to instantly kill you after being reduced to 0 HP.



However, polymorph has a special interaction with dropping to 0 HP:




The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops
to 0 hit points or dies.




So when you drop to 0 HP, your form changes. This would happen before the instant death calculation.



The spell then specifically tells us how to deal with damage greater than the HP of the polymorphed form:




If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess
damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage
doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't
knocked unconscious.




So, unless the remaining damage brings your original form down to 0 HP and then has enough remaining such that it at least as much as the hit point maximum, you are not instantly killed.



Ruling otherwise is going to be very lethal for PCs and NPCs alike



This ruling makes a lot of sense and ruling otherwise would severely limit the forms that a caster would risk transforming into. For example, most casters would not risk turning into a spider with 1 HP if 2 HP of damage would instantly kill them in that form. The spell is meant to empower the user, not put them at greater risk for death.



But PCs wouldn't be the only ones suffering from a ruling like this. How happy would you be as a DM if your players were able to polymorph enemies into spiders and literally just step on them to instantly kill them?






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
    $endgroup$
    – Joshua
    Jan 24 at 22:44
















36












$begingroup$

No, you transform back before you can be instantly killed



The rule for instant death says:




Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.




The important part to note is that it only calculates the damage needed to instantly kill you after being reduced to 0 HP.



However, polymorph has a special interaction with dropping to 0 HP:




The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops
to 0 hit points or dies.




So when you drop to 0 HP, your form changes. This would happen before the instant death calculation.



The spell then specifically tells us how to deal with damage greater than the HP of the polymorphed form:




If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess
damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage
doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't
knocked unconscious.




So, unless the remaining damage brings your original form down to 0 HP and then has enough remaining such that it at least as much as the hit point maximum, you are not instantly killed.



Ruling otherwise is going to be very lethal for PCs and NPCs alike



This ruling makes a lot of sense and ruling otherwise would severely limit the forms that a caster would risk transforming into. For example, most casters would not risk turning into a spider with 1 HP if 2 HP of damage would instantly kill them in that form. The spell is meant to empower the user, not put them at greater risk for death.



But PCs wouldn't be the only ones suffering from a ruling like this. How happy would you be as a DM if your players were able to polymorph enemies into spiders and literally just step on them to instantly kill them?






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
    $endgroup$
    – Joshua
    Jan 24 at 22:44














36












36








36





$begingroup$

No, you transform back before you can be instantly killed



The rule for instant death says:




Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.




The important part to note is that it only calculates the damage needed to instantly kill you after being reduced to 0 HP.



However, polymorph has a special interaction with dropping to 0 HP:




The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops
to 0 hit points or dies.




So when you drop to 0 HP, your form changes. This would happen before the instant death calculation.



The spell then specifically tells us how to deal with damage greater than the HP of the polymorphed form:




If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess
damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage
doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't
knocked unconscious.




So, unless the remaining damage brings your original form down to 0 HP and then has enough remaining such that it at least as much as the hit point maximum, you are not instantly killed.



Ruling otherwise is going to be very lethal for PCs and NPCs alike



This ruling makes a lot of sense and ruling otherwise would severely limit the forms that a caster would risk transforming into. For example, most casters would not risk turning into a spider with 1 HP if 2 HP of damage would instantly kill them in that form. The spell is meant to empower the user, not put them at greater risk for death.



But PCs wouldn't be the only ones suffering from a ruling like this. How happy would you be as a DM if your players were able to polymorph enemies into spiders and literally just step on them to instantly kill them?






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



No, you transform back before you can be instantly killed



The rule for instant death says:




Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.




The important part to note is that it only calculates the damage needed to instantly kill you after being reduced to 0 HP.



However, polymorph has a special interaction with dropping to 0 HP:




The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops
to 0 hit points or dies.




So when you drop to 0 HP, your form changes. This would happen before the instant death calculation.



The spell then specifically tells us how to deal with damage greater than the HP of the polymorphed form:




If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess
damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage
doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't
knocked unconscious.




So, unless the remaining damage brings your original form down to 0 HP and then has enough remaining such that it at least as much as the hit point maximum, you are not instantly killed.



Ruling otherwise is going to be very lethal for PCs and NPCs alike



This ruling makes a lot of sense and ruling otherwise would severely limit the forms that a caster would risk transforming into. For example, most casters would not risk turning into a spider with 1 HP if 2 HP of damage would instantly kill them in that form. The spell is meant to empower the user, not put them at greater risk for death.



But PCs wouldn't be the only ones suffering from a ruling like this. How happy would you be as a DM if your players were able to polymorph enemies into spiders and literally just step on them to instantly kill them?







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Jan 24 at 21:54

























answered Jan 24 at 17:28









RubiksmooseRubiksmoose

58.4k10284433




58.4k10284433












  • $begingroup$
    I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
    $endgroup$
    – Joshua
    Jan 24 at 22:44


















  • $begingroup$
    I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
    $endgroup$
    – Joshua
    Jan 24 at 22:44
















$begingroup$
I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
$endgroup$
– Joshua
Jan 24 at 22:44




$begingroup$
I wonder what polymorph to fly then feed to adamantine-jarred spider would do. Gonna have a hard time reverting without space to do so.
$endgroup$
– Joshua
Jan 24 at 22:44













4












$begingroup$

The creature doesn't die, they revert back to their normal form and take rollover damage. Polymorph says:




The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to
its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it
had before it transformed. If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0
hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form.







share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:11


















4












$begingroup$

The creature doesn't die, they revert back to their normal form and take rollover damage. Polymorph says:




The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to
its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it
had before it transformed. If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0
hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form.







share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:11
















4












4








4





$begingroup$

The creature doesn't die, they revert back to their normal form and take rollover damage. Polymorph says:




The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to
its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it
had before it transformed. If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0
hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form.







share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



The creature doesn't die, they revert back to their normal form and take rollover damage. Polymorph says:




The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to
its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it
had before it transformed. If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0
hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form.








share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Jan 24 at 17:15









Rubiksmoose

58.4k10284433




58.4k10284433










answered Jan 24 at 17:08









MarkTOMarkTO

4,3711141




4,3711141








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:11
















  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Jan 24 at 17:11










1




1




$begingroup$
Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Jan 24 at 17:11






$begingroup$
Question 2 has been removed, so you should probably remove that part. I have removed it so it doesn't create any confusion.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Jan 24 at 17:11




















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