[RPG] Does a hit to a stabilized character count as a death saving failure

character-deathdnd-5e

The 0.1 basic rules (p76) say:

A stable creature doesn't make death saving throws […]. The creature stops being stable, and must start making death saving throws again, if it takes any damage.

What's not clear to me is whether the hit that takes you from stable to non-stable counts as a failed death saving throw. I assume it won't, like the first hit that brings you to 0 hit points, but the rules aren't clear.

Best Answer

If you take any damage while you are 0 hit points it counts as a failed death saving throw. See the previous section on that page (p76):

Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

So yeah, even if you're stable (still 0 HP), any damage you take counts as a death saving throw (or 2 on a crit), and if you take your max HP in damage at once, you're dead.

Note that becoming stable wipes out any previous failures, so unless the damage is enough to kill you outright, this will not kill you by itself like it would if you'd already failed a saving throw or two, but it would put you very close to death.

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