[RPG] When a wizard is damaged below zero hit points from lethal damage, does he lose the spells that he has prepared

dnd-3.5espellsunconsciouswizard

When a wizard is brought below zero hit points from lethal damage, does he lose the spells that he has prepared?

I have always played this way. The 3.5e PHB states under Injury and Death that:

A spellcaster retains the spellcasting capability she had before dropping below 0 hit points.

To me this seems to pertain to spells that the wizard cast before he fell unconscious. Those spells would continue for the rest of their duration at least until the wizard was dead. Please someone clear this up for me.

Best Answer

Different editions have gone different ways, but in 3.5, you don't lose prepared spells (or unused slots, for spontaneous casters). Unconscious characters can't concentrate, which may end some spell effects, but they keep any spell slots that were available to them.

That said, it is worth noting that not all editions work this way. In 2e, for example, you do lose your memorized* spells—they're "forgotten"—when you drop to zero (though 2e also had different rules concerning when you actually die). This has sometimes been a source of confusion among people who have played both.

* In 2e you "memorize" spells instead of "prepare" them, which is mechanically equivalent though slightly different fictionally.

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