If a character is knocked unconscious with 0HP with a source of automatically dealt damage, for example, into a fire, and takes damage from it each turn, does the automatic Death Saving Throw failure from taking damage at 0hp happen before or after the player's regular Death Saving Throw roll?
If the unconscious PC takes the auto-fail first then they effectively only get 1 Death Saving Throw to survive, because they'd autofail and roll a failure the first turn, then autofail again and die the next turn.
If they get to roll first, then they only effectively get two death saving throws before they die.
Best Answer
By Default, this is DM Fiat
Death Saving Throws and damage from being in a fire both occur at the start of the player's turn, effectively simultaneously. The standard rules for D&D 5th edition does not specify a strict ordering of effects like this that occur simultaneously.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything has an Optional Rule that says the player chooses the order of these effects
This optional rule is found on page 77:
If your table uses this optional rule, then the player affected by their imminient death has the choice of whether to trigger the Death Saving Throw or the Fire Damage first, and therefore, they can choose the way to resolve these two effects that is least harmful to them.