#DnD How would you rule it?
PC puts NPC into death saves with Sword of Wounding. At the start of NPC turn, 2 things happen:
– NPC rolls death saves.
– NPC takes wound damage.Normally fine. Roll death save, take death save from wound.
NPC rolls 20, heals 1 HP.
Order of ops? pic.twitter.com/jN42NZspyQ
— ThinkDM.org (@ThinkingDM) April 20, 2020
I'd go with the Xanathar's guildeline that the person whose turn it is decides the order to resolve similarly timed effects. In this case, you decide since it's an NPC's turn.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) April 20, 2020
Curious about how to time simultaneous effects in D&D? Take a look at the "Simultaneous Effects" section in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 77). Here's the rule in brief: the person whose turn it is—player or DM—decides the order of the simultaneous effects. #DnD https://t.co/EtDLdYKaEA
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) April 20, 2020
Technically, the NPC cannot benefit from the natural 20 roll on the death save, as damage dealt by the sword of wounding can only be healed by a short or long rest. Since the final damage was caused by the sword, the only way for the NPC to stabilise is by making three death saves, ignoring the 1hp gain from any 20s`
Well, this is almost correct, except that there’s no way to tell from this description that the Sword of Wounding was in fact the last source of damage, and also that any damage the NPC took from the other PCs could be healed just fine.