@kaseyumland stout halfling monk 1: 2/10 hp. bit by giant spider, for 11 piercing. makes save vs. poison. poison damage=11.Status? Is that 11 poison damage before or after applying resistance?
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) October 19, 2016
@kaseyumlandbefore applying resistance Got it. I'm curious, what do you think the character's status is?
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) October 19, 2016
@kaseyumland 3 possible outcomes (1) dead outright (2) stable at 0 (3) 1 death save failure, bleeding out; leaning towards dead outright Yes, dead outright.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) October 19, 2016
@JeremyECrawford thanks!
— Kasey Umland (@kaseyumland) October 19, 2016
What’s the reasoning behind this? Halfling at 2/10 hp takes 11 damage. That drops him to zero. Makes poison save. Resistant to poison damage. Takes 5 poison damage which isn’t enough to kill him outright, thus one failed death save.
Because the poison aspect is not a separate, distinct attack (a la’ Extra Attack or Multi-Attack), but a dependent one relative to the delivery (A)ttack that prompted the saving throw. That is, it is a “linked” aspect, similar to if, say, a magical flaming sword did d8+X slashing damage and d6 fire damage; though the character (a tiefling, let’s say) has resistance to fire damage, that damage still counts as part of of the overall attack and not as a separate one. That the poison damage allows for a save doesn’t change that it is a part of the primary attack, albeit a secondary/supporting aspect that, by chance, allows for a save in this case. (A “single attack” can have multiple damage sources linked to it: a rogue armed with a Flame Tongue dagger may be doing d4+X piercing damage, extra fire damage, and Sneak Attack damage (which is counted as more piercing in this case), but those three damage aspects are all part of the same attack. Same thing with the poison in this case.)