Unconscious at 0 hit points
When damage drops a character to 0 hit points and doesn't kill them outright, they fall unconscious. That unconsciousness ends as soon as they regain any hit points.
While at 0 HP, a character makes death saving throws at the start of each turn. Taking damage at 0 HP adds a failed death save, and a critical hit adds two. Since every melee hit on an unconscious creature is a crit, a single sword hit can take a dying character from zero failures to two.
What causes unconscious
- •0 hit points. The most common cause by far.
- •Knocking out. When you reduce a creature to 0 HP with a melee attack, you can choose to knock it out instead. In 2014 it falls unconscious and is stable. In 2024 it drops to 1 HP, falls unconscious and starts a short rest.
- •Sleep (1st level). The 2014 version uses a hit point pool (5d8 at 1st level) with no saving throw. The 2024 version makes targets save: on a first failure they're incapacitated, on a second they're unconscious.
- •Eyebite (6th level): the Asleep option.
- •Monster poisons and breath (2014 stat blocks): the brass dragon's Sleep Breath (unconscious for 10 minutes on a failed Constitution save), and the drow's hand crossbow (poisoned for 1 hour, and unconscious while poisoned if the save fails by 5 or more).
How to wake an unconscious creature
- •Heal it. Any amount of healing ends unconsciousness from 0 HP. Healing Word is a bonus action at 60 feet, which is why it's the classic "get up" spell.
- •Take damage (for magical sleep). Sleep and Eyebite's Asleep effect end if the target takes damage.
- •Shake it awake. Sleep ends if someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper (2014) or takes an action within 5 feet to shake it (2024).
- •Stable creatures recover on their own after 1d4 hours, regaining 1 hit point.
Common rulings and edge cases
- •Ranged attacks within 5 feet crit too. The rule only cares about distance. A crossbow fired from an adjacent square at an unconscious target crits on a hit.
- •You drop your weapon and shield. You'll need to pick them back up when you wake. Picking one up is usually your free object interaction for the turn.
- •Waking up prone. Standing costs half your speed. The 2024 rules state outright that you remain prone when the condition ends.
- •Concentration ends. Unconscious includes incapacitated.
- •Massive damage still kills. If damage at 0 HP equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you die outright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do attacks against an unconscious creature automatically crit?
Any attack that hits is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet. Attacks from farther away still roll normally (advantage from unconscious and disadvantage from prone cancel out).
Does an unconscious creature fall prone?
Yes. It drops what it's holding and falls prone in both editions. In 2024, it also stays prone after it wakes.
How do you wake someone who is unconscious?
Heal them if they're at 0 HP. For magical sleep, damage or an action spent shaking them works. A stable creature with no healing wakes with 1 HP after 1d4 hours.
Is unconscious the same as sleeping?
Not exactly. Spells like Sleep and Eyebite use the unconscious condition, but normal sleep at camp isn't automatically the condition. Your DM decides how easily a sleeping character wakes.
Does being unconscious break concentration?
Yes. Unconscious includes incapacitated, which ends concentration in both editions.
Rules checked against the D&D 5e SRD 5.1 (2014) and SRD 5.2.1 (2024).