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The entry for sword of life stealing says:

When you attack a creature with this magic weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 10 necrotic damage if it isn't a construct or an undead. You also gain 10 temporary hit points.

(Note: The SRD lists it as doing an extra 3d6 necrotic damage.)

However, my DM says that a sword of life stealing inflicts its damage in a certain order on a natural 20: first the regular damage, then crit damage, and only then the necrotic damage... so if by that point the target has no more HP left to lose, I receive no temporary HP. Basically he said that the target "has no more life to steal".

I thought this was a bit of a strange interpretation. Is there an official ruling on this somewhere?

Do I still gain temporary HP if the target of a sword of life stealing is reduced to 0 HP even before the necrotic damage is applied?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Separately from that question, there's no such thing as "crit damage" separate from the regular attack damage. e.g. if you had something with a damage threshold, where any hit of less than X damage would do nothing, you'd definitely consider the whole damage of the critical hit as one damage event, including the extra dice you get to roll. (There are other mechanics like concentration saves where it's even more clear that you'd total different types of damage from the same hit.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Cordes
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 12:54

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You also gain 10 temporary hit points.

If the target has less than 10 hit points, then you gain more temporary hit points than the target has hit points.

The damage dealt and the temporary hit points gained are distinct effects of the sword of life stealing. If they were meant to interact, the sword would say so. As you have observed, the item description just says:

You also gain 10 temporary hit points.

This means that if you roll a 20 on the attack roll, you gain 10 temporary hit points. It doesn't matter how many hit points the target has left, or even if it immune to necrotic damage. As written, you even gain the temporary hit points if the target is a construct or an undead.

If it was intended to be limited by the necrotic damage dealt, it would say something like:

You gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

This language is used in an Unearthed Arcana, for the Blood Fury Tattoo:

When you score a critical hit against a creature, that target takes an extra 4d6 necrotic damage, and you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt.

For an officially published example that connects the damage dealt to the hit points gained, we have the Fane-Eater:

If you attack a creature with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, the creature takes an extra 2d8 necrotic damage, and you regain a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage taken.

The precedent exists for limiting the hit points gained by the damage dealt, but it is not the case with the sword of life stealing. You gain 10 temporary hitpoints with the sword of life stealing.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, I appreciate the distinction, although it still doesn't quite get to the crux of the matter, which I will rephrase as: If the target has less than 10 hp, would I still receive 10 temporary hp on a natural 20? \$\endgroup\$
    – K.L.R.
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 20:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @K.L.R. I added some clarification on that point near the beginning. Does that clear it up? \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas Markov
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 20:28
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    \$\begingroup\$ Also relevant point, there is no "predetermined order" for how the damage is taken. \$\endgroup\$
    – RevanantBacon
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 20:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @K.L.R.: Note that your DM is free to decide that the sword of life stealing works differently than written, e.g. that there "has to be life left to steal" is a reasonable way for it to wok in their game, perhaps borrowing the mechanic from the Blood Fury Tattoo, or letting it give you the full 10 if there's any damage left to deal. It's also up to them if they force the regular weapon crit damage to happen first. It would be good if they'd told you that ahead of time; it might have affected your choice of who gets which loot, or whether anyone wants to use the sword. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Cordes
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 13:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov: That's why I posted it as a reminder to the OP, not as an answer. It's true for every rules question, but this one seemed to me like it could be a not-unreasonable houserule, whether it originated in a misreading of RAW or not. But yes, most questions about DM rulings shouldn't need the clutter of including that caveat. For the record, I 100% agree with your answer's explanation of what RAW has to say here: no ambiguity. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Cordes
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 13:12

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