If you succeed on all of your death saving throws, what happens?

Question

I have been DMing for my group for maybe a month or two, and we ruled that upon stabilizing your character with death saving rolls, you recover one HP and are unconscious.

Is this right? Should you just be able to get up right after falling to 0 HP? Do you suffer any other conditions, such as being knocked prone? The way we did it feels incorrect, and if anyone could point me to the answer that would be great. I'm starting a new group and want to clear up the rules for them.

What happens when you succeed on all of your death saving throws?

Answer 1

If you succeed on a Death Saving Throws 3 times, you don't recover any hitpoints. Instead, you become stable:

A stable creature doesn’t make death saving throws, even though it has 0 hit points, but it does remain unconscious.

The creature stops being stable, and must start making death saving throws again, if it takes any damage.

A stable creature that isn’t healed regains 1 hit point after 1d4 hours

So it takes at least 1 hour before a stable character wakes up again. Only applying a healing effect can bring you back up while in combat. Also note that you only make 1 death save per turn, so it takes a while before you can even become stable (usually 4-5 turns).

The only way to recover without dedicated healing (such as a spell or special ability that recovers hitpoints) while in combat is if you roll a 20 on your saving throw:

Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point.

This would cause you to stop being unconscious.

You can find this information in the PHB on page 197-198.

Also, if you are knocked unconscious, you do fall prone. See the Unconscious condition on page 292:

Unconscious

• The creature drops whatever it’s holding and falls prone.

Answer 2

Three death save successes and you're stable but still unconscious

On three successful death saves a PC becomes 'stable'. A companion can also stabilize an unconscious PC with a successful medicine check, or by casting the cantrip spare the dying.

Check the rules for 'Stabilizing a creature' again:

A stable creature doesn't make death saving throws, even though it has 0 hit points, but it does remain unconscious.

So you're not a risk of death but you're still unconscious, what next?

A stable creature that isn't healed regains 1 hit point after 1d4 hours.

Regarding your secondary question, any creature that is unconscious 'falls prone'.

Any creature that find themselves to be prone (whether by their choice or otherwise), must spend 'an amount of movement equal to half their speed' in order to stand up, assuming that they are able and willing to do so (i.e. not still unconscious).

Answer 3

On reaching 0 HP

Once a character reaches 0 HP, they are unconscious, and starts rolling death saving throws on their turn. (See page 197 of the Player's Handbook.)

When rolling Death Saving Throws

When making death saving throws, there are 4 categories of results that we care about: rolling a 1 on the d20, rolling a total between 2 and 9, rolling a total between 10 and 19, and rolling a natural 20 on the die.

1. If you roll a 1 on the d20, you automatically mark 2 death save failures (when you reach 3, you die)
2. If you roll a total between 2 and 9, you only mark a single failure
3. If you roll a total between 10 and 19, you mark one success (once you have 3 successes, you become stable)
4. If you roll a natural 20, you immediately regain 1 HP (causing you to regain consciousness)

Once Stable

Once a character becomes stable, they remain unconscious for 1d4 hours before regaining 1 HP.

If a character receives healing while unconscious (whether stable or not), they wake up immediately, though still prone.

Once a creature is stable or has received healing, they reset their number of death saving throw successes/failures.

Unconsciousness and combat

If an unconscious character is attacked, the attacker will have advantage on the attack (if 5 ft. away) from the prone condition; if it hits, it will be an automatic critical hit because of the unconscious condition which is 2 death save failures.

If a stable creature takes damage, it has to start making saving throws again.