Something Odd That I Noticed About Fast Healing

[ATHATH]

From the Greenbound Template (I'm too lazy to check if other Fast Healing descriptions have this property as well):
"Fast Healing (Ex): A greenbound creature heals 3 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 or fewer hit points in combat, it is slain."

A Greenbound creature is instantly slain even if it would normally go into negative hitpoints if it is dropped to 0 HP or less in combat. Notably, I believe that this might bypass regeneration.

Who needs trollbane when you have (a wand of) Lesser Vigor?

[Ashtagon]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm

Standard generic fast healing has no such limiting factor. The greenbound template clearly has the factory-reject version of the ability.

[ATHATH]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm

Standard generic fast healing has no such limiting factor. The greenbound template clearly has the factory-reject version of the ability.

Darn. Oh well, it's still something for the dysfunction thread.

[Dagroth]

Darn. Oh well, it's still something for the dysfunction thread.

Nope! Summoned creatures are always slain when brought to 0 hit points, and the Greenbound template is only applied to Summoned creatures.

[Zanos]

Nope! Summoned creatures are always slain when brought to 0 hit points, and the Greenbound template is only applied to Summoned creatures.

They can and do exist outside of summoned creatures, they're created near magical locations and it's an a acquired template with a +8 LA in case you want to make a particularly bad character.

It would be double dysfunctional if they were summoned only, since summoned creatures are never actually 'slain'.

[Inevitability]

Darn. Oh well, it's still something for the dysfunction thread.

Having an ability that's different than the typical ability of its name is odd, but not dysfunctional. Nalfeshnees aren't listed in the handbook either, and their ability is far more different from the typical Smite.

[Doctor Awkward]

That is bizarre.

My first thought was, "Oh maybe that's just how plants work (like undead and constructs), but nope. That's definitely a function of the Greenbound template.

What a weird restriction to put in there. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say they just got done doing a copy-paste from a Vampire's fast healing entry and they realized "Oops, plants don't sleep in coffins... uhh.... well, then it just dies, I guess."

[Inevitability]

"Oops, plants don't sleep in coffins... uhh.... well, then it just dies, I guess."

Permission to sig requested.

[Doctor Awkward]

Permission to sig requested.

Heh, be my guest.

[Beheld]

I suspect the most likely reason is that someone thought that is how plants work and no one bothered to check. That's how sorcerers nerf to casting time was added. Skip thought that was the rule and then wrote rules as if it was and then in 3.5 changed them to include the nerf.