# Death Effects and Instant Death

**Source** [_Core Rulebook pg. 461_](https://2e.aonprd.com/Sources.aspx?ID=1) [4.0](https://2e.aonprd.com/Sources.aspx?ID=1)  
Some spells and abilities can kill you immediately or bring you closer to death without needing to reduce you to 0 Hit Points first. These abilities have the death trait and usually involve negative energy, the antithesis of life. If you are reduced to 0 Hit Points by a death effect, you are slain instantly without needing to reach dying 4. If an effect states it kills you outright, you die without having to reach dying 4 and without being reduced to 0 Hit Points.