Temporary hit points - stacking/spending?

[Harlot]

Hello

Being a nice DM I've granted my players an 'Amulet of tears (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/savagetide-faerun/items/amulet-of-tears)' each. The amulet grants temp hit points lasting for 10 minutes, and it specifically says that "These hit points last for up to 10 minutes; they don’t stack with any other temporary hit points."

Now, this has lead to a discussion reg. the Barbarian in the group. When he rages he gets 12 temp. hit points.

The PC playing the barbarian believes that this means that he can: Rage - gain 12 HP - fight until he's lost 12 HP or more - and then activate the necklace for more extra HP, while still raging. (i.e. the temp HP are the 'first HP lost' in a fight.)

Another PC believes that as long as the barbarian remains 'raged' he cannot activate the amulet, as those 12 temp. HP he gets from raging just joins his general HP pool for the whole fight (i.e. the temp hitpoints are with him until the fit of rage ends, regardless of HP loss - he cannot activate the amulet while raging.)

How would you rule on this?
The group has agreed that I should ask you, the experts, and rule according to whatever you may agree on. Feel the power?!

/Harlot

[jindra34]

1.Your first friend is right about temp. Hitpoints, once they have taken damage their gone, they don't act like an extra length on the HP bar. But...
2. Where is the barbarian getting Temp. HP just from raging from. Its not the +Con, because the hitpoints that come from that are REAL hitpoints and subject to all the rules there of.

[Harlot]

@Jindra34: Oh, I see. I've never played a barbarian, so when he said temp. hit points, I thought it was the same thing. Now I see:


The increase in Constitution increases the barbarian’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the rage when his Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.)

And both PC's were actually sort of right.

So he gets HP from rage and amulet simultaneously. Cool.
Thanks for clarifying

/Harlot