diff --git a/api/tasks.go b/api/tasks.go
index 47628b721..42325d7ae 100644
--- a/api/tasks.go
+++ b/api/tasks.go
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@ func (t *Task) SetLogConfig(l *LogConfig) *Task {
 // transitions.
 type TaskState struct {
 	State  string
+	Failed bool
 	Events []*TaskEvent
 }
 
@@ -259,6 +260,7 @@ const (
 type TaskEvent struct {
 	Type             string
 	Time             int64
+	FailsTask        bool
 	RestartReason    string
 	SetupError       string
 	DriverError      string
diff --git a/client/alloc_runner.go b/client/alloc_runner.go
index ea4b82d4a..b44b233fa 100644
--- a/client/alloc_runner.go
+++ b/client/alloc_runner.go
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ func (r *AllocRunner) Alloc() *structs.Allocation {
 		case structs.TaskStatePending:
 			pending = true
 		case structs.TaskStateDead:
-			if state.Failed() {
+			if state.Failed {
 				failed = true
 			} else {
 				dead = true
@@ -346,11 +346,14 @@ func (r *AllocRunner) setTaskState(taskName, state string, event *structs.TaskEv
 
 	// Set the tasks state.
 	taskState.State = state
+	if event.FailsTask {
+		taskState.Failed = true
+	}
 	r.appendTaskEvent(taskState, event)
 
 	if state == structs.TaskStateDead {
 		// If the task failed, we should kill all the other tasks in the task group.
-		if taskState.Failed() {
+		if taskState.Failed {
 			var destroyingTasks []string
 			for task, tr := range r.tasks {
 				if task != taskName {
diff --git a/client/alloc_runner_test.go b/client/alloc_runner_test.go
index 0ac43fbe7..5c040a143 100644
--- a/client/alloc_runner_test.go
+++ b/client/alloc_runner_test.go
@@ -75,9 +75,17 @@ func TestAllocRunner_RetryArtifact(t *testing.T) {
 
 	alloc := mock.Alloc()
 	alloc.Job.Type = structs.JobTypeBatch
+	alloc.Job.TaskGroups[0].RestartPolicy.Mode = structs.RestartPolicyModeFail
 	alloc.Job.TaskGroups[0].RestartPolicy.Attempts = 1
 	alloc.Job.TaskGroups[0].RestartPolicy.Delay = time.Duration(4*testutil.TestMultiplier()) * time.Second
 
+	task := alloc.Job.TaskGroups[0].Tasks[0]
+	task.Driver = "mock_driver"
+	task.Config = map[string]interface{}{
+		"exit_code": "0",
+		"run_for":   "1s",
+	}
+
 	// Create a new task with a bad artifact
 	badtask := alloc.Job.TaskGroups[0].Tasks[0].Copy()
 	badtask.Name = "bad"
@@ -109,10 +117,10 @@ func TestAllocRunner_RetryArtifact(t *testing.T) {
 		// bad task should have failed
 		badstate := last.TaskStates["bad"]
 		if badstate.State != structs.TaskStateDead {
-			return false, fmt.Errorf("expected bad to be dead but found %q", last.TaskStates["web"].State)
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("expected bad to be dead but found %q", badstate.State)
 		}
-		if !badstate.Failed() {
-			return false, fmt.Errorf("expected bad to have failed")
+		if !badstate.Failed {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("expected bad to have failed: %#v", badstate.Events)
 		}
 		return true, nil
 	}, func(err error) {
@@ -610,7 +618,7 @@ func TestAllocRunner_TaskFailed_KillTG(t *testing.T) {
 		if state2.State != structs.TaskStateDead {
 			return false, fmt.Errorf("got state %v; want %v", state2.State, structs.TaskStateDead)
 		}
-		if !state2.Failed() {
+		if !state2.Failed {
 			return false, fmt.Errorf("task2 should have failed")
 		}
 
diff --git a/client/consul_template.go b/client/consul_template.go
index 0573263f1..4679a54b0 100644
--- a/client/consul_template.go
+++ b/client/consul_template.go
@@ -36,8 +36,9 @@ type TaskHooks interface {
 	// called after prestart work is completed
 	UnblockStart(source string)
 
-	// Kill is used to kill the task because of the passed error.
-	Kill(source, reason string)
+	// Kill is used to kill the task because of the passed error. If fail is set
+	// to true, the task is marked as failed
+	Kill(source, reason string, fail bool)
 }
 
 // TaskTemplateManager is used to run a set of templates for a given task
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ func (tm *TaskTemplateManager) run() {
 					continue
 				}
 
-				tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", err.Error())
+				tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", err.Error(), true)
 			case <-tm.runner.TemplateRenderedCh():
 				// A template has been rendered, figure out what to do
 				events := tm.runner.RenderEvents()
@@ -218,7 +219,7 @@ func (tm *TaskTemplateManager) run() {
 				continue
 			}
 
-			tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", err.Error())
+			tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", err.Error(), true)
 		case <-tm.runner.TemplateRenderedCh():
 			// A template has been rendered, figure out what to do
 			var handling []string
@@ -243,7 +244,7 @@ func (tm *TaskTemplateManager) run() {
 				// Lookup the template and determine what to do
 				tmpls, ok := tm.lookup[id]
 				if !ok {
-					tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", fmt.Sprintf("consul-template runner returned unknown template id %q", id))
+					tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", fmt.Sprintf("consul-template runner returned unknown template id %q", id), true)
 					return
 				}
 
@@ -296,7 +297,7 @@ func (tm *TaskTemplateManager) run() {
 						for signal := range signals {
 							flat = append(flat, tm.signals[signal])
 						}
-						tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", fmt.Sprintf("Sending signals %v failed: %v", flat, err))
+						tm.hook.Kill("consul-template", fmt.Sprintf("Sending signals %v failed: %v", flat, err), true)
 					}
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/client/consul_template_test.go b/client/consul_template_test.go
index 4d04f8093..cd1bdea7c 100644
--- a/client/consul_template_test.go
+++ b/client/consul_template_test.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func (m *MockTaskHooks) Signal(source, reason string, s os.Signal) error {
 	return m.SignalError
 }
 
-func (m *MockTaskHooks) Kill(source, reason string) {
+func (m *MockTaskHooks) Kill(source, reason string, fail bool) {
 	m.KillReason = reason
 	select {
 	case m.KillCh <- struct{}{}:
diff --git a/client/task_runner.go b/client/task_runner.go
index 4dd7abea2..981d51769 100644
--- a/client/task_runner.go
+++ b/client/task_runner.go
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) Run() {
 	if err := r.validateTask(); err != nil {
 		r.setState(
 			structs.TaskStateDead,
-			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskFailedValidation).SetValidationError(err))
+			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskFailedValidation).SetValidationError(err).SetFailsTask())
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ OUTER:
 			if err := r.writeToken(token); err != nil {
 				e := fmt.Errorf("failed to write Vault token to disk")
 				r.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: %v for task %v on alloc %q: %v", e, r.task.Name, r.alloc.ID, err)
-				r.Kill("vault", e.Error())
+				r.Kill("vault", e.Error(), true)
 				return
 			}
 		}
@@ -545,13 +545,13 @@ OUTER:
 				if err != nil {
 					e := fmt.Errorf("failed to parse signal: %v", err)
 					r.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: %v", err)
-					r.Kill("vault", e.Error())
+					r.Kill("vault", e.Error(), true)
 					return
 				}
 
 				if err := r.Signal("vault", "new Vault token acquired", s); err != nil {
 					r.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: failed to send signal to task %v for alloc %q: %v", r.task.Name, r.alloc.ID, err)
-					r.Kill("vault", fmt.Sprintf("failed to send signal to task: %v", err))
+					r.Kill("vault", fmt.Sprintf("failed to send signal to task: %v", err), true)
 					return
 				}
 			case structs.VaultChangeModeRestart:
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) updatedTokenHandler() {
 	if err := r.setTaskEnv(); err != nil {
 		r.setState(
 			structs.TaskStateDead,
-			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskDriverFailure).SetDriverError(err))
+			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskDriverFailure).SetDriverError(err).SetFailsTask())
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -653,7 +653,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) updatedTokenHandler() {
 			r.config, r.vaultFuture.Get(), r.taskDir, r.getTaskEnv())
 		if err != nil {
 			err := fmt.Errorf("failed to build task's template manager: %v", err)
-			r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead, structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskSetupFailure).SetSetupError(err))
+			r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead, structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskSetupFailure).SetSetupError(err).SetFailsTask())
 			r.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: alloc %q, task %q %v", r.alloc.ID, r.task.Name, err)
 			return
 		}
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) prestart(resultCh chan bool) {
 	if err := r.setTaskEnv(); err != nil {
 		r.setState(
 			structs.TaskStateDead,
-			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskDriverFailure).SetDriverError(err))
+			structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskDriverFailure).SetDriverError(err).SetFailsTask())
 		resultCh <- false
 		return
 	}
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) prestart(resultCh chan bool) {
 			r.config, r.vaultFuture.Get(), r.taskDir, r.getTaskEnv())
 		if err != nil {
 			err := fmt.Errorf("failed to build task's template manager: %v", err)
-			r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead, structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskSetupFailure).SetSetupError(err))
+			r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead, structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskSetupFailure).SetSetupError(err).SetFailsTask())
 			r.logger.Printf("[ERR] client: alloc %q, task %q %v", r.alloc.ID, r.task.Name, err)
 			resultCh <- false
 			return
@@ -703,6 +703,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) prestart(resultCh chan bool) {
 		if !r.artifactsDownloaded && len(r.task.Artifacts) > 0 {
 			r.setState(structs.TaskStatePending, structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskDownloadingArtifacts))
 			for _, artifact := range r.task.Artifacts {
+				// TODO wrap
 				if err := getter.GetArtifact(r.getTaskEnv(), artifact, r.taskDir); err != nil {
 					r.setState(structs.TaskStatePending,
 						structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskArtifactDownloadFailed).SetDownloadError(err))
@@ -850,7 +851,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) run() {
 			case event := <-r.restartCh:
 				r.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: task being restarted: %s", event.RestartReason)
 				r.setState(structs.TaskStateRunning, event)
-				r.killTask(event.RestartReason)
+				r.killTask(nil)
 
 				close(stopCollection)
 
@@ -871,16 +872,16 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) run() {
 				// Store the task event that provides context on the task
 				// destroy. The Killed event is set from the alloc_runner and
 				// doesn't add detail
-				reason := ""
+				var killEvent *structs.TaskEvent
 				if r.destroyEvent.Type != structs.TaskKilled {
 					if r.destroyEvent.Type == structs.TaskKilling {
-						reason = r.destroyEvent.KillReason
+						killEvent = r.destroyEvent
 					} else {
 						r.setState(structs.TaskStateRunning, r.destroyEvent)
 					}
 				}
 
-				r.killTask(reason)
+				r.killTask(killEvent)
 				close(stopCollection)
 				return
 			}
@@ -913,7 +914,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) shouldRestart() bool {
 		if state == structs.TaskNotRestarting {
 			r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead,
 				structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskNotRestarting).
-					SetRestartReason(reason))
+					SetRestartReason(reason).SetFailsTask())
 		}
 		return false
 	case structs.TaskRestarting:
@@ -938,7 +939,7 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) shouldRestart() bool {
 	destroyed := r.destroy
 	r.destroyLock.Unlock()
 	if destroyed {
-		r.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: Not restarting task: %v because it has been destroyed due to: %s", r.task.Name, r.destroyEvent.Message)
+		r.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: Not restarting task: %v because it has been destroyed", r.task.Name)
 		r.setState(structs.TaskStateDead, r.destroyEvent)
 		return false
 	}
@@ -946,8 +947,10 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) shouldRestart() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
-// killTask kills the running task, storing the reason in the Killing TaskEvent.
-func (r *TaskRunner) killTask(reason string) {
+// killTask kills the running task. A killing event can optionally be passed and
+// this event is used to mark the task as being killed. It provides a means to
+// store extra information.
+func (r *TaskRunner) killTask(killingEvent *structs.TaskEvent) {
 	r.runningLock.Lock()
 	running := r.running
 	r.runningLock.Unlock()
@@ -955,10 +958,21 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) killTask(reason string) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	// Mark that we received the kill event
+	// Get the kill timeout
 	timeout := driver.GetKillTimeout(r.task.KillTimeout, r.config.MaxKillTimeout)
-	r.setState(structs.TaskStateRunning,
-		structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskKilling).SetKillTimeout(timeout).SetKillReason(reason))
+
+	// Build the event
+	var event *structs.TaskEvent
+	if killingEvent != nil {
+		event = killingEvent
+		event.Type = structs.TaskKilling
+	} else {
+		event = structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskKilling)
+	}
+	event.SetKillTimeout(timeout)
+
+	// Mark that we received the kill event
+	r.setState(structs.TaskStateRunning, event)
 
 	// Kill the task using an exponential backoff in-case of failures.
 	destroySuccess, err := r.handleDestroy()
@@ -1176,11 +1190,14 @@ func (r *TaskRunner) Signal(source, reason string, s os.Signal) error {
 	return <-resCh
 }
 
-// Kill will kill a task and store the error, no longer restarting the task
-// TODO need to be able to fail the task
-func (r *TaskRunner) Kill(source, reason string) {
+// Kill will kill a task and store the error, no longer restarting the task. If
+// fail is set, the task is marked as having failed.
+func (r *TaskRunner) Kill(source, reason string, fail bool) {
 	reasonStr := fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s", source, reason)
 	event := structs.NewTaskEvent(structs.TaskKilling).SetKillReason(reasonStr)
+	if fail {
+		event.SetFailsTask()
+	}
 
 	r.logger.Printf("[DEBUG] client: killing task %v for alloc %q: %v", r.task.Name, r.alloc.ID, reasonStr)
 	r.Destroy(event)
diff --git a/client/task_runner_test.go b/client/task_runner_test.go
index 819c35799..403b6bc04 100644
--- a/client/task_runner_test.go
+++ b/client/task_runner_test.go
@@ -33,11 +33,15 @@ func prefixedTestLogger(prefix string) *log.Logger {
 
 type MockTaskStateUpdater struct {
 	state  string
+	failed bool
 	events []*structs.TaskEvent
 }
 
 func (m *MockTaskStateUpdater) Update(name, state string, event *structs.TaskEvent) {
 	m.state = state
+	if event.FailsTask {
+		m.failed = true
+	}
 	m.events = append(m.events, event)
 }
 
@@ -479,7 +483,7 @@ func TestTaskRunner_RestartTask(t *testing.T) {
 		time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
 		tr.Restart("test", "restart")
 		time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
-		tr.Kill("test", "restart")
+		tr.Kill("test", "restart", false)
 	}()
 
 	select {
@@ -550,7 +554,7 @@ func TestTaskRunner_KillTask(t *testing.T) {
 
 	go func() {
 		time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
-		tr.Kill("test", "kill")
+		tr.Kill("test", "kill", true)
 	}()
 
 	select {
@@ -567,6 +571,10 @@ func TestTaskRunner_KillTask(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("TaskState %v; want %v", upd.state, structs.TaskStateDead)
 	}
 
+	if !upd.failed {
+		t.Fatalf("TaskState should be failed: %+v", upd)
+	}
+
 	if upd.events[0].Type != structs.TaskReceived {
 		t.Fatalf("First Event was %v; want %v", upd.events[0].Type, structs.TaskReceived)
 	}
diff --git a/nomad/structs/structs.go b/nomad/structs/structs.go
index ac2c48443..b8e826e50 100644
--- a/nomad/structs/structs.go
+++ b/nomad/structs/structs.go
@@ -2318,6 +2318,9 @@ type TaskState struct {
 	// The current state of the task.
 	State string
 
+	// Failed marks a task as having failed
+	Failed bool
+
 	// Series of task events that transition the state of the task.
 	Events []*TaskEvent
 }
@@ -2328,6 +2331,7 @@ func (ts *TaskState) Copy() *TaskState {
 	}
 	copy := new(TaskState)
 	copy.State = ts.State
+	copy.Failed = ts.Failed
 
 	if ts.Events != nil {
 		copy.Events = make([]*TaskEvent, len(ts.Events))
@@ -2338,22 +2342,6 @@ func (ts *TaskState) Copy() *TaskState {
 	return copy
 }
 
-// Failed returns true if the task has has failed.
-func (ts *TaskState) Failed() bool {
-	l := len(ts.Events)
-	if ts.State != TaskStateDead || l == 0 {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	switch ts.Events[l-1].Type {
-	case TaskDiskExceeded, TaskNotRestarting, TaskArtifactDownloadFailed,
-		TaskFailedValidation, TaskVaultRenewalFailed, TaskSetupFailure:
-		return true
-	default:
-		return false
-	}
-}
-
 // Successful returns whether a task finished successfully.
 func (ts *TaskState) Successful() bool {
 	l := len(ts.Events)
@@ -2428,9 +2416,6 @@ const (
 	// TaskSiblingFailed indicates that a sibling task in the task group has
 	// failed.
 	TaskSiblingFailed = "Sibling task failed"
-
-	// TaskVaultRenewalFailed indicates that Vault token renewal failed
-	TaskVaultRenewalFailed = "Vault token renewal failed"
 )
 
 // TaskEvent is an event that effects the state of a task and contains meta-data
@@ -2439,6 +2424,9 @@ type TaskEvent struct {
 	Type string
 	Time int64 // Unix Nanosecond timestamp
 
+	// FailsTask marks whether this event fails the task
+	FailsTask bool
+
 	// Restart fields.
 	RestartReason string
 
@@ -2520,6 +2508,11 @@ func (e *TaskEvent) SetSetupError(err error) *TaskEvent {
 	return e
 }
 
+func (e *TaskEvent) SetFailsTask() *TaskEvent {
+	e.FailsTask = true
+	return e
+}
+
 func (e *TaskEvent) SetDriverError(err error) *TaskEvent {
 	if err != nil {
 		e.DriverError = err.Error()
diff --git a/website/source/docs/http/alloc.html.md b/website/source/docs/http/alloc.html.md
index 1197b72ea..2ee683088 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/http/alloc.html.md
+++ b/website/source/docs/http/alloc.html.md
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ be specified using the `?region=` query parameter.
             }
           ],
           "State": "running"
+          "Failed": false,
         }
       },
       "CreateIndex": 7
@@ -249,6 +250,8 @@ be specified using the `?region=` query parameter.
     <p>The latest 10 events are stored per task. Each event is timestamped (unix nano-seconds)
     and has one of the following types:</p>
 
+    * `Setup Failure` - The task could not be started because there was a
+      failure setting up the task prior to it running.
     * `Driver Failure` - The task could not be started due to a failure in the
       driver.
     * `Started` - The task was started; either for the first time or due to a
@@ -262,5 +265,8 @@ be specified using the `?region=` query parameter.
     * `Not Restarting` - the task has failed and is not being restarted because it has exceeded its restart policy.
     * `Downloading Artifacts` - The task is downloading the artifact(s) specified in the task. 
     * `Failed Artifact Download` - Artifact(s) specified in the task failed to download.
+    * `Restart Signaled` - The task was signalled to be restarted.
+    * `Signaling` - The task was is being sent a signal.
+    * `Sibling task failed` - A task in the same task group failed.
 
     Depending on the type the event will have applicable annotations.