Amulet of Retribution: Before or after DR? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Amulet of Retribution: Before or after DR? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
FlyingCowKing
03-04-04, 01:16 AM The Amulet of Retribution sends back 1/2 of the melee damage to the sender.
Does this happen before or after the wearers damage reduction takes effect?

A Ghaelle wearing an amulet is struck by a Pit Fiend's claw for 36 damage. Does the 36 split to 18 a piece, then the Ghaelle and Fiend reduce the damage separately?

Thanks a bunch!
Ogre4Hire
03-04-04, 06:55 PM The amulet's effect should overcome DR, since it's magical. It should not, however, overcome Regen.

I think that the 1/2 effect is off the amount of damage taken, so if you had DR or if you had some other ability to reduce damage taken (such as defensive roll), you would check that first before determining the amount of damage your attacker gets back (otherwise, it could really get sick and wrong if the wearer had a really high DR and was not taking any damage from attacks but the attacker was getting smacked around)
Lord T Hawkeye
03-04-04, 08:55 PM Ack! Read the question wrong. My bad.
Gristooth
03-05-04, 10:11 PM My vote is that DR is taken after the damage is divided. The BoED says that the Retributive Amulet "deals the same types of wounds upon the attacker that the wearer receives," which to me means the same type of damage. For example, if a creature attacks another creature wearing a retributive amulet with a flaming longsword and does 8 pts slashing + 4 pts fire damage, the damage would be divided so that both received 4 pts slashing + 2 pts fire. DR, then, would in most cases apply to the slashing damage, but not the fire.

Yes, this can get really ugly if one creature has DR and the other doesn't...but I don't see anything in the description saying that damage from the Retributive Amulet automatically overcomes DR.

And unless it automatically overcomes DR, if both attacker and defender have DR and the defender's DR is subtracted before the Retributive Amulet divides the damage, that means that the attacker--the one on the receiving end of the RA's damage--will get the benefit of both his DR and the DR of the defender, which has already reduced the overall damage.
Jaxom_Faux
03-14-04, 03:28 AM by my understanding it would work: pc 1 slashes pc2 36 dmg. pc2 has 5 dr so only 31 gets thru, 16 gets bounced onto pc1 automatically just like a reverse sheild other spell. besides dr doesn't work against magic dmg and this would be a magic effect
Loren Pechtel
03-14-04, 03:41 PM Originally posted by Jaxom_Faux
by my understanding it would work: pc 1 slashes pc2 36 dmg. pc2 has 5 dr so only 31 gets thru, 16 gets bounced onto pc1 automatically just like a reverse sheild other spell. besides dr doesn't work against magic dmg and this would be a magic effect

No, it comes back as a slashing effect, not magic damage.
player2
03-21-04, 11:27 PM sorry to ask this, but what if they both had a Retributive Amulet? would the damage bounce back and forth until it was to small, or would only the amulet bounce it back? thanks in advance.
strenoth
03-22-04, 12:08 AM the returned damage isn't from a mellee attack, even though the damage type will be the same. so the other amulet wouldn;t activate.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
FlyingCowKing 03-04-04, 01:16 AM	The Amulet of Retribution sends back 1/2 of the melee damage to the sender. Does this happen before or after the wearers damage reduction takes effect? A Ghaelle wearing an amulet is struck by a Pit Fiend's claw for 36 damage. Does the 36 split to 18 a piece, then the Ghaelle and Fiend reduce the damage separately? Thanks a bunch!
Ogre4Hire 03-04-04, 06:55 PM	The amulet's effect should overcome DR, since it's magical. It should not, however, overcome Regen. I think that the 1/2 effect is off the amount of damage taken, so if you had DR or if you had some other ability to reduce damage taken (such as defensive roll), you would check that first before determining the amount of damage your attacker gets back (otherwise, it could really get sick and wrong if the wearer had a really high DR and was not taking any damage from attacks but the attacker was getting smacked around)
Lord T Hawkeye 03-04-04, 08:55 PM	Ack! Read the question wrong. My bad.
Gristooth 03-05-04, 10:11 PM	My vote is that DR is taken after the damage is divided. The BoED says that the Retributive Amulet "deals the same types of wounds upon the attacker that the wearer receives," which to me means the same type of damage. For example, if a creature attacks another creature wearing a retributive amulet with a flaming longsword and does 8 pts slashing + 4 pts fire damage, the damage would be divided so that both received 4 pts slashing + 2 pts fire. DR, then, would in most cases apply to the slashing damage, but not the fire. Yes, this can get really ugly if one creature has DR and the other doesn't...but I don't see anything in the description saying that damage from the Retributive Amulet automatically overcomes DR. And unless it automatically overcomes DR, if both attacker and defender have DR and the defender's DR is subtracted before the Retributive Amulet divides the damage, that means that the attacker--the one on the receiving end of the RA's damage--will get the benefit of both his DR and the DR of the defender, which has already reduced the overall damage.
Jaxom_Faux 03-14-04, 03:28 AM	by my understanding it would work: pc 1 slashes pc2 36 dmg. pc2 has 5 dr so only 31 gets thru, 16 gets bounced onto pc1 automatically just like a reverse sheild other spell. besides dr doesn't work against magic dmg and this would be a magic effect
Loren Pechtel 03-14-04, 03:41 PM	Originally posted by Jaxom_Faux by my understanding it would work: pc 1 slashes pc2 36 dmg. pc2 has 5 dr so only 31 gets thru, 16 gets bounced onto pc1 automatically just like a reverse sheild other spell. besides dr doesn't work against magic dmg and this would be a magic effect No, it comes back as a slashing effect, not magic damage.
player2 03-21-04, 11:27 PM	sorry to ask this, but what if they both had a Retributive Amulet? would the damage bounce back and forth until it was to small, or would only the amulet bounce it back? thanks in advance.
strenoth 03-22-04, 12:08 AM	the returned damage isn't from a mellee attack, even though the damage type will be the same. so the other amulet wouldn;t activate.