Banes and DR [Archive] - Wizards Community

Banes and DR [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arturius1
03-12-07, 05:33 PM I have a paladin with a +2 Holy, Axiomatic, Dragonbane longsword. When he's got some more money, he's gonna put Magebane on it too. Since most dragons have spells or spell-like abilities, it works on them, effectively making it +6. Soon enough, we'll be epic level (18 right now) and be fighting things with epic DR. So, against a dragon with spells, would my sword be considered epic for the purposes of overcoming its DR?
Stormonu
03-12-07, 05:37 PM No. It would either need a +6 enhancement (instead of +2) or a +11 or more enhancement equivilant (+5 Holy Axiomatric Dragonbane Magebane longsword) to be epic.
Zherog
03-12-07, 05:57 PM No. It would ... need a +11 or more enhancement equivilant (+5 Holy Axiomatric Dragonbane Magebane longsword) to be epic.

So, have you read the rules for what overcomes DR X/Epic?

A few very powerful monsters are vulnerable only to epic weapons; that is, magic weapons with at least a +6 enhancement bonus. Such creatures’ natural weapons are also treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Effective enhancement bonus doesn't matter; only the actual enhancement bonus.

***

In my opinion a +4 weapon against the appropriate type creature does bypass DR X/Epic - the enhancement bonus is +6.

Also in my opinion, when you have two banes on one weapon, the bonus damage is cumulative, but the increase to enhancement bonus is not. So, in your example, you would have a +4 enhancement bonus, and 4d6 bonus damage from bane. Here's why:

Bane: A bane weapon excels at attacking one type or subtype of creature. Against its designated foe, its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against the foe. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the bane quality upon their ammunition. To randomly determine a weapon’s designated foe, roll on the following table.
<table snipped for space>

Your sword's normal enhancement bonus is +2. Against a dragon, it's 2 better - or +4. Against a mage, it's 2 better - or +4. The key is that it adds to your base enhancement bonus, rather than your current enhancement bonus.
MerlintheTuna
03-12-07, 06:50 PM Agreed with Zherog. What he might not have made clear enough, though, is that you would get 4d6 extra damage from the dual banes when fighting a dragon with arcane casting.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arturius1 03-12-07, 05:33 PM	I have a paladin with a +2 Holy, Axiomatic, Dragonbane longsword. When he's got some more money, he's gonna put Magebane on it too. Since most dragons have spells or spell-like abilities, it works on them, effectively making it +6. Soon enough, we'll be epic level (18 right now) and be fighting things with epic DR. So, against a dragon with spells, would my sword be considered epic for the purposes of overcoming its DR?
Stormonu 03-12-07, 05:37 PM	No. It would either need a +6 enhancement (instead of +2) or a +11 or more enhancement equivilant (+5 Holy Axiomatric Dragonbane Magebane longsword) to be epic.
Zherog 03-12-07, 05:57 PM	No. It would ... need a +11 or more enhancement equivilant (+5 Holy Axiomatric Dragonbane Magebane longsword) to be epic. So, have you read the rules for what overcomes DR X/Epic? A few very powerful monsters are vulnerable only to epic weapons; that is, magic weapons with at least a +6 enhancement bonus. Such creatures’ natural weapons are also treated as epic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Effective enhancement bonus doesn't matter; only the actual enhancement bonus. *** In my opinion a +4 weapon against the appropriate type creature does bypass DR X/Epic - the enhancement bonus is +6. Also in my opinion, when you have two banes on one weapon, the bonus damage is cumulative, but the increase to enhancement bonus is not. So, in your example, you would have a +4 enhancement bonus, and 4d6 bonus damage from bane. Here's why: Bane: A bane weapon excels at attacking one type or subtype of creature. Against its designated foe, its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against the foe. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the bane quality upon their ammunition. To randomly determine a weapon’s designated foe, roll on the following table. <table snipped for space> Your sword's normal enhancement bonus is +2. Against a dragon, it's 2 better - or +4. Against a mage, it's 2 better - or +4. The key is that it adds to your base enhancement bonus, rather than your current enhancement bonus.
MerlintheTuna 03-12-07, 06:50 PM	Agreed with Zherog. What he might not have made clear enough, though, is that you would get 4d6 extra damage from the dual banes when fighting a dragon with arcane casting.