NEWBIE: damage resistance vs. reduction [Archive] - Wizards Community

NEWBIE: damage resistance vs. reduction [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bscott
08-09-06, 02:51 PM Hello again,
What's the difference between damage resistance 5/silver and damage reduction 5/silver? The manuals all talk about reduction, but several NPCs have resistance. Is one immediate vs per round?

Thanks again,
B
Japangirl
08-09-06, 03:41 PM Damage reduction is damage that is not taken, unless the weapon that deals it is of the type that overcomes it. DR 5/silver means you take 5 less damage than you should, down to a minimum of 0 damage, unless someone hits you with a silver weapon. Then you take full. As an example, a fighter with a normal steel weapon hits a werewolf for 30 points of damage. The werewolf only actually takes 25 damage. The archer then shoots a silver arrow at the werewolf, hitting for 15, and the werewolf takes all 15 points of damage. Damage reduction refers to special materials (silver, cold iron, adamantine), alignment (good, evil, lawful, chaotic), and types of weapons (slashing, piercing, bludgeoning). Some things also have DR/magic, which means you need a magic weapon of any kind to hurt them fully.

Resistance tends to apply to elemental damage. Resistance 5/fire means that everything that does fire damage does 5 less damage, just like damage reduction. However, resistance only applies to magic damage, while reduction applies to physical damage. You can have resistance to fire, cold, acid, electricity, and sonic.

Some creatures have both. You apply them separately to all effects. For example, if you hit a demon with a +1 shocking longsword, you take of the damage reduction for it not being cold iron, and then you apply the resistance to electricity. However if a creature has damage reduction for two things (like a balor having DR/good and cold iron), you don't double it if the weapon is neither. You have to have a cold iron, good-aligned weapon to do full damage, and only having one doesn't help at all, but having neither doesn't hurt.

I hope this helps.
kenobi65
08-09-06, 03:53 PM If you've seen something like "Damage Resistance 5/silver", it was likely a typo, and the author meant to write "Damage Reduction". In D&D 3.5, there's no such thing as "Damage Resistance".

Damage Reduction applies to weapon attacks (including natural weapons), and in most cases (unless it's something like "DR5/-"), can be bypassed by the proper type of weapon. On the other hand, Resistance, as Japangirl describes, is a different (though not entirely dissimilar) property, and it's the ability to ignore some damage of a particular elemental type.
bscott
08-09-06, 05:49 PM Thanks again Japangirl and kenobi65. Even though the MM lists both types of damage R, I'll treat them as the same. I thought one might be immediate and one might be per round. Immediate, in this case means if damage=8, then only 3 are applied from the attack. Per round means at the target's turn during the round, damage is healed. But I'll just play it as immediate.

Thanks again.
kenobi65
08-09-06, 07:57 PM Even though the MM lists both types of damage R, I'll treat them as the same.

Can you point me to an example that says, "Damage Resistance"?

And, yes, all of those are "immediate", as you say...they're deducted off of each attack that's relevant. So, for example:

Werewolf has DR 10/silver:
- Gets hit by a non-silver longsword for 12 points, only takes 2 points.
- Gets hit again by the non-silver longsword for 8 points, takes no damage at all.
- Gets hit by a silver longsword for 7 points, takes all 7 points.

Kuo-toa has resistance to electricity 10:
- Gets hit by a shocking longsword for 8 points of weapon damage, plus 4 electrical, takes the 8 points, but not the 4.
- Is in the area of effect of a lightning bolt that does 25 points of damage, makes its save for half (12), only actually takes 2 points.
- Is in the area of effect of a lightning bolt that does 25 points of damage, fails its save, takes 15 points.

Note that, in all these cases, these could all be happening in the same round, and the creature would still be able to "use" its DR or resistance against every attack.

There's no "healing" involved...that's Fast Healing or Regeneration, which are totally different.

Edit: also, it just struck me that there's yet another kind of resistance: Spell Resistance, which is a chance for the creature to totally shrug off the effect of a spell. It's worded like this: "Spell Resistance 14" (or whatever number). The way it works is this: if any creature wants to cast a spell, or a spell-like effect, on a creature with Spell Resistance (SR), the caster has to make a "caster level check", which is a d20 plus the caster's level. If that caster level check meets or exceeds the target's Spell Resistance number, then the spell affects the creature normally (though it may still get a saving throw). If the caster level check is below the SR number, the spell doesn't affect the creature at all.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bscott 08-09-06, 02:51 PM	Hello again, What's the difference between damage resistance 5/silver and damage reduction 5/silver? The manuals all talk about reduction, but several NPCs have resistance. Is one immediate vs per round? Thanks again, B
Japangirl 08-09-06, 03:41 PM	Damage reduction is damage that is not taken, unless the weapon that deals it is of the type that overcomes it. DR 5/silver means you take 5 less damage than you should, down to a minimum of 0 damage, unless someone hits you with a silver weapon. Then you take full. As an example, a fighter with a normal steel weapon hits a werewolf for 30 points of damage. The werewolf only actually takes 25 damage. The archer then shoots a silver arrow at the werewolf, hitting for 15, and the werewolf takes all 15 points of damage. Damage reduction refers to special materials (silver, cold iron, adamantine), alignment (good, evil, lawful, chaotic), and types of weapons (slashing, piercing, bludgeoning). Some things also have DR/magic, which means you need a magic weapon of any kind to hurt them fully. Resistance tends to apply to elemental damage. Resistance 5/fire means that everything that does fire damage does 5 less damage, just like damage reduction. However, resistance only applies to magic damage, while reduction applies to physical damage. You can have resistance to fire, cold, acid, electricity, and sonic. Some creatures have both. You apply them separately to all effects. For example, if you hit a demon with a +1 shocking longsword, you take of the damage reduction for it not being cold iron, and then you apply the resistance to electricity. However if a creature has damage reduction for two things (like a balor having DR/good and cold iron), you don't double it if the weapon is neither. You have to have a cold iron, good-aligned weapon to do full damage, and only having one doesn't help at all, but having neither doesn't hurt. I hope this helps.
kenobi65 08-09-06, 03:53 PM	If you've seen something like "Damage Resistance 5/silver", it was likely a typo, and the author meant to write "Damage Reduction". In D&D 3.5, there's no such thing as "Damage Resistance". Damage Reduction applies to weapon attacks (including natural weapons), and in most cases (unless it's something like "DR5/-"), can be bypassed by the proper type of weapon. On the other hand, Resistance, as Japangirl describes, is a different (though not entirely dissimilar) property, and it's the ability to ignore some damage of a particular elemental type.
bscott 08-09-06, 05:49 PM	Thanks again Japangirl and kenobi65. Even though the MM lists both types of damage R, I'll treat them as the same. I thought one might be immediate and one might be per round. Immediate, in this case means if damage=8, then only 3 are applied from the attack. Per round means at the target's turn during the round, damage is healed. But I'll just play it as immediate. Thanks again.
kenobi65 08-09-06, 07:57 PM	Even though the MM lists both types of damage R, I'll treat them as the same. Can you point me to an example that says, "Damage Resistance"? And, yes, all of those are "immediate", as you say...they're deducted off of each attack that's relevant. So, for example: Werewolf has DR 10/silver: - Gets hit by a non-silver longsword for 12 points, only takes 2 points. - Gets hit again by the non-silver longsword for 8 points, takes no damage at all. - Gets hit by a silver longsword for 7 points, takes all 7 points. Kuo-toa has resistance to electricity 10: - Gets hit by a shocking longsword for 8 points of weapon damage, plus 4 electrical, takes the 8 points, but not the 4. - Is in the area of effect of a lightning bolt that does 25 points of damage, makes its save for half (12), only actually takes 2 points. - Is in the area of effect of a lightning bolt that does 25 points of damage, fails its save, takes 15 points. Note that, in all these cases, these could all be happening in the same round, and the creature would still be able to "use" its DR or resistance against every attack. There's no "healing" involved...that's Fast Healing or Regeneration, which are totally different. Edit: also, it just struck me that there's yet another kind of resistance: Spell Resistance, which is a chance for the creature to totally shrug off the effect of a spell. It's worded like this: "Spell Resistance 14" (or whatever number). The way it works is this: if any creature wants to cast a spell, or a spell-like effect, on a creature with Spell Resistance (SR), the caster has to make a "caster level check", which is a d20 plus the caster's level. If that caster level check meets or exceeds the target's Spell Resistance number, then the spell affects the creature normally (though it may still get a saving throw). If the caster level check is below the SR number, the spell doesn't affect the creature at all.