Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Amph May 02, 2015 4:31:17	Greetings Fellow DnDers,   I have a question on the spell "Vampiric touch" and "necrotic ïmmunity"   Last night my party where dualing a group of 6 Spectres. The warlock casts "Vampiric Touch"   Then we got into a arguement about the damage.....   So the spell says that "Vampiric touch" needs to deal damage to get half the amount back as healing.   A Spectre is immune to necrotic damage.   Now the arguement was that the spell hits the Spectre and  actually dealt damage but since the spectre is immune the spectre didnt get the damage ...   I say as the DM that in that case you dont deal the damage to the target so you also dont heal.   The player says the spell did deal damage the spectre just didnt get the damage because of the immunity but since there was damage dealt he should get healed.   The player also made an example of when for instance you cast a fireball  in the air  does the fireball deal damage even though there are no targets ? since you need to roll for damage .....   I said since there are no targets in that case you deal no damage even if you have to roll the dice.   I also still say that since the Spectre (in case with vampiric touch) is immune to necrotic DMG you dont deal damage so you dont heal .     please advice me .
#2 Kentus May 02, 2015 5:44:48	I'd rule it, that there is no healing. Vampiric Touch drains the life force of the target, a target witth necrotic immunity won't give any of this away, either by being kinda lifeless (like the spectre) or by keeping its life force intact.
#3 xirr2000 May 02, 2015 7:40:02	I agree with the above comment.  It never did any damage, since it's immune to necrotic.  The "damage" the player is wanting to occur is merely how much damage was rolled and would have occurred to a target that was not immune to necrotic.  But this target was and no damage actually occurred so no healing.     In the players example of a fireball bursting in air dealing no damage, that is not true.  it does do damage, just not to anything you care to track (targets).  But it still did damage to a fly that happened to be in the area affect for example, or a tree that was in the area.
#4 Breefolk May 02, 2015 14:52:32	As I see it, the rules are pretty simple on this.  Damage is damage.  If a creature is immune to damage, it does not take any damage, therefore there is no healing.   There is nowhere in the rules that says that immunity negates damage done.  It simply says that damage does not work.  Period.
#5 ArialBlack May 02, 2015 19:43:15	It's not damage rolled that matters, it's damage actually done to the target. If the target takes less damage (resistance) or no damage (immunity) then Vampiric Touch will be less effective or ineffective.   This is entirely consistent with both RAW, RAI and fluff. Undead don't have 'life force' to steal, nor do constructs.