Old Drew Id
First Post
What spells or items are out there to render someone immune to ability damage?
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protection from ability drain
- Thread starter Old Drew Id
- Start date
frankthedm
First Post
Well, many folks assume death ward stops ability drain, though it can be argued either way since it is not specificly called out as a negative energy effect. It seems a common sense thing undead draining anything out of you should be a negatie energy effect, but others could argue it is not called out as such and that the spell is good enough as it is.
Death Ward
Necromancy
Level: Clr 4, Death 4, Drd 5, Pal 4
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
The subject is immune to all death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects.
This spell doesn’t remove negative levels that the subject has already gained, nor does it affect the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level.
Death ward does not protect against other sorts of attacks even if those attacks might be lethal.
Ability Score Loss
Some attacks reduce the opponent’s score in one or more abilities. This loss can be temporary (ability damage) or permanent (ability drain).
While any loss is debilitating, losing all points in an ability score can be devastating.
Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.
Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.
Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.
Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.
Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.
Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.
Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character’s ability score can’t drop below 0.
Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever.
Some spells or abilities impose an effective ability score reduction, which is different from ability score loss. Any such reduction disappears at the end of the spell’s or ability’s duration, and the ability score immediately returns to its former value.
If a character’s Constitution score drops, then he loses 1 hit point per Hit Die for every point by which his Constitution modifier drops. A hit point score can’t be reduced by Constitution damage or drain to less than 1 hit point per Hit Die.
The ability that some creatures have to drain ability scores is a supernatural one, requiring some sort of attack. Such creatures do not drain abilities from enemies when the enemies strike them, even with unarmed attacks or natural weapons.
Ability Damage
This attack damages an opponent’s ability score. The creature’s descriptive text gives the ability and the amount of damage. If an attack that causes ability damage scores a critical hit, it deals twice the indicated amount of damage (if the damage is expressed as a die range, roll two dice).
Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day (or double that if the character gets complete bed rest) to each damaged ability, and the spells lesser restoration and restoration offset ability damage as well.
Ability Drain
This effect permanently reduces a living opponent’s ability score when the creature hits with a melee attack. The creature’s descriptive text gives the ability and the amount drained. If an attack that causes ability drain scores a critical hit, it drains twice the indicated amount (if the damage is expressed as a die range, roll two dice). Unless otherwise specified in the creature’s description, a draining creature gains 5 temporary hit points (10 on a critical hit) whenever it drains an ability score no matter how many points it drains. Temporary hit points gained in this fashion last for a maximum of 1 hour.
Some ability drain attacks allow a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ draining creature’s racial HD + draining creature’s Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature’s descriptive text). If no saving throw is mentioned, none is allowed.
Points lost to ability drain, is permanent, though restoration can restore even those lost ability score points.
Death Ward
Necromancy
Level: Clr 4, Death 4, Drd 5, Pal 4
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
The subject is immune to all death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects.
This spell doesn’t remove negative levels that the subject has already gained, nor does it affect the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level.
Death ward does not protect against other sorts of attacks even if those attacks might be lethal.
Ability Score Loss
Some attacks reduce the opponent’s score in one or more abilities. This loss can be temporary (ability damage) or permanent (ability drain).
While any loss is debilitating, losing all points in an ability score can be devastating.
Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.
Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.
Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.
Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.
Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.
Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.
Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character’s ability score can’t drop below 0.
Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever.
Some spells or abilities impose an effective ability score reduction, which is different from ability score loss. Any such reduction disappears at the end of the spell’s or ability’s duration, and the ability score immediately returns to its former value.
If a character’s Constitution score drops, then he loses 1 hit point per Hit Die for every point by which his Constitution modifier drops. A hit point score can’t be reduced by Constitution damage or drain to less than 1 hit point per Hit Die.
The ability that some creatures have to drain ability scores is a supernatural one, requiring some sort of attack. Such creatures do not drain abilities from enemies when the enemies strike them, even with unarmed attacks or natural weapons.
Ability Damage
This attack damages an opponent’s ability score. The creature’s descriptive text gives the ability and the amount of damage. If an attack that causes ability damage scores a critical hit, it deals twice the indicated amount of damage (if the damage is expressed as a die range, roll two dice).
Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day (or double that if the character gets complete bed rest) to each damaged ability, and the spells lesser restoration and restoration offset ability damage as well.
Ability Drain
This effect permanently reduces a living opponent’s ability score when the creature hits with a melee attack. The creature’s descriptive text gives the ability and the amount drained. If an attack that causes ability drain scores a critical hit, it drains twice the indicated amount (if the damage is expressed as a die range, roll two dice). Unless otherwise specified in the creature’s description, a draining creature gains 5 temporary hit points (10 on a critical hit) whenever it drains an ability score no matter how many points it drains. Temporary hit points gained in this fashion last for a maximum of 1 hour.
Some ability drain attacks allow a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ draining creature’s racial HD + draining creature’s Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature’s descriptive text). If no saving throw is mentioned, none is allowed.
Points lost to ability drain, is permanent, though restoration can restore even those lost ability score points.
Last edited:
Drowbane
First Post
Death Ward is *way* to good as is. It doesn't need to prevent Ability Drain also. It nerfs an entire school of magic... thats nuts for any level of spell. Its only equal in this regard (mind blank) is an 8th level spell... and is also a no-brainer once the party gets access to it.
werk
First Post
I was just throwing it out there to get the ball rolling, it's not the be all end all of protection from stat damage...but it works well against shadows.
See, people are supposed to chime in with Neutralize poison! and bears endurance! and other ways to protect a PC...
...but feel free to focus on my post rather than the OP.
See, people are supposed to chime in with Neutralize poison! and bears endurance! and other ways to protect a PC...
...but feel free to focus on my post rather than the OP.
Arkhandus
First Post
Death Ward is kinda poorly written in 3.5.
Also, 3.5 overpowered Death Ward by merging the 3.0 spell Negative Energy Protection into it, but at the same time made Death Ward much more vague in function. NEP had a much more clear description of negating ability drain and ability damage from undead and such.
Used to be that DW just guarded against death effects, and NEP guarded against energy drain and similar effects. And NEP wasn't perfect; it required rolls by the attacker to overcome the NEP defense with each attack. (I may be misremembering that part, in that it may've actually been the defender who needed to roll to negate the attacker's energy drain etc. from each attack).
Also, 3.5 overpowered Death Ward by merging the 3.0 spell Negative Energy Protection into it, but at the same time made Death Ward much more vague in function. NEP had a much more clear description of negating ability drain and ability damage from undead and such.
Used to be that DW just guarded against death effects, and NEP guarded against energy drain and similar effects. And NEP wasn't perfect; it required rolls by the attacker to overcome the NEP defense with each attack. (I may be misremembering that part, in that it may've actually been the defender who needed to roll to negate the attacker's energy drain etc. from each attack).
