Whats up with 10/magic damage reduction?

[Selganor]

Maximum DR was reduced from 30 to 15, so even if you don't have the required type of weapon you can still do some damage (unless the creature is undead or otherwise immune to critical hits)

 

[Nifft]

Now tell me again that i don't need a 'sword caddy' to be an effective player?

You don't need a sword caddy, because 10 is a small number. (To compare: 3.0e had DR up to 50.)

Cheers, -- N

 

[Hyperfist]

I am tagging this on here. Cause now this has got me thinking. When is DR applied..before crit multiplier or after? And the extra damage due to an energy aura around a weapon...does that bypass the DR?

 

[Nifft]

I am tagging this on here. Cause now this has got me thinking. When is DR applied..before crit multiplier or after? And the extra damage due to an energy aura around a weapon...does that bypass the DR?

DR is applied last. Energy damage is not reduced. Did you read the section on DR? This last bit should be fairly obvious.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Evilhalfling]

one more question, is falling damage subject to DR ?

 

[Set]

You don't need a sword caddy, because 10 is a small number. (To compare: 3.0e had DR up to 50.)

And the boards were replete with builds that did 200 damage or more. It's not like players couldn't *always* find ways to blow through DR, no matter the number.

 

[irdeggman]

one more question, is falling damage subject to DR ?

To aid in research

from the SRD:

DAMAGE REDUCTION
Some magic creatures have the supernatural ability to instantly heal damage from weapons or to ignore blows altogether as though they were invulnerable.

The numerical part of a creature’s damage reduction is the amount of hit points the creature ignores from normal attacks. Usually, a certain type of weapon can overcome this reduction. This information is separated from the damage reduction number by a slash.

Damage reduction may be overcome by special materials, by magic weapons (any weapon with a +1 or higher enhancement bonus, not counting the enhancement from masterwork quality), certain types of weapons (such as slashing or bludgeoning), and weapons imbued with an alignment. If a dash follows the slash then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have).

Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury type poison, a monk’s stunning, and injury type disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.

Attacks that deal no damage because of the target’s damage reduction do not disrupt spells.
Spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire) ignore damage reduction.
Sometimes damage reduction is instant healing. Sometimes damage reduction represents the creature’s tough hide or body,. In either case, characters can see that conventional attacks don’t work.

If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation

So is falling an attack?

The D&D combat answer is "no" so it does not get reduced by DR.

Why - because there is no attack roll.

The simple answer is that DR appies to weapons only (including natural attacks).

SR applies to spells (and spell-like abilities/effects).

And PR applies to psionic powers (and psionic-like abilities/effects).

 

[magnusmalkus]

one more question, is falling damage subject to DR ?

I'd guess it was. It could count as bludgeoning or perhaps piercing depending on what you landed upon (flat ground or perhaps spikes). Maybe that could bypass DR/bludgeon or DR/Piercing...

 

[Stalker0]

10/magic DR isn't completely useless to smart monsters. For example, a dragon can disarm a fighter, or dispel his weapon. Dispelling a single magic item is normally painfully easy, and then the fighters is far weaker against the dragon.

 

[irdeggman]

I'd guess it was. It could count as bludgeoning or perhaps piercing depending on what you landed upon (flat ground or perhaps spikes). Maybe that could bypass DR/bludgeon or DR/Piercing...

It's not the type of damage it does that determines whether or not DR applies (in the first place) but the source of the damage. The type of damage only applies if DR is applicable in the first place.


DR only applies to "attacks". Is falling an "attack"?