D&D 5E What is the best way to handle ‘magic resistance’ in D&D 5e?

Yaarel · Nov 29, 2017

What is the best way to handle ‘magic resistance’ in D&D 5e?

What is the best way to handle ‘magic resistance’ in D&D 5e?

I have in mind things like old-school Elf spell save bonus, Drow magic restistance, and so on.

It has to be satisfyingly effective, yet also balanced, maybe worth about a feat or better yet a half-feat.

The 5e Gnome Cunning is pretty good. It grants advantage to all Wis-Cha-Int saves versus magic. I havent heard any complaints about this being too powerful.

How would apply to Elf magic resistance?

Swarmkeeper · Nov 29, 2017

Yaarel said:
What is the best way to handle ‘magic resistance’ in D&D 5e?

With the pointy end of a sword!

Swarmkeeper · Nov 29, 2017

Yaarel said:
The 5e Gnome Cunning is pretty good. It grants advantage to all Wis-Cha-Int saves versus magic. I havent heard any complaints about this being too powerful.

But for real, I think you are on to something here. Although you don't necessarily want to give people another reason not to play a gnome by just giving away one of their racial traits. So maybe it is a feat that gives you the use of the Resistance Cantrip as a reaction against magic and maybe you can only use it a number of times equal to your INT or WIS or CHA modifier (player can choose) between long rests. I don't know, maybe that's too fiddly.

ro · Nov 29, 2017

Magic Initiate: Absorb Elements, Resistance, Guidance is pretty close to what you are looking for.

Advantage on a saving throw is roughly equivalent to proficiency statistically, which is half of Resilient. For Gnome Cunning, Int and Cha are mostly useless, so it is really a half-feat (+1 ASI) in value. In contrast, Dex, Con, and Str are all much more useful than Int and Cha, and so advantage against all magic would be worth +4 ASI.

Absorb Elements is excellent, but only applies to damage, costs your reaction, and costs a spell slot. Through Magic Initiate it would be worth about +1 ASI, or maybe slightly less depending on how you rate cantrips.

Elves already have more benefits than most other races, including Gnomes. On a scale like the Musicus Scale, an Elf is score with about +7 ASI of racial bonuses (including their Dex and Int/Wis ASIs). Around 6.5 or 7 is a good target for race design, to stay balanced with existing races. If you want to give them more, it's important to sacrifice something else, or do it with feats.

Full magic resistance (advantage on saves against magic) would be a two-feat feature: Feat 1: Wis/Str/Int, Feat 2: Con/Dex/Cha? Keep Int and Cha separate and Str and Con separate, and keep Str in the first one to make the second feat the better of the two.

Charlaquin · Nov 29, 2017

Magic Resistance is a trait some monsters have. It gives advantage on all Saving Throws against magic. This would probably be too strong as a single Feat, but you could split it into two - one that gives advantage on INT/WIS/CHA saves vs. magic,) and one that gives it on STR/DEX/CON.

jaelis · Nov 29, 2017

If you want a half feat, how about reroll 1s on saves vs magical effects?

Yaarel · Nov 30, 2017

I might want to see Magic Resistance organize in the following way:

Reflex: Dexterity-Strength advantage verses magic (jump/deflect).
Fortitude: Constitution-Strength advantage versus magic (withstand/push).
Awareness: Wisdom-Intelligence advantage versus magic (detect/know/disbelieve).
Will: Wisdom-Charisma advantage versus magic (willpower/empathy/mind-v-mind)

‘Cunning’ is essentially Awareness+Will, and it might be better to merge these two because Intelligence saves are rare. But in flavor, Awareness being an advantage verses Invisibility or Illusion or Suggestion is palpably different from Will being a advantage verses Charm or Fear or Psionic Blast.

Coroc · Nov 30, 2017

For drow eventually just use advantage on saving throws versus MAGIC. Means: they get a saving throw vs effects which are purely Magic in nature like a charm spell or a slow spell. But not against energetic effects created by a spell like a lightning bolt. Ok, elves are already charm resistant but still.

Those drow should be the mob side unless you got a party being all drow, for balance reasons.

jasper · Nov 30, 2017

Magic Resistance was based on a 11th level caster. Covert magic resistance form % to d20. Example 20% would be 4. Roll d20 for base. Find difference between caster level (not total level) and 11. 11 - caster = difference. If positive result add to d20 if minus subtract.
Examples. 10th level pc 8th warlock 2nd fighter. 11-8 = 3. Roll d20 +3 = result. If result is < magic resistance spell has no affect.

Yaarel · Dec 1, 2017

[MENTION=6895991]Coroc[/MENTION]

I was wondering about defining 5e magic resistance as verses non-instanteous effects? So magic resistance is vulnerable verses Fireball, because the effect is instantaneous, thus the fire itself is nonmagical. This might require too much bookkeeping to look up whether any particular spell is instantaneous or not. Also, Antimagic Field negates Fireball too, so it seems even instantaneous effects are considered magical.

Note, if 5e ‘magic resistance’ is simply a save advantage, then by definition, any spell that attacks AC, like Animate Object, bypasses the magic resistance. Ironically, the magical energy of Eldritch Blast attacks AC, so it might bypass the magic resistance. However Eldritch Blast is a ‘ranged spell attack’, so perhaps magic resistance applies verses ‘spell attacks’.

In light of Gnome Cunning, and for the sake of simplicity, I am inclined to say, anything that attacks AC can bypass magic resistance.
[MENTION=277]jasper[/MENTION]

Looking at 1e Drow magic resistance 50% + 2% per level.

I figure, for 5e, advantage is good enough, and stays reasonably balanced.

D&D 5E What is the best way to handle ‘magic resistance’ in D&D 5e?

Yaarel

He Mage

Swarmkeeper

Hero

Swarmkeeper

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ro

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Charlaquin

Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)

jaelis

Oh this is where the title goes?

Yaarel

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Coroc

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jasper

Rotten DM

Yaarel

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