D&D 3E/3.5 [3.0/3.5] Fire Shield

[kreynolds]

From the description...

"Any creature striking you with its body or a handheld weapon deals normal damage, but at the same time the attacker takes 1d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum of +15)."

Does that mean that if the 20th-level fighter hits you five times in one round that he takes this damage five times, or does a creature striking you only take the damage once per round? I would assume the latter, but that almost makes the spell not worth taking and instead just develping a new one that does only that.

 

[noretoc]

I believe that is every attack. The words "At the same time" make me think that.

 

[kreynolds]

That's what I thought too, but then I saw it in action against a 20th-level drow cleric. That poor player would have suffered around 126 points of damage. I saw that and thought, "I have just _got_ to be reading this wrong."

 

[Dingleberry]

That's what I thought too, but then I saw it in action against a 20th-level drow cleric. That poor player would have suffered around 126 points of damage. I saw that and thought, "I have just _got_ to be reading this wrong."

I would hope that after the first hit - and certainly after the second - even a low-Int fighter-type or raging barbarian would have enough sense to stop swinging and try something else.

 

[kreynolds]

I would hope that after the first hit - and certainly after the second - even a low-Int fighter-type or raging barbarian would have enough sense to stop swinging and try something else.

It didn't happen like that though. Here's how it went...

1) I looked at the spell, and at this point, it hadn't even crossed my mind that it might deal the damage with each successful strike.
2) Player performed full attack action.
3) Something clicked in my head and I looked at the spell description again. This is when I though it might deal the damage per strike.
4) I dealt him damage only once (for obvious reasons).

But, I totally agree with you. Heck, that might even be the whole point of the spell...to convince your foes not to hit you, the hard way.

 

[Camarath]

Does that mean that if the 20th-level fighter hits you five times in one round that he takes this damage five times, or does a creature striking you only take the damage once per round? I would assume the latter, but that almost makes the spell not worth taking and instead just develping a new one that does only that.

I am pretty sure that the damage applies to all melee attacks that hit the character.

On a tactical note, your fighter could just use his range weapons to kill the cleric (who I asume had the fire domain) since the fire damage only applies to melee hits. I would tell the player after the first hit how much damage he took and then let him decide if he wanted to continue with his attacks. If you didn't give him that chocie, I don't think it would be fair to deal damage to him with each hit. He should IMO have the option of ending his attacks after each attack he makes. It also looks like Energy Resistance applies to each instance of damage now, so a Fire (or Cold) Resistance 20 would protect the fighter almost completely for the damage.

From SRD
Resistance to Energy (Ex): A creature with this special quality ignores some damage of the indicated type each time it takes damage of that kind (commonly acid, cold, fire, or electricity). The entry indicates the amount and type of damage ignored.

 

[Camarath]

Re: Re: [3.0/3.5] Fire Shield

[OT] I just thouhgt I would point out another instance of incontinency (edit: This word should be inconsistency but I thought it was amusing so I am leaving it as is.) in the 3.5 rules.

From SRD
Resistance to Energy (Ex): A creature with this special quality ignores some damage of the indicated type each time it takes damage of that kind (commonly acid, cold, fire, or electricity). The entry indicates the amount and type of damage ignored.

Also From the SRD
RESISTANCE TO ENERGY
A creature with resistance to energy has the ability (usually extraordinary) to ignore some damage of a certain type each round, but it does not have total immunity.
Each resistance ability is defined by what energy type it resists and how many points of damage are resisted. It doesn’t matter whether the damage has a mundane or magical source.
When resistance completely negates the damage from an energy attack, the attack does not disrupt a spell. This resistance does not stack with the resistance that a spell might provide.

 

[kreynolds]

Yes, Energy Resistance now applies per instance, no longer per round. Contradictory passages have been confirmed as copy and paste errors.

 

[kreynolds]

Re: Re: [3.0/3.5] Fire Shield

I am pretty sure that the damage applies to all melee attacks that hit the character.

On a tactical note, your fighter could just use his range weapons to kill the cleric (who I asume had the fire domain) since the fire damage only applies to melee hits. I would tell the player after the first hit how much damage he took and then let him decide if he wanted to continue with his attacks.

I'm thinking that's how the spell is actually supposed to work. The more I look at it, the more it seems like the spell's intent is to encourage people to stop hitting you directly, to force you to attack from a distance. Seeing as how most spellcasters can't stand up to melee, it makes sense that they would have a spell to discourage the foes from closing in for melee.

 

[Camarath]

Yes, Energy Resistance now applies per instance, no longer per round. Contradictory passages have been confirmed as copy and paste errors.

That is what I figured. It still bothers me a though.