D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5e] Damage Reduction

[Merlion]

and magical hail stone do simple bludgeoning damage yet go right past the DR like it wasn't there. Why do they do this? Because they are magical hail stones. Why should the magical sowrd blade go thru, because its magical.


Actualy if you interprate the rules exactly, those hailstones probably WOULDNT bypass DR. Ice Storm does 2d6 cold damage and 3d6 bludgeoning damage(or vice versa I forget). Only the energy damage would actualy bypass the DR.
I agree with either assesment of the magical weapon issue. Truth is magical weapons dont enter much into actual historical werewolf legends. I am a great proponent of the game trying to match literature and myth, but the truth is theres many types of both of those. They are never going to make a perfect system that matchs everyones idea of what makes "magical sense". I think they are honestly trying however. The new information has lessened the doubts I have about the new DR. its not going to be perfect....and neither is the current system. Any system is essentialy going to be a base, and the only way to make it "perfect" generaly is custimzation.

 

[Caliber]

Note that any damage done by a spell directly (ie, damage inflicted outside of things like the damage done by summoned monsters) bypasses DR.

Blade Barrier, for example, bypasses it nicely.

Makes spells that do slashing, bludgening (sp?), or piercing pretty nasty.

 

[magnas_veritas]

IMC werewolves have regeneration, not fast healing. They regenerate from all damage, except that inflicted by silver.

As a result, Magic Missile deals subdual damage to a lycanthrope IMC.

Ah. Interesting, and worth something of an ECL bump. Of course, the base werewolves don't even have fast healing.

Brad

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I've never needed to worry about a PC with lycanthropy for some odd reason...

I would have to boost their CR - however, the PCs don't have to kill the lycanthrope to get XP.

If the challenge is to protect a family from a lycanthrope, and they succeed (and all the kids live), then they get XP.

Or maybe they can hit it over the head many many times, tie it up (use some magic there), etc...

 

[Andion Isurand]

chances of encountering creatures

In most campaigns, your party is going to run across a lot of enemies without any damage reduction.

While some new, more powerful monsters may appear, many more difficult encounters are going to involve creatures with more class levels and/or hit dice advancement.

Obviously, this new system actually favors the fighter types... who can't always cast Greater Magic Weapon. The common folk can now band together to forge new weapons using special materials to fight off nasty monsterous threats... and relying on their own wits.

I can see where might hurt any class centered around using a single kind of weapon... except perhaps a bunch of throwing daggers, or any ammunition weapon.

Now you can no longer rely on doing the same thing over & over & over & over again ( like finding someone to cast greater magic weapon, or sticking to your quintissential +5 weapon )

 

[MerakSpielman]

Unfortunately, there seem to be two extremes.

1) old DR rules. Everybody uses GMW and +5 weapons if they can find them.

2) new DR rules (as best we understand them now). Everybody carries around a golf bag of different weapons, lest they run into an otherwise invulnerable enemy.

 

[Caliber]

2) new DR rules (as best we understand them now). Everybody carries around a golf bag of different weapons, lest they run into an otherwise invulnerable enemy.

You forgot the second part of the new rules.

DR ratings are supposed to be lowered across the boards, with the REALLY tough monsters only having something in the range of 15/Holysilver (as the already out-dated 3.5e Pit Fiend sported)

Monsters who are invulnerable if you can't bypass their DR should be eliminated in this system.

 

[Coredump]

Plus, I don't think a 'golf bag' is going to be of much benefit.

How often do you run into DR creatures in your campaign now?

Assuming an even mix of DR-types, I would bet that spreads things a bit thin. Are you really going to want to carry 8 different weapons, on the chance that you might use it one-two times in a year of travel?

Plus, how do you know when to use it? How often will the player information be correct? Sure the sage says silver works great on the Fey, cuz he read it in a book, written about a guy that killed a bunch of fey with his silver rapier. Course, he was also 15th level and had lots of magic bonuses.... but that silver sword sure did kill a bunch of Fey, and now a book has been written about it, it must be true.

Hell, look around, how much *factual information* is out there now, about how to lose weight, stay healthy, eat right, raise kids, etc.

even animal behavior gets studied, and we find out years later that the conclusions were wrong. Same with cultures and people. Yeah, your character will be able to get information, plenty of information, but how accurate will it be? And how great will the description of the creature be? When will he know to use the weapon?


Heck, in my game, I give each character a list of some things he 'knows'. It covers some actual facts about towns/monsters/etc. Some are correct, and some are "elves are hatched from Elf eggs."
To them it is a fact.


.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Plus, I don't think a 'golf bag' is going to be of much benefit.

How often do you run into DR creatures in your campaign now?

Assuming an even mix of DR-types, I would bet that spreads things a bit thin. Are you really going to want to carry 8 different weapons, on the chance that you might use it one-two times in a year of travel?

Yes, I would carry a bunch of weapons just in case. For the same reasons I now carry scrolls of Remove blindness, Remove Paralysis, Remove Curse, and others. As soon as we could afford these we bought them, and although each has been used a grand total of one time, they were invaluable durring that one combat. For just a little more I will now carry Silver and Cold Iron, and scrolls of Alignment and anything else that might help. It is a foolish adventurerer who is not adaquately prepared for the challenges he might face. Plus that HHH is useful in so many other ways that the Golf Bag is just a extra benefit.

Plus, how do you know when to use it? How often will the player information be correct? Sure the sage says silver works great on the Fey, cuz he read it in a book, written about a guy that killed a bunch of fey with his silver rapier. Course, he was also 15th level and had lots of magic bonuses.... but that silver sword sure did kill a bunch of Fey, and now a book has been written about it, it must be true.

Hell, look around, how much *factual information* is out there now, about how to lose weight, stay healthy, eat right, raise kids, etc.

even animal behavior gets studied, and we find out years later that the conclusions were wrong. Same with cultures and people. Yeah, your character will be able to get information, plenty of information, but how accurate will it be? And how great will the description of the creature be? When will he know to use the weapon?


Heck, in my game, I give each character a list of some things he 'knows'. It covers some actual facts about towns/monsters/etc. Some are correct, and some are "elves are hatched from Elf eggs."
To them it is a fact.

If you want to withhold information in your campaign that is fine, but I don't feel that such narrow restrictions would be accurate. In the real world where monsters are just myths large amounts of the general population can tell you that to kill werewolves you need silver and to kill vampires you need a wooden stake. In a land where these creatures are real and pose a real threat to your life you would certainly know these things. Just as I know not to stick a paperclip in a outlet I would know that if a fey trys to steal my child that I need to stop it using cold iron. If people did not know the weaknesses of the monsters they would be quickly overun. These people did not just stumble accross the monsters, they have been living with their threat for thousands of years. I guess it depends on your campaign, if in your world monsters are only a recent phenomenon then withholding information about them is fine, if you are playing Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk then these monsters are a well known part of the enviornment.

 

[MerakSpielman]

OR

Whack! "Nope, regular weapons don't work here, guys! Caddie, my Iron, please."

Whack! "Nope! Lets try adamantine!"

Whack! "No dice. Maybe plain 'ol magic!"

Whack! "Nope! Do I have a Lawful weapon in there?"

Whack! "That's it! He's feelin' the pain now!"