Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="UltimaGabe" data-source="post: 3427556" data-attributes="member: 16019">So, we all know (or should know) that the Vicious Weapon Quality from the DMG deals an extra 2d6 damage when used in melee, but 1d6 backlash damage is dealt to the attacker. (I am also of the camp that said damage is untyped and thus bypasses pretty much anything.)Let's say you're wielding a +1 Cold Iron Vicious Short sword against a creature with Damage Reduction of, say, 5/Lawful.So you attack the creature. (A slaad or something.) You roll damage, and you deal 14 damage to the creature (7 from the weapon, 7 from the Vicious quality) and 4 to yourself. That's all fine and dandy.But then let's say you deal less than 5 damage with the sword itself. That is, you roll a 1 on the sword's damage and the total comes up to 4 or something.As we all know, if the initial attack fails to damage the target, any additional effects do not occur as well (can someone get the actual quote for me?). This, of course, is believed by many (myself included) to include energy damage from a Flaming weapon and such- if you aren't able to damage the Slaad with the sword itself, it takes no Fire damage either. That's all fine and dandy too.But what happens to the Backlash?That is, if you attack and fail to overcome DR with the weapon, and the target doesn't take any damage from the Vicious quality, do you still take the 1d6 backlash, since you did, after all, strike the target?</blockquote>