Black Puddings and Damage to Weapons

[Gregor]

Hey all,

(warning that this may be a stupid question)

I was looking at the black pudding entry in the 3.5 MM and I have a question about its acid ability. The entry says that if a metal or wooden weapon strikes the pudding, the wielder of the weapon must make a DC 21 reflex save or the weapon dissolves immediately. However, it also says that the acid deals 21 points of damage per round to metal and wooden objects, but must be touching the weapon for a full round (Im assuming the 21 points of damage is what it would do to someone's armor or other objects the PC is carring while engulfed by the ooze).

My question is: if a magic metal or wooden weapon strikes the black pudding and the wielder fails the reflex save, is the weapon immediately destroyed? Also, does the PC get to add the magic item bonus to his/her saving throw?

Thanks.

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Yes and yes. Yet one more weapon a fighter needs to cary around, a stone club.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It seems like a strange holdover from earlier days, doesn't it?

It would probably have made more sense if failing the reflex save meant that the weapon took 21 points acid damage or whatever - so magic weapons last a little longer, and there are options when fighting the thing.

 

[hong]

Heh, another monster to receive the Mearlsifying treatment....

 

[3d6]

My question is: if a magic metal or wooden weapon strikes the black pudding and the wielder fails the reflex save, is the weapon immediately destroyed? Also, does the PC get to add the magic item bonus to his/her saving throw?

Yes and no. A when an attended magic item makes a saving throw, it either uses its wielder's bonus or its own, which is equal to its caster level / 2 + 2.

 

[hong]

Heh, another monster to receive the Mearlsifying treatment....

"I Mearlsified my pudding and now it's a smooth, uniform consistency"

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Yes and no. A when an attended magic item makes a saving throw, it either uses its wielder's bonus or its own, which is equal to its caster level / 2 + 2.

I must have remembed specific save descriptions in the texts of various monsters. Some state they get their + as a save bonus.

 

[Gregor]

Well, the players met an Elder Black Pudding and it did not go well for the Monk or Barbarian. The barbarian lost his +4 greataxe to the acid and the monk, grappled for a full round, lost most of his magic items (failed alot of saving throws).

Brutal.

 

[frankthedm]

Yes, puddings are nasty, but still very vulnerable to arrow, arrow, arrow, fireball.

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/7296/puddy8xe.jpg

I would not mind seeing a makeover of the pudding provided it did not get weakened in the process.

Acid deals an amount of damage equivalent to the bebelith's rend armor.

Immunity to piercing weapons. No Guts, no Gory!

Immunity to nonlethal damage. Cold damage heals as if non lethal damage {thawing at 1 point per hour per HD.]

Split caused by slashing and bludgeoning weapons doing more than twice the puddings # of HD in damage. Yes this means physical attacks can't hurt a pudding, screwing melee characters, but some things should not be killable with weapons. IMHO A pile of goop should not be harmed no matter how hard you hit it.

Spit puddings have their own stat blocks based on HP. Thus spit puddings and badly damage pudding wind up shrinking in combat.

 

[robberbaron]

The entry says that if a metal or wooden weapon strikes the pudding, the wielder of the weapon must make a DC 21 reflex save or the weapon dissolves immediately. However, it also says that the acid deals 21 points of damage per round to metal and wooden objects, but must be touching the weapon for a full round.

I guess that if a pud sits on an item for a round, the acid goop that it secretes does damage but, if you stick something into it, you have to be sure to pull it out quick or the much more powerful acid it has for blood/ichor/goop turns your sword into a hilt.

Gives me an idea. Thanks, Gregor.