Werebat
Explorer
Party bard fell victim to a black pudding last night. It burbled up out of a pit and grappled/constricted him.
Bard tried to escape on his turn, and I ruled that Improved Grapple applies its bonus to a grappling opponent's CMD when someone tries to escape a grapple (that's another discussion).
Bard failed due to this and was grappled/constricted for a second round before the pudding was killed.
The end result to the bard's "clothing and armor" (as per the rules) was 6 acid damage the first round, 9 the second round (bard failed both Reflex saves). Player was kinda pissed so I told him that I wouldn't count the second round because that was due to a house ruling on grapple that hadn't been discussed before (he would have gotten away otherwise), but the original 6 damage would stand because it was totally by the book.
Now a few questions have come up:
1. What is "clothing"? Anything worn? Is a hat "clothing"? A belt? Boots?
2. Is the pudding's acid an exception to the rule that energy damage is halved and THEN applied to items, and that item hardness/DR blocks part of the damage?
3. Items have more hit points per magical "plus", but what about items without a bonus, like a hat of disguise?
4. Do worn magical items get a second save against the pudding's acid damage, because items always get a save (even if unattended)?
My initial thoughts:
1. Anything worn on the body counts as "clothing".
2. The pudding acid is an exception to the general rule about energy damage and items, and deals its damage directly to anything that isn't crystal or stone (no halving, no DR/hardness)
3. Items should have the extra hit points accrue for each ability they have/grant (or per "+1 value" for weapons and armor).
4. No (I think this was sort of grasping at straws on the part of the players -- the rules say "or", not "in addition to").
On the other hand, if I follow these rules, even with only 6 damage the player seems truly screwed by the pudding's acid attack.
???
Bard tried to escape on his turn, and I ruled that Improved Grapple applies its bonus to a grappling opponent's CMD when someone tries to escape a grapple (that's another discussion).
Bard failed due to this and was grappled/constricted for a second round before the pudding was killed.
The end result to the bard's "clothing and armor" (as per the rules) was 6 acid damage the first round, 9 the second round (bard failed both Reflex saves). Player was kinda pissed so I told him that I wouldn't count the second round because that was due to a house ruling on grapple that hadn't been discussed before (he would have gotten away otherwise), but the original 6 damage would stand because it was totally by the book.
Now a few questions have come up:
1. What is "clothing"? Anything worn? Is a hat "clothing"? A belt? Boots?
2. Is the pudding's acid an exception to the rule that energy damage is halved and THEN applied to items, and that item hardness/DR blocks part of the damage?
3. Items have more hit points per magical "plus", but what about items without a bonus, like a hat of disguise?
4. Do worn magical items get a second save against the pudding's acid damage, because items always get a save (even if unattended)?
My initial thoughts:
1. Anything worn on the body counts as "clothing".
2. The pudding acid is an exception to the general rule about energy damage and items, and deals its damage directly to anything that isn't crystal or stone (no halving, no DR/hardness)
3. Items should have the extra hit points accrue for each ability they have/grant (or per "+1 value" for weapons and armor).
4. No (I think this was sort of grasping at straws on the part of the players -- the rules say "or", not "in addition to").
On the other hand, if I follow these rules, even with only 6 damage the player seems truly screwed by the pudding's acid attack.
???
