Construct Death Magic

[Xakk]

Got another one. I was thinking about necromancers, and death magic, when I realized that it doesn't work on constructs or undead. Now undead are destroyed by turning and there are more spells to kill them than the living out there I'd wager.

But what about constructs? What's the equivalent of a death spell to a construct? I don't mean spells that cause damage specifically to constructs, I mean save or die spells that affect them (the literal interpretation of save or die).

 

[Talonblaze]

Anti-magic fields I guess?
There's probably something. Lots of things affect constructs though.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Since dispel magic and its like are abjurations, I've always assumed that a spell to deanimate a construct would also be an abjuration... Something along the lines of...


Deanimate
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One construct
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will partial
Spell Resistance: Yes

You can render inanimate any one construct within range. The target is entitled to a Will saving throw to survive the attack. If the save is successful, the construct instead takes 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +25).

The subject might die from damage even if it succeeds on its saving throw.


This is essentially a reskinned finger of death, reduced one level due to specificity of targets.

Since dispel magic and its kin do not allow spell resistance, there could be some argument made that deanimate could also not allow spell resistance. That would make abjurers hell on golems...

 

[Greenfield]

Disjunction? (or was it dat junction...)

The problem is that they're immune to any spell that allows SR, and as far as I know they'll operate just fine in an Anti-Magic Field. They are neither spells nor magic items.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

The problem is that they're immune to any spell that allows SR

That is only true of Golems (i.e. critters with the Spell Immunity special quality) not of constructs in general.

 

[Empirate]

Mechanically speaking, Constructs are creatures. Creatures are unaffected by Disjunction or Antimagic Field, since those only affect spells and magic items. Even though the fluff on Constructs is that they're animated by magic, this has no game mechanics applications. If you need to further justify it, remember that while Undead are powered by negative energy, Constructs are powered by elemental spirits bound into their form. Neither the negative energy inherent in an undead creature nor the elemental spirit bound into a construct body go boom when faced with general abjuration magic.

Also, since spells specifically damaging to Undead tend to be Evocation or Necromancy, spells specifically damaging to Constructs would probably tend to be Evocation or Transmutation.

 

[Shin Okada]

Against non-golem constructs, Disintegrate is almost like an instant-death spell, because they have very poor fort save and relatively small amount of HP total.

 

[Empirate]

True enough, and the same goes for Undead. Disintegrate is even better than Heal when you're facing a Lich.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Spell Compendium has Ray of Deanimation specifically to hurt them. And the orb spells...

That aside, IMO, constructs as a creature type, overall, are meant to be the "anti-caster guys," so any spells or magical abilities to mess them up should be limited or nonexistent. Sorry, but some enemies in the game should just be easier to defeat for the noncasters (golems do have annoyingly high DR, granted, but a cheap magic item negates that entirely, at least).

 

[Xakk]

I don't understand why people think Disintegrate is a Save or Die spell. It just does a lot of damage. A monster with loads of HP just calls it 'the bigger plink'. Nobody calls Empowered Fireball a SoD spell.

Don't a lot of spells meant to target objects have specific caveats for constructs?

Spell Compendium has Ray of Deanimation specifically to hurt them. And the orb spells...

What are the orb spells?