D&D Primal swarm damage deduction

[Akarashi]

Just quick question.
With The scattered form Encounter power, as a primal swarm druid I only take half damage from melee and range for a round. However with the primal swarm aspect I take my con mod (+3) less damage from melee and range as well. So how does it stack if at all? Say I get hit for 15 damage, how much do I actually take?

 

[Mengu]

Going with a literal reading of the rule, Scattered Form says:

You take half damage

Primal Swarm says:

When you take damage ... the damage is reduced by your Constitution modifier.

So my interpretation is you take half damage, half of 15 is 7 (in D&D math). When you take 7 damage, you reduce it by your Con mod which is 3, and take 4 damage instead.

And if there is ever doubt about order of operations, my tendency is to multiply or divide before add or subtract. So for instance in the case of insubstantial undead with vulnerability, I'd divide damage first, then add the vulnerability.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

usually half damage is always applied after reductions and amplifikations of damage. (See insubstantial and radiant vulnerability). There is actually a passage in MM2 about half damage.

 

[Akarashi]

One says the one thing and the other says the other!

 

[mneme]

MM2 is clear (just checked compendium). You apply resistances/vulnerabilities, -then- divide (or, presumably, multiply) the damage.

 

[Akarashi]

Cool, glad we have that settled.

 

[obsid]

Um not quite. The MM2 states that you apply all modifiers to the damage (such as resistance or vulnerabilities) before you divide it by half. However the swarm druid racial feature isnt a resistance (it stacks with resistance), and it reduces damage that you take. It does not modify the damage being dealt (like a resistance or vul would), and it occurs AFTER you take the damage and therefor AFTER you divide by two.