Damage reduction

[Trellian]

OK... here's the thing.. my players need to acquire some devils blood, and the choice has fallen on a hellcat... the hellcat has a damage reduction of 20/+2, and no one of the players possess such a weapon, and without a solid critical hit, they cannot dish out 20+ for damage.

My question is, what exactly happens when such a monster is hit by a weapon that does not supersede their damage reduction? does the wound heal itself at once (thereby letting out blood), or does it simply not penetrate the creatures skin?

thanx

 

[mikebr99]

From SRD:

DAMAGE REDUCTION
Some magic creatures have the supernatural ability to instantly heal damage from weapons or to ignore blows altogether as
though they were invulnerable.

I am thinking from a story line prospect, that the creature does start to bleed, and may spill a little blood before the wound closes. So I guess you could let them hack away at the thing for a while to collect some blood on the floor. But how do you propose to let them (the party) get away from a very angry Hellcat after they have collected the required amount?

 

[gtJormungand]

If they are high enough level to attempt to fight a hellcat, they should havea cleric/wizard that can cast Greater Magic Weapon which will give at least a +2.

 

[Christian]

My question is, what exactly happens when such a monster is hit by a weapon that does not supersede their damage reduction? does the wound heal itself at once (thereby letting out blood), or does it simply not penetrate the creatures skin?

The DMG leaves this as a 'DM Call'. The examples it gives are a vampire (which heals the damage as it is caused) and an iron golem (whose surface is not penetrated). I'd think a hellcat falls into the first category. To be fair, you should make it absolutely clear that the 'cat is suffering neither pain nor injury from the attacks ...

 

[James McMurray]

If they are high enough level to attempt to fight a hellcat, they should havea cleric/wizard that can cast Greater Magic Weapon which will give at least a +2.

What he said.

 

[Xarlen]

A sixth level wizard should be able to getyou a +2, as would a 7th level cleric.

If nothing else, get them a scroll.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Many monsters are situational.

There's a monster in the PsiH called a crysmal, with CR 3... and very high damage reduction x/+1. If the cleric or wizard hasn't prepared Magic Weapon, and no one in the party has a magical weapon, then the creature is too challenging, and you must either raise the XP reward or substitute another creature.

What are the hellcat regen rules? Can you kill it with repeated Shout spells ?

 

[Trellian]

Well, the adventure is an official one (Forging Darkness), for 3rd to 5th level characters. All my players are 4th level. I guess the hellcat is way to dangerous to kill, but they only need some of the blood to complete their mission, so I'll go for the "bleeds a little, wound closes" response.

The hellcat is bound to an area by the wizard who owns it, so it cannot pursue them outside the boundaries.

Thanx for the answers!

 

[Wolf72]

hope for lots of criticals?