Energy Ability Damage

[moritheil]

1. A rogue's SA is of whatever type of damage the actual attack is.

2. Some rogues can give up dice of SA to deal ability damage.

Thus, it seems that if a rogue sneak attacks a cold subtype creature with a scorching ray, the rogue deals 1.5x the ability damage.

The part that isn't clear here is whether or not the ability damage becomes typed as the energy of the base attack. Does anyone happen to know?

 

[pawsplay]

If the dice are given up to do ability damage, then the effect is ability damage. You, in effect, apply less sneak attack dice (as a levy), rather than the reverse, as you suggest.

 

[moritheil]

So ability damage does not become energy because it is its own type? Interesting. In that case, is it lethal, nonlethal, or neither?

 

[pawsplay]

It is ability damage.

 

[moritheil]

Huh. I know that most of the BoED strictures are pretty tight with their wording (they include ability damage as forbidden along with lethal damage), but I'm pretty sure that if ability damage is neither lethal nor nonlethal, at least one of the codes that forbids dealing lethal damage can be gotten around via Con damage. Interesting.

 

[pawsplay]

The only other places I can think of this coming up a lot, besides the energy vulnerability thing and the BoED cases, would be constructs and undead that are immune to various kinds of ability damage and/or drain.

Attacks that drain or damage Con are a good way for a fairly low level party to take out a half-dragon anarchic troll or similar monstrosities.

 

[moritheil]

Wait a second. If ability damage is not of any energy type, that implies that an azer can be sneak-attacked with a scorching ray that deals no hit point damage (immune to fire) but somehow still deals strength damage.

 

[Artoomis]

Huh. I know that most of the BoED strictures are pretty tight with their wording (they include ability damage as forbidden along with lethal damage), but I'm pretty sure that if ability damage is neither lethal nor nonlethal, at least one of the codes that forbids dealing lethal damage can be gotten around via Con damage. Interesting.

NO. BoED is all about intent, not "getting around" things. Ih you split hairs to say that Con damage is legal for BoED restrictions, that's a pretty un-exalted thing to do, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Artoomis]

Wait a second. If ability damage is not of any energy type, that implies that an azer can be sneak-attacked with a scorching ray that deals no hit point damage (immune to fire) but somehow still deals strength damage.

If, and only if, you can do the sneak attack damage, then you may do the ability damage.

So, in this case, can you do the sneak attack damage? Answer that and you've answered the ability damage question.

 

[moritheil]

NO. BoED is all about intent, not "getting around" things. Ih you split hairs to say that Con damage is legal for BoED restrictions, that's a pretty un-exalted thing to do, wouldn't you agree?

The player isn't exalted - it's the character. And the character isn't the one trying to determine how rules work in this simulated world. That's the player. The character would know beforehand whether or not something was acceptable.