How much damage does lava do?

[N0Man]

Download the .pdf (top right of the linked page). It has flow charts, clear diagrams, and even a couple game play examples (one for D&D and one for WoD: Vampire).

Clear, flavorful, interesting, and simple. The best lava rules I've ever seen.

Brilliant!

I've used this source book since the first time I saw it a few years ago. I found out about it through a post from one of the 4E WotC guys, who mentioned that they were big fans of the book.

 

[Joshua Randall]

If you are confronting your low-level PCs with lava, what are you going to threaten them with at level 20 — rivers of antimatter?

That's completely awesome, and totally stolen for when my game gets to 20th level.

 

[FireLance]

In the last adventure I ran, I had 5th-level characters in a volcano fighting a three-stage encounter while trying to stay ahead of a slowly advancing tide of "magical fire". Any character who started his turn in the "magical fire" took 2d6+4 fire damage. For many of the reasons already stated in this thread, I decided not to call it "lava"

 

[Jarrod]

5 damage per round.

What?

Check out the volcanic dragon's "lava vent" power. It creates a zone of lava that does 5 damage per round (the adult, 13th level one). So obviously level 13 lava does 5 damage per round

 

[Starfox]

Lava Damage in 4E: Check DMG1, p 42.

What looks like lava at lvl 1 is probably just cooled magma with residual glow.

 

[Flipguarder]

Ive thought about it for a while and I've come to my conclusion. If you enter or end your turn in lava you take 3d12 fire damage and 5 ongoing fire damage.

That's my personal conclusion.

 

[The Human Target]

Falling in lava and living is one of those "thats too silly for me to believe" DnD moments.

So Lava is fun to look at, but not meant to be played with.

 

[Turtlejay]

Falling in lava and living is one of those "thats too silly for me to believe" DnD moments.

So Lava is fun to look at, but not meant to be played with.

I. . .agree. D&D is a game of near misses. The orc attacks with his battleaxe, and hits your armor, your shield, the ground. . .but never actually cleaves into you. HP's would be single digits if that is how things worked. You might get nicked or sliced, but nothing serious.

I have a hard time seeing a *normal* character fall into lava and not die from the damage it would do to him, inside and out. Explain away high level characters with their magic armor and blessings from bahamut or whatnot, but if a 1st level Warlord falls into lava, he is not just going to be able to rub some dirt on it and be fine.

If a 1st level character falls into 'lava', he should be falling onto cooled lava. Something hot enough to hurt, but not kill. Or, just be a ruthless DM and make them dead. As long as everyone is on the same page going in, it shouldn't be a huge problem.

Jay

 

[DracoSuave]

but if a 1st level Warlord falls into lava, he is not just going to be able to rub some dirt on it and be fine.

Dare I say, getting dirt on it is the problem to begin with.

Hot. Molten. Liquid. Dirt.

 

[aco175]

I tend to view lava as burn your eyes out just by looking at it hot. Where did I read 20d6 damage- 3.0 rules? Thats hot!

I would agree with some of the other posters in that I would use less damaging forms and allow them to take some damage to show them to be careful, but allow them to be stupid, or brave, depending on their view.