Immunity to 'nauseated'

[humble minion]

So, the cleric PC in my game has just discovered 'nauseating breath' from the Spell Compendium.

Insert halitosis joke here.

Is there any rules-as-written immunity to nausea? Plants, undead, elementals, constructs? Creatures immune to stunning and/or criticals maybe? Poison-immune creatures? It's not in the monster type traits, or in the condition summary, but surely it's got to be covered somewhere...

I don't want to have to rule out or house-rule the spell unless absolutely necessary.

[Edit: aargh, wrong forum! Could some kindly mod please move this to D&D Rules?]

 

[frankthedm]

it is not well covered, so you just have be a DM about it. Stomach distress can't happen to something without a stomach. Elementals and constructs are covered right there.

Also if it is a FORT save, It automatically can't affect Undead or constructs, UNLESS there is an [object] entry in the write up.

Nauseated
Experiencing stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.

 

[MoxieFu]

I saw the title of the thread and assumed it was about Gully Dwarves.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Moved to Rules forum!

 

[Three_Haligonians]

Well... the Book of Exalted Deeds has a Remove Nausea spell, and Cityscape has a feat called Strong Stomach which makes you immune to the sickened condition and anything that would nauseate makes you sickened instead.

So there are ways to limit its effectiveness..

As for House Rules, you could say that one has to inhale the fumes and therefore creatures that don't breathe cannot be affected.

Of course, then you have to worry about characters who say "I hold my breath!" I don't know the particulars of Nauseating Breath off the top of my head but if it's an instantaneous spell then its possible such a rule could make it useless... which is too far in the other direction for you I suspect.

J from Three Haligonians

 

[humble minion]

Also if it is a FORT save, It automatically can't affect Undead or constructs, UNLESS there is an [object] entry in the write up.

Good catch. That'll cover undead and constructs at least. I'll give some more thought to elementals and plants - the latter (believe it or not!) are the most urgent, since we've got the sargasso scene of the Savage Tide coming up next...

 

[Legildur]

What about characters immune to poison? Like higher level druids and monks?

 

[nittanytbone]

I think you've got your answer right in the spell -- it grants a fort save. Sure, a caster can grant their saves up to absurd levels, but strong fort saves are very common. Most every important NPC should have 14 CON. Most humanoid types have strong fort saves. Arcane casters are most vulnerable to fort save spells, but its also hardest to penetrate their magical defenses.

This falls into the "save or suck" category of spells... Not really much worse than Glitterdust or Stinking Cloud.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Stomach distress can't happen to something without a stomach.

I'm inclined to consider the bit about stomach distress to be flavour text, given that some things that cause the nauseated condition seem to be using it merely to represent the mechanical effect (restricted to a single move action) - the Swarm ability Distraction (Ex), for example. I wouldn't rule an elemental immune to being distracted.

-Hyp.

 

[ctwardy]

Small addition we ran into trying "Power Word Nauseate" which grants no save. It can only be cast on a "Living Creature".