Kyuss Worms and Damage Resistance

[Radiating Gnome]

Well, that's one way to read it, but when I weigh that against the other interpretations -- even though that matches the interpretation I used in the game -- it just feels like a bigger stretch.

-rg

 

[glass]

From the SRD:

"Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury type poison, a monk’s stunning, and injury type disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact."

I would consider the borrowing of a Kyuss worm to be a "special effect" that accompies an attack.

But the attack in question is from the Spawn of Kyuss that delivered the worm itself. The worm doesn't actually attack, right?

IDNHMBIFOM, but I'd say the worm is closest to an injury type disease or poison, so DR would have no effect unless it negated all the damage from the Spawn's attack (not from the worm).

That said, I'd probably allow the DR to slow the worm down somehow. Maybe one extra round per point of DR?


glass.

 

[irdeggman]

But the attack in question is from the Spawn of Kyuss that delivered the worm itself. The worm doesn't actually attack, right?

IDNHMBIFOM, but I'd say the worm is closest to an injury type disease or poison, so DR would have no effect unless it negated all the damage from the Spawn's attack (not from the worm).
glass.

That seems to be the best description. That the damage done by the worm is actually secondary damage (like poison) and that is not negated by DR.

 

[Nail]

DR doesn't affect damage from spells, for example. ...so there is precident for the Worms of Kyuss disregarding DR.

Is the "worms" power a (Su) or (Ex)?

 

[Goolpsy]

Well... The worm isn't causing Damage... making it burrow...
It is Burrowing... and Because of THat.. its Cause damage...

No secondary effect here... Its like Falling Damage....
You fall... and because you hit the hard ground.. you lose hp...
It's not because you lose hp, that you fall...

 

[Abraxas]

The Create spawn ability which uses the worms is (Su)

 

[Squire James]

The Create spawn ability which uses the worms is (Su)

Normally, I'd agree that ability damage and spawn creation would not be subject to DR, but they went through an awful lot of trouble detailing a clearly-physical (i.e. non-magical) delivery method. It would not seem unreasonable to me to rule either way, or come up with a compromise solution.

 

[Kieperr]

From Damage Reduction, DMG pg 291.
"The numerical part of a creature's damage reduction is the amount of hit points the creature ignores from normal attacks."

Damage Reduction applies to normal attacks, attacks made with weapons. The worms are not a weapon, they are a special attack that requires no attack roll. DR does not apply, it does not negate the damage since the worms are not attacking (i.e. making attack rolls to hit).

 

[saucercrab]

From Damage Reduction, DMG pg 291.
"The numerical part of a creature's damage reduction is the amount of hit points the creature ignores from normal attacks."

Damage Reduction applies to normal attacks, attacks made with weapons. The worms are not a weapon, they are a special attack that requires no attack roll. DR does not apply, it does not negate the damage since the worms are not attacking (i.e. making attack rolls to hit).

But DR applies to attacks made by the [swarm] suptype, which don't use attack rolls either.

What you bolded could just as easily refer to normal vs magic attacks; i.e., a longsword as opposed to an orb of acid spell.

 

[glass]

Creatures - Kyuss Worms and Damage Resistance

BTW, it's Damage Reduction, not Resistance.


glass.