Large red dragon mini with only 5 fire resist...

[GreatLemur]

Only the electric eel example fits into this discussion (as much as a real world discussion can fit into a D&D one). Now the question is can electric eels shock each other? How much electricity is needed to electrocute one?

Electric eels even shock themselves. That's why they go blind as they age.

 

[Campbell]

No good can come of thinking too hard about D&D. Seriously - It causes brain cancer, espicially when economics are involved. It's worse than cell phones and Nutrisweet.

 

[FourthBear]

Dragons being immune to fire (or other elements) is the more magical explanation.

Yes, but there are many ways for just as magical explanations to result in fire breathing dragons that are not immune to fire. Since this may result in more interesting encounters, by allowing two similar dragon's breath weapons to actually affect each other (with resistance). Or allowing a fire-centered PC to be useful (if less so than usual) against a flame breathing dragon. And it does remove the various absurdities of making a dragon utterly immune to fire, even if the fire is far beyond its own power, such as that of a star or might be created by a god of fire.

 

[The Little Raven]

Oh come on, just look at this argument. How many people tried to explain dragons having resistance to elements with real life scientific examples.

You're the one that's complaining that it's somehow unfeasible for a magical, fire-breathing creature to be affected by fire from other sources. We're just pointing out that if real-life creatures that produce hazardous effects can still be affected by those, then a magical creature could be the same way, since it's fire is magically produced, not a result of biological evolution (which usually comes with additional protective traits). If a wizard doesn't need fire resistance when he produces his magical burning hands, then a dragon doesn't need fire immunity when he produces his magical flaming breath.

 

[Desdichado]

I will believe this as soon as you try to chew a tortilla chip with your butt hole.

Don't mind me. Just spectating. Darren is fast becoming one of my favorite posters.

 

[Neil Bishop]

A PC who has a magical flaming sword is immune to the fire that emits from that sword. The same would be said about the Nightmare, he's immune to his own flames. (snip)

Your argument is fundamentally flawed. The flaming sword is a sword, it is not part of the wielder. And the wielder would be damaged if he touched the flames.

The nightmare's hooves are not attachments: its hooves actually are on fire! Oh, and its mane in some depictions I have seen.

As for red dragons, if their internal organs are capable of generating sufficient heat to blast out multiple dice of fire damage, I think it would be logical to assume that they are either immune to at least that amount of fire damage.

 

[The Little Raven]

As for red dragons, if their internal organs are capable of generating sufficient heat to blast out multiple dice of fire damage, I think it would be logical to assume that they are either immune to at least that amount of fire damage.

Then a wizard would need protection when he cast spells that emanate from any parts of his body, since he is not biological designed to be resistant to them. However, that is not the case because they are the product of magic, which doesn't obey the rules of science... the same magic that allows dragons to exist, breathe fire, and fly when their wingspan-to-body ratio would prevent it.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Even putting aside all the good arguments made so far against dragons having total immunities, there is one very good reason that dragons should not be totally immune to the element of their breath weapon: it is inconsistent with myth and fantasy.

I have seen many cases in fiction and myth in which the only possible way to kill a creature is to use its own weapon against it. Things like "the Nemean Lion's hide is invincible to any blade, but its own claw can cut it" or "the only way to kill the beast is to reflect its own power against it". Things may be resistant to their own powers, but they are almost never totally immune to them. In fact, I have seen a few cases of a hero killing a dragon simply by reducing the dragon's own resistance to its horribly overpowered breath weapon.

Also, on the amusing "humans are immune to water" thing...

Jellyfish are made of something like 90-99% water. They are aquatic creatures who breathe water, and could not survive outside of water very long.

I guarantee you, if you put a saltwater jellyfish in fresh water, fresh water would pour into every cell in its body at a very fast rate, and every cell in its body would rupture, killing the creature very quickly. It would die from nothing more than contact with water, its native element.

Also, human breath air through our lungs, but if a single bubble of air forms in our bloodstream it can very easily be fatal.

A lot of living things can be killed by things they interact with on a constant basis, simply by getting past the physical barriers they put up to protect the fragility of their own internal systems.

 

[Lackhand]

Even putting aside all the good arguments made so far against dragons having total immunities, there is one very good reason that dragons should not be totally immune to the element of their breath weapon: it is inconsistent with myth and fantasy.

I have seen many cases in fiction and myth in which the only possible way to kill a creature is to use its own weapon against it. Things like "the Nemean Lion's hide is invincible to any blade, but its own claw can cut it" or "the only way to kill the beast is to reflect its own power against it". Things may be resistant to their own powers, but they are almost never totally immune to them. In fact, I have seen a few cases of a hero killing a dragon simply by reducing the dragon's own resistance to its horribly overpowered breath weapon.

Also, on the amusing "humans are immune to water" thing...

Jellyfish are made of something like 90-99% water. They are aquatic creatures who breathe water, and could not survive outside of water very long.

I guarantee you, if you put a saltwater jellyfish in fresh water, fresh water would pour into every cell in its body at a very fast rate, and every cell in its body would rupture, killing the creature very quickly. It would die from nothing more than contact with water, its native element.

Also, human breath air through our lungs, but if a single bubble of air forms in our bloodstream it can very easily be fatal.

A lot of living things can be killed by things they interact with on a constant basis, simply by getting past the physical barriers they put up to protect the fragility of their own internal systems.

To expound: the Nemean Lion was strangled (or choked) to death. In skinning the hide, Heracles used the claws, because otherwise the darn thing wouldn't come off.

But your point is otherwise good

 

[Tewligan]

The nightmare's hooves are not attachments: its hooves actually are on fire! Oh, and its mane in some depictions I have seen.

Of course, a horse's hooves aren't quite as delicate as the rest of the horse. That's why you can nail big metal crescents to them.