Need Opinions on Damage Equivalency

[Savage Wombat]

I'm about to run the second encounter with Jovoc Demons (MMII, everybody) - they're the ones that have that "damage reflection" ability.

The party has loaded for bear with Bane weapons for the return battle - and I've decided that, to make the feature more attractive (and since there's no real defense against the reflection other than range) that the Bane damage does not reflect the way everything else does.

The question is - if Bane damage doesn't reflect, should the damage from Holy Water work the same way? Opinions are welcome.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Regardless of the source of the damage to the Jovoc, the damage dealt to nontanar'riby this effect is not subject to negation or reduction because of resistance, immunity, damage reduction, spell resistance, or the like

To me, this means that if Pyro, the fire-immune character is fighting a jovoc, and Garble the fireball-tossing sorcerer casts a fireball at both of them, Pyro will get hurt, not by the fireball, but by the aura of retribution, ie the damage caused to the Jovoc and reflected by their aura of retribution isn't "named" damage (ie fire damage, bane damage, etc.), it's just damage. It's a nasty ability, that's for sure, but the Jovoc doesn't really have other methods of inflicting damage, so even if the raging barbarian hacks a Jovoc in half, he probably won't take more than 18 points of damage (max Jovoc hp / 2 because barbarians have good fort saves). Add to that that the Jovoc has all the tanar'ri resistances, DR, and fast healing, and the characters will indeed need to find a non-damage way of dealing with these things.

One thing in the Jovoc description I find strange, is that they describe the aura of retribution as a 30-foot spread, but imply that it works through walls, ie that line of effect isn't needed for it to work. I'd probably not play it that way (ie line of effect would be necessary).

AR

 

[Korak]

*grumbles about his DM setting up a situation with 12 Jovocs packed behind a door that the party busted open, when suddenly, the Jovocs were the target of a suprise round meteor swarm from the BBEG at the other end of a large room*