Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder, optional armour rules, and energy drain

[StarFyre]

Hello,

Question: we use the optional armour rules for Pathfinder where the armour absorbs impact (acts as DR).

My question is, do energy draining attacks such as specific undead, or demogorgon's tail/tentacle rott need to touch the actual character's skin, or is hitting the armour but not breaking through enough?

The question my players asked was, they got hit, but still had armour even though the force was strong enough toknock the character on the ground and hurt him, technically, his armour was still taking the punishment.

WOuld he get the effect of the 'drain'?

REgards.

Sanjay

 

[Noir le Lotus]

Depends on the type of attack.

For creatures like vampire, energy drain is just a bonus effect of the slam attack. If the slam attack deals no damage, energy drain does not occur.

Incorporeal undeads like spectres use incorporeal touch and so ignore armour.

 

[StarFyre]

ok so demogorgon's description says on a hit, but since it's a "tail slap", and his tentacles state "any creature touched", that implies it needs to touch the skin? (ie. do damage)

i think issue my players will ask is the armour is taking the shock so even though they got knocked down from the impact, their armour wasn't destroyed yet so their skin never got touched.

I'm ok with that; co worker suggested what he does. armour has a threshold like massive damage. ANy attack that gets past that, assumed to have made a hole or broken a part of the armour so special attacks do get thru to the skin.

i'll prob just do that.

Sanjay

 

[N'raac]

I'd be reluctant to allow players a free pass on effects like that. Would that mean their spells that logically need to touch the target (eg ranged and non-ranged touch attacks) would similarly not deliver non-damaging effects unless they break the target's armor?

 

[frankthedm]

Question: we use the optional armour rules for Pathfinder where the armour absorbs impact (acts as DR).

My question is, do energy draining attacks such as specific undead, or demogorgon's tail/tentacle rott need to touch the actual character's skin, or is hitting the armour but not breaking through enough?

If the armor somehow absorbed all the damage done by the tentacle attack, then the effect should not kick off. The house rule sounds like it trades all AC for Damage absorption, so it only sounds fair that if the armor absorbs all the tentacle's damage, the drain does not kick off, just like if he attack had not overcome AC in the normal rules.