Quick and Simple Rule: Half Resistance vs Ongoing Damage

[Mesh Hong]

Another interesting possibility is to make the ongoing damage bump up every failed save. Like the dragon's could start at 5, then 10, then 15... and those quickly get around resistance if you fail saves.

It'd encourage people to do things like make Heal checks for extra saves, to get it off someone

Its an interesting idea, but I think it is more than a little dangerous. In my time I have seen some horrendous runs of (bad luck) failing saves, this would potentially turn minor ongoing damage into massive ongoing damage.

In my opinion the standard resistances from items and armour are fine, strong in the right encounter and useless in all other encounters. I do feel however that racial abilities like "half level +x" are too strong, and potions of resistance are too easy.

I would simply remove potions of resistance from the game and maybe reduce racial resistances and the like to "half level".

 

[Stalker0]

Another interesting possibility is to make the ongoing damage bump up every failed save. Like the dragon's could start at 5, then 10, then 15... and those quickly get around resistance if you fail saves.

It'd encourage people to do things like make Heal checks for extra saves, to get it off someone

An interesting idea, I'm going to fork it.

 

[eamon]

My preferred fix is to simply add 5 per tier to ongoing (typed) damage of any significant monster. In other words, about the same amount as you can expect your characters' resistance to be.

Don't do this for spam attacks (such as when you face five different monsters). Do this for singular attacks that are supposed to be frightening, not laughable (such as a Solo Dragon's breath attack).

I think this is a very good fix - particularly because it's simple and doesn't require much rules fiddling.

 

[FireLance]

Another interesting possibility is to make the ongoing damage bump up every failed save. Like the dragon's could start at 5, then 10, then 15... and those quickly get around resistance if you fail saves.

I think basic ongoing damage is nasty enough. If the real concern is the way resistances tend to negate ongoing damage, then have ongoing damage reduce the target's resistance by the amount of ongoing damage on each failed save until the character takes a short rest (or if you're feeling generous, resistance can also be restored when the character uses his second wind).

For example: A character with Resist 10 fire takes 5 ongoing fire damage. On his first failed save, his fire resistance is reduced to 5 until the end of the encounter. If he fails a second save, his fire resistance is negated and no longer protects him for the rest of the encounter.

The same approach can be applied to auras that deal damage: A character who ends his turn in the aura must make a saving throw, and if the saving throw is failed, his resistance is reduced by the amount of damage dealt by the aura.

 

[keterys]

Ongoing damage is pretty wimpy, in my experience. With or without resistance.

And ongoing damage and auras reducing resistance isn't thematically appropriate except in a few instances. Though auras or effects that remove resistance and deal ongoing on certain creatures work quite well.