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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grog" data-source="post: 662466" data-attributes="member: 6183">The issue is not simply whether or not you can "penetrate" a creature's DR. You actually have to do enough damage in spite of the DR to have a chance of defeating the creature. If I can do 16 points of damage, I can penetrate the pit fiend's DR. Does that mean I have a chance in hell against it in a fight?It is a hose job to fighters, or at least, to fighters who don't have the proper weaponry. Again, the question "Can the fighter do any damage at all to the creature without the proper material weapon?" is the wrong question. The question should be, "Can the fighter do enough damage to have a chance of killing the creature before it kills him?" Or perhaps, "Can the fighter do enough damage to not be totally insignificant in the face of what the spellcasters are doing?"Say I'm a fighter who does 20 points of damage per hit. That's 80 points per round with four attacks. By the current rules, I have a chance to kill the pit fiend before it kills me. By the revised DR rules, I'll be doing 20 points per round to the pit fiend instead of 80. The pit fiend would have me for lunch. My only chance is to pull out my cold iron weapon, or whatever it is that bypasses the pit fiend's DR.Also, if I'm hacking at the pit fiend for 80 damage a round, and the party wizard blasts it for 100 damage, I'm holding up pretty well. If I'm doing 20 damage a round and the wizard is blasting it for 100, I'm basically irrelevant. Again, my only chance is the weapon that bypasses the DR.No it's not. The party will simply stock up on all the different kinds of weapons. Bags of Holding are cheap, silver weapons are cheap, cold iron weapons are cheap, etc. Maybe they've never run into a werewolf - but they'll want to be prepared just in case they do.My group's DM doesn't get us lost in the woods very often - but we always take extra supplies just in case.That's up to you as a DM. If you won't let your players buy silver weapons, or you invent creatures that can only be hit by holy golden blades covered with cheese, then you're making a conscious decision to make the fighters in the party less useful relative to the spellcasters. If the fighters can't do enough damage to make a difference in the fight, all they can do is be meat shields for the spellcasters, who can do enough damage to take the critters down. Playing a meat shield is not a lot of fun, and if that situation comes up often enough, you'll probably find that your fighters simply won't enjoy the game anymore. Not a desirable outcome for anyone concerned.</blockquote>

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