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Message: <blockquote data-quote="crantastic" data-source="post: 4625923" data-attributes="member: 25298">let's start by defining "resistance" and "immunity".  Resistance:  the ability to withstand a particular type of damage or effect.Immunity:  a resistance so great that the target always ignores damage and effects of this type.if you combine this definition with pg 55 + errata:this means an immunity to one, but not to all, will result in full damage being taken.  the immunity will allow the target to ignore effects specific to the immunity's type, however. This is true, but a combined damage type will still still cause full damage, although any poison-specific effects will be ignored.Hmmm, ok, I'll concede that.  After some thought, I've reconsidered what the outcome of Dread Word is.  The entire point of the attack is that you're planting a horrible thought in the target's mind, which then "reels in terror."  While the method of attack is psychic, the nature of the attack is fear.  a creature that's immune to fear would suffer neither damage nor ill effects.  unless, of course, there is an actual "psychic blast" occurring, where physical damage is done to the target's mind, as well as the psychological damage. someone who has a brain, but has no fear, would be unaffected by the first case but would most certainly suffer having their brain scrambled by the second.as i haven't had a chance to look at my MM, i'll defer to thewok's ruling on the spined devil, as i don't know what the actual attacks are.  i think each case requires a reasonable interpretation of what the attack is doing. as the PHB errata indicates, at no time does a resistance or immunity to one damage type in a combined damage attack reduce your vulnerability to the the attack, except for sequential hits/effects, where the damage type of each one is different.let's try out some real-world examples:I'm a firefighter, clad in a nomex suit, but no breathing apparatus.  In game terms, I'm immune to fire, or resistant enough to be considered immune (Resist:2000).  If i fight a fire at a chemical plant, i'm immune to the fire, but the superheated, toxic smoke will scour my lungs, leaving me just as dead as the flames would've otherwise.  Thus, two different types of damage within the same attack.  i'm a snake handler.  sometimes i wear gloves (which grant me an immunity to the snake's fangs), sometimes i don't.  a rattlesnake bites me on the hand.  if i'm not wearing gloves, i take physical damage from the snake's fangs, and am subject to a secondary attack from the snake's poison. if i've built up an immunity to the snake's venom, i not only don't take tissue damage, but i also don't feel nauseous from it.  if i'm wearing gloves, i ignore the primary attack, and therefore the venom attack never occurs, which is dependent upon the initial hit being successful. the ultimate combined attack:  i'm an astronaut on a spacewalk.  my suit must grant me resistance/immunity to the overall attack that is space.  to survive the attack, i must be able to resist cold, radiation, and pressure.  without immunity to one, i'm susceptible to the attack. </blockquote>

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