Stupid Question 1d6+4 Necrotic and Cold damge?

[Goonalan]

Simple really when a monster power states it does, for example, 1d6+4 Necrotic and Cold damage is that 1d6+4 of both or... what?

The reason being in a game the other evening my Kobold Wild Mage exploded for-

Wild Blast (when reduced to 0 hit points)
When a kobold wild mage is slain, it explodes: close burst 2; +10 vs. Reflex, 2d6 + 4 fire, cold, and lightning damage.

Which resulted in 12 HP damage for each type, and damn near wiped the floor with the adventurers who had never met a Kobold Wild Mage before, it was last man standing and in the centre of a scrum of PC attackers.

Very cacklesome from a DM POV- 36 hit points damage, my players however are saying that can't be right- so, is it?

Cheers PR

 

[MrBeens]

No it is one damage that is of all the types listed.

 

[Staffan]

Damage of multiple damage types still only do one instance of damage. However, it is counted as the nastiest type of these in case the monster has any resistances or vulnerabilities.

Let's say your Starlock has some sort of Chill of the Stars power that does 2d6+Con Cold and Radiant damage. He uses it on a Chillborn Zombie (resist 10 Cold, vulnerable 5 Radiant). He rolls 7+5 for 12 points of damage, and thus inflicts 17 points of damage on the zombie. The zombie's resistance to cold never comes into play, because the vulnerability overrides it.

The only time you'd get multiple instances of damage would be a power like Prismatic Beams, which specifies that it does 2d6+Int poison, 2d6+Int fire, and dazes.

 

[questing gm]

Let's say your Starlock has some sort of Chill of the Stars power that does 2d6+Con Cold and Radiant damage. He uses it on a Chillborn Zombie (resist 10 Cold, vulnerable 5 Radiant). He rolls 7+5 for 12 points of damage, and thus inflicts 17 points of damage on the zombie. The zombie's resistance to cold never comes into play, because the vulnerability overrides it.

Interesting. Got a page ruling for that?

 

[Baumi]

It's in the Errata.

 

[Kuato]

First page of the PHB update PDF (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdatePH.pdf):

Keywords [Revision]
Player’s Handbook, page 55
Replace the second and third sentences of the fourth paragraph with the
following: “Also, resistance doesn’t reduce damage unless the target has
resistance to each type of damage from the attack, and then only the weakest of the resistances applies. For example, a character who has resist 10 lightning and resist 5 thunder who takes 15 lightning and thunder damage takes 10 damage because the resistance value to the combined damage types is limited by the lesser of the two resistances.”​

The text that overwrites (p 55) also explains how multi-typed damages still do only one instance of damage. Multi-typed damage is just a resistance-defeating tool.
​

 

[Nifft]

It's in the Errata.

Yep.

Makes adding damage keywords (which many magic weapons do) quite useful.

Cheers, -- N

 

[doctorhook]

Yep.

Makes adding damage keywords (which many magic weapons do) quite useful.

Cheers, -- N

*cough*Frost weapons + feats*cough*

Also, Tieflings + Flaming weapons *cough*

 

[Danceofmasks]

Frost weapons are two feats for delayed gratification .. whilst Flaming weapons are +4 level ..
Those are both nice combos, but a sufficiently hefty investment they're not the least bit broken.

 

[Goonalan]

Thanks for that- problem solved. I'll make sympathetic noises and act suitably contrite next session. My bad- mwah-ha-ha-etc.