Undead and Fort Saves

[Pinotage]

Undead are immune to any effect that requires a fortitude save, except if that effect damages objects.

So, if a PC fired a sonic attack at an undead creature that allowed a fortitude save for half damage (in this case Sound Lance from Savage Species), would the undead be immune? Sonic attacks affect objects after all, but then so do most attacks like fire and acid. I was hoping somebody could clarify this for me.

Thanks!

Pinotage

 

[hong]

Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be affected. The Fort-resistance thing is not a blanket immunity to everything that requires a Fort save.

 

[Darkness]

Sound lance specifically affects objects. Undead aren't immune if the spell affects objects. Thus, they aren't immune to sound lance.

 

[Thanee]

It affects objects, so it affects undead. Quite simple, really.

The ability means to represent, that an undead's body is not required to function like one from a living being. Shock, stress and strain means nothing to them. You cannot disease or poison them either. But Fortitude saves can also mean "structural integrity" and some effects are meant to break that apart (as they can with an object - destroying an undead's body does damage to it after all, otherwise weapons would be no good against them); these effects affect undead just fine.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Pinotage]

Great! Thanks for all the replies!

Pinotage

 

[Calico_Jack73]

If you check out Libris Mortis it actually mentions that Undead are at a severe disadvantage when facing attacks that require Fortitude saves for half damage. Basically you are looking at a -5 penalty to whatever is rolled. Obviously character levels can help make up for it.

 

[Knight Otu]

If you check out Libris Mortis it actually mentions that Undead are at a severe disadvantage when facing attacks that require Fortitude saves for half damage. Basically you are looking at a -5 penalty to whatever is rolled. Obviously character levels can help make up for it.

Erm, could you give a page reference on that? The only thing remotely close that I can find is on page 21, where it says that disintegrate is quite effective because undead generally have low Fortitude saves. But that's because it is a bad save for undead (HD/3) and they receive no Con bonus to it. Not because they take a -5 penalty (because they don't takesuch a penalty).

 

[Mekabar]

That's right. Undead don't have 0 Constitution, they have NO Constitution score, and don't get any penalties or bonuses that way. Otherwise they would be penalized on their HD too (1D12-5 instead of 1D12).

 

[CapnZapp]

The effective ability bonus for not having that ability is +0, just like if you had an ability score of 10.

So undead's Fort saves are five better than they would have been if they had CON 1.