Unholy Damage question

[Cheiromancer]

Does unholy damage affect evil creatures?

I can't find where the description of holy or unholy damage is given, but in the BoVD, under "corrupt spell" it says

For example, a corrupted fireball cast by a 6th-level wizard deals 6d6 points of damage: 3d6 points of fire damage and 3d6 points of unholy damage. Thus, creatures immune to fire still potentially take 3d6 points of damage."

Under "corrupt spell-like ability," however, the BoVD says

For example, if a corrupted fireball from a pit fiend deals a total of 35 points of damage, half of that amount (18 points) is fire damage and the other half (17 points) is unholy damage. Nonevil creatures immune to fire still take the 17 points of unholy damage.

So does unholy damage affect evil creatures (as corrupt spell suggests), or not (as corrupt spell-like ability states)?

Finally, is there any reason to think that vile damage is automatically unholy?

 

[Grazzt]

Does unholy damage affect evil creatures?

I can't find where the description of holy or unholy damage is given, but in the BoVD, under "corrupt spell" it says

Under "corrupt spell-like ability," however, the BoVD says

So does unholy damage affect evil creatures (as corrupt spell suggests), or not (as corrupt spell-like ability states)?

Finally, is there any reason to think that vile damage is automatically unholy?

If you follow the rules regarding the unholy special quality that can be added to weapons, unholy damage only deals damage to those of good alignment.

Nope- I would say that vile and unholy are two different (albeit slightly different perhaps) things. Otherwise, there would be no need for vile damage.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Re: Re: Unholy Damage question

I would say that vile and unholy are two different (albeit slightly different perhaps) things. Otherwise, there would be no need for vile damage.

Well, vile damage could be a "worse" form of unholy damage- unholy damage that is so evil that it can only be healed in a holy place, and even there only by magic.

If vile damage were also unholy, then fiends and undead wouldn't have to seek out holy ground in order to have the damage magically healed.

But say that vile damage is so evil that it inflicts hard-to-heal wounds even on fiends, undead. Then you have the peculiar situation where damage that is both unholy and vile is less evil than just plain vile damage. Even if vile damage were treated as normal damage by fiends and undead, it would still be the case that unholy vile damage is less evil than straight old vile damage.

 

[Camarath]

I think that holy, unholy, lawful, and chaotic damage count basicly as elemental alignment damage. They would affect anyone regardless of alignment. I am basing this mainly of the Slaad ability descriptions form the Epic Handbook about their chaotic damage. It claims one could have resistance to it in what sounds to be much the same way as say fire damage. I hope they are more clear in 3.5 on how exactly unholy damage works.

 

[terror]

Hellfire (CR 3) – d20PFSRD

www.d20pfsrd.com

This suggests evil subtype creatures, and evil aligned creatures don't take damage from unholy

 

[CapnZapp]

Welcome to the forums @terror and congrats on a worthy thread necromancy!

 

[terror]

Welcome to the forums @terror and congrats on a worthy thread necromancy!

All hail my necro power!

Thanks lol.