What element would "radiation" be?

[Luthien Greyspear]

Way back in 2e, I had to deal with this when I sent my players through a mystic portal into a technologically advanced world in pursuit of an evil spirit. He had the fourth and final of a series of element-based artifacts, and the party needed to liberate it from him, as they had the other three. The problem was, the spirit had corrupted the artifact (a rock) by his presence, and the rock was now poison to any who touched it. In essense, it was highly radioactive.

To most medieval types, even those with a Renaissance-level grasp of chemistry, alchemy, and/or biology, a rock that made you sick when you touched it would be seen as evil, corrupt, and tainted by some evil deity. I think the "Vile" damage descriptor works best for that, particularly as radiation damage is very hard to recover from, if you can recover at all.

 

[Sucros]

If you have heroes of horror, consider the "corruption" rules in the taint section for radiation. I'm of the opinion that radiation should be of the dangerous positive energy variety. It is effectively light, which is the source of all life, just way more dangerous. Ie. Radiation is to positive energy as fire damage is to a space heater.

 

[jmucchiello]

What element would "radiation" be in D&D? Fire?

For example, radiation from xrays, gamma rays, etc. or "plutonium."

I'm curious. Why do you want to complicate things? None of the iconic critters have any influence over/defense against "radiation". The game assumes that such energies don't exist. Is there a reason you are adding radiation?

Do heavy metals (lead, mercury, etc) kill an Otyugh like they would a human who ingested them? Can your players make gunpower? If x-rays and the standard electromagnetic spectrum exist how does darkvision work? Once you open one technology to the game, you start having to deal with all of them.

Be that as it may, personally I'd treat radiation as "acid" since stone is immune to fire since it can't oxidize. Radiation can weaken stone like acid can. It also helps you sidestep the "catching on fire" rules.

 

[Ripzerai]

In The Inner Planes campaign sourcebook for Planescape, the effects of radiation poisoning (though not necessarily the same explanation for it) are replicated in a region called the Glowing Dunes, which exists at the boundary between the Paraelemental Plane of Magma and the Quasielemental Plane of Radiance. The volcanic ash from the Plane of Magma slowly become more metallic as you approach the Plane of Radiance, and they begin emitting poisonous light and energy.

 

[Shemeska]

Beaten to the punch by Kobold Avenger and Rip.

But even without the Glowing Dunes, I could see an argument for a similar effect for other fractionalized elements/bleedover regions, and most of them would be touching upon Quasielemental Radiance in one form or another. Imagine air-based radiation creatures that were the remnants of creatures from an earlier configuration of the inner planes (like the Wavefire is) swirling though quasielemental lightning, or quasielemental radiance giving off a toxic aura of burning light or stinging air etc.

 

[rounser]

Radiation has far more in common with light, than it does with fire

Some of it. X-ray and gamma radiation (high energy photons), yes, but alpha (nuclei) and beta (electrons or positrons), no. Alpha is the most damaging, but also the least penetrating, even in air, making it probably somewhat useless as a weapon because of limited range....technically, you could call it "earth" because of the matter involved. Really, really intense x-ray or gamma would probably make for the best weapon. The invisible and silent application looks like air, and the result (radiation burns) looks like fire. The sickness looks like disease, and disintegration looks like magic. It's a tough cookie to categorise in D&D terms...why not have a go at antimatter while you're at it?

You'd need thousands of grays of dose to get on-the-spot disintegrations, but that's probably the most "D&D friendly" effect. Lesser effects start with severe skin burns, losing all bowel lining (causing starvation), or central nervous system and cardiovascular integrity falling apart, which will cause death in a few days, or years if all that's survived and it causes a cancer...so if it doesn't kill it's probably best handled as a disease. All in all it's effects seem to mirror that of unflashy unholy magic to the observer. Radioactive "evil artifacts" anyone?

In another idea, radiation could be what the beholder's disintegration ray really is. All in all I think it belongs in the "too hard" box, except as an abstraction under D&D physics (such as making it's only effect disintegration, or burns).

 

[Aaron L]

In Dragonstar, radiation is its own energy which requires its own energy resistance spells to reduce.

Also,
Lasers = Fire
Concussion grenades = Sonic

Radiation Elementals are teh rad.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Not exactly. X-ray and gamma radiation (high energy photons), yes, but alpha (nuclei) and beta (electrons or positrons), no. Alpha is the most damaging, but also the least penetrating, even in air, making it probably somewhat useless as a weapon because of limited range....technically, you could call it "earth" because of the matter involved. Really intense gamma would probably be the best weapon. The invisible and silent application looks like air, and the result (radiation burns) looks like fire. The sickness looks like disease, and disintegration looks like magic. It's a tough cookie to categorise in D&D terms...why not have a go at antimatter while you're at it?

That is the problem, trying to model it well leads to a variable mechanism that's rather complex with different associations in different circumstances. If possible I prefer to group new things in with existing mechanics if I can make them fit. I decided a while back that if radiation were to feature in a campaign I would treat it as a form of vile damage rather than an element associated energy type damage with secondary disease mechanics. It isn't as accurate, but it remains faithful to the overall popular archetype of radiation. Being Vile damage it bypasses most immunities, resistances, DR or other protective measures and is difficult to prevent or heal. Radiation could be modern popular culture's equivalent to the invisible demons sometimes blamed for spreading the plague in earlier times. You can't see it, can't tell it's there, but it can reach out and kill even the powerful and is almost impossible to avoid or heal from. So I also associate it with fiends, and especially with yugoloths. Vileness is pretty much the yugoloth reason for being so I give them immunity to Vile damage as a type feature and the other fiends varying levels of resistance.

You'd need thousands of grays of dose to get on-the-spot disintegrations, but that's probably the most "D&D friendly" effect. Lesser effects probably start with severe skin burns, losing all your bowel lining (causing starvation), or central nervous system and cardiovascular integrity falling apart, which will cause death in a few days, or years if all that's survived and it causes a cancer, so if it doesn't kill it's probably best handled as a disease....In another idea, radiation could be what the beholder's disintegration ray really is.

Good idea with the beholder! I also liked the arguments equating radiation with the searing light, etc. spells and making it an untyped energy, both interesting. (Just the thought of that many grays makes me want to decontaminate the planet)

 

[Stalker0]

Light spells can't be negated with any resistances or DR (searing light). I would say its just damage.

 

[airwalkrr]

Knowing what I do about the effects of radiation, I would say it deals Con drain.