D&D 5E What is Force Damage?

[payn]

I forgot about radiant. Is that still a thing in 5E?

 

[GMMichael]

Technically speaking, force damage is a wave function of reverse-polarity gravitons that use quantum tunneling to affect an imaginary-phase field, which creates a parallel symmetry-structure affecting the spin and level of all matched particles at a known distance from the probable source.

But it's a whole lot easier to say "pure magical energy in a damaging form."

 

[Cadence]

Well, I think kinetic energy is more about the physics than the actual mass.

In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes.

It's the best way I can come up with to try and explain it. Not saying its a slam dunk.

"A pandimensional analogue of kinetic energy that is able to affect anything not pandimensionally shielded"?

 

[Lyxen]

Right. But what it actually looks like? If you're hurt by radiant, what sort of wounds you have?

Uncontrolled mutation ? Cancer ?

Joke aside, I think that it's just that too much life in a body is hurtful, so it's mostly burning, look at Flame Strike, which combines the two.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Technically speaking, force damage is a wave function of reverse-polarity gravitons that use quantum tunneling to affect an imaginary-phase field, which creates a parallel symmetry-structure affecting the spin and level of all matched particles at a known distance from the probable source.

But it's a whole lot easier to say "pure magical energy in a damaging form."

okay, I have no idea what you mean by that but is that what warp In mass effect does as that is how I imagined forces damage working.

 

[Mannahnin]

Force damage covers Magic Missile and Disintegrate, it also seems to cover teleportation mishaps or being incorporeal in solid matter. So in some cases would it be "physical pattern disruption"? But then some there's Telekinetic attacks, sometimes they're force but other times they are bludgeoning damage.

Also what's Force damage it generally supposed to supposed to look like? Some of the spells it seems to resemble concentrated light in the form of pulses like Magic Missile or beams like Disintegrate, but it could be invisible or maybe a distortion effect.

I think the telekinetic attacks which have the Bludgeoning damage type are normally supposed to be the victim getting struck by some tk-manipulated physical object.

If we posit magic as being a kind of energy in the physics sense, then Force represents that energy being directly channeled into the target as an attack, rather than powering some other physical manifestation which is then used as an attack, like a bolt of fire or a jet of acid.

 

[HammerMan]

it seems to be a catch all...

Although I like the theory that Magic Missle is a very minor disintegrate effect.

 

[J.Quondam]

Assuming magic is a "baked in" aspect of the universe in the same way that spacetime and whatnot are, (perhaps, eg, a "fabric" or "the Weave") then maybe Force damage arises from destabilization of that magical medium? Maybe a sort of entropy effect in the magic medium?

So as a low-power manifestation, magic missile just sort of jostles the magical medium in a target before it snaps all back into place, leaving little more than a painful welt on the body or concussion in the brain.
Disintegrate, at its most effective, violently disrupts that magical medium, leaving the target completely dissociated; whereas in the lower-damage case leaves a target generally pulped, singed and/or discombobulated.

On the other hand, force objects like wall of force and so forth, arise from a controlled "crystallization" of that magical medium-- the opposite of an entropic effect. The spells are all about shaping it and cranking its "hardness" up or down. And when hit with a force damage spell, the result more often than not is just a cancellation of the two effects.

Anyway, my 2cp. I never really thought about it. Until now, I've envisioned it as just bludgeoning-but-not-really-bludgeoning or something.

 

[aco175]

I found this which gives an ok answer. It states;

Force Damage is almost like the building block of damaging spells, at least that’s how I envision it. It is pure magical energy before any of the elemental damage types are added to the spell.

Seems as good as any. There is also some things about specific spells and monsters.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I used the term "physical pattern disruption" since force seems to cover Disintegrate, being Incorporeal but ending your turn in a solid object, or Teleporting into an object.