D&D 5E What is Force Damage?

[Dausuul]

If I had to explain it, I'd go with "pattern disruption," since that seems to line up with the largest number of force effects.

But it isn't very consistent. Force damage is mostly just "This effect is kinda magical, has no obvious elemental associations, and should be able to hurt virtually everything."

 

[Tonguez]

Force is the fundamental forces: gravity, strong and weak nuclear forces, and electromagnetic force.

While force normally equates to gravity and similar, force can also be the nuclear forces, whence disintegration, and so on.

I am torn between including electromagnetic force with "force" or "lightning" or "radiant". Probably the magentism is "force".

One can conjure a virtual object made out of force (Wall of Force, Tiny Hut, etcetera) in which case it might behave as if an object. I view quasi-real illusions as employing force.

In another game I had Force be the fundamental essence of Bulk Motion - the Push/Pull which results in Stress (balanced) and Motion (unbalanced stress).
In that way Force includes Gravity and Nuclear Force but can conviniently exclude Electromagnetic etc

Orbril the gnome, Lecturer in Applied Alchemy and Natural Philosophies climbed up onto the podium, hauling himself up over the jutting ledge before standing to his full 14 inches, brushing off his pants before making his address to the assembly
‘It seems to me that the Force is the essence of Motion” he began surveying the room and doing his best to project his voice “moving both outward and inward, forward and back and in all possible directions. It is the balance of these motions that causes things to adhere, such as our feet upon the ground, the stability of the bubble and even the very structure of this grand hall in which we now stand. The architect and the engineer must account for the balance of forces and thus taking from the architects I propose to call this balance of forces Stress.
So friends, do we agree that all things are possessed of motion, from the stars in the heavens, the creaking of this old assembly hall, the wheels of the Bursars carriage, to the steps of our own feet and it is by causing stess by the unbalancing Force that such Motion can be seen”

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[Faolyn]

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

Sunburns.

 

[J.Quondam]

Force damage is caused by invisible force fairies that pop in and snap the target with rubberbands.
Magic missile is a little force fairy with a little rubberband.
Disintegrate is a little force fairy with a very big rubberband.

 

[Fenris-77]

insert Star Wars GIF here

 

[Ancalagon]

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

your cells burn out from over-metabolism, aging a hundred years in a few moments

edit: personally I see radiant as radiation damage

 

[Slit518]

I am not sure if anyone has said this, but I see Force damage as a disruption of the fabric of what holds the natural laws of the universe together.

 

[Yaarel]

I am not sure if anyone has said this, but I see Force damage as a disruption of the fabric of what holds the natural laws of the universe together.

That is kinda what the fundamental forces are: "the fabric of what holds the natural laws of the universe together".

Gravity etcetra also relate to the fabric of time, and to consciousness (quantum observer effect, Schroedingers Cat).

 

[Yaarel]

The medieval and renaissance understanding of "ether", the fifth element, as both "force" and "consciousness" (soul, spirit, mind) is somewhat on target.

The Grand Unification Theory is an attempt to figure out how these separate forces are all products of a single principle.

 

[Swarmkeeper]