Why you hittin' yo'self? (damage reduction questions)

[reveal]

Ryan, I thought you'd have a better grasp of the DR rules given that you're a published author, and having been here a long time.

Just because he's a published author that does not immediately make him familiar with all the rules. He's probably posting the question to help himself undertand them better.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Just because he's a published author that does not immediately make him familiar with all the rules. He's probably posting the question to help himself undertand them better.

Really. More importantly, was that insult really called for? How did it help your post, Staffan?

 

[devrimk]

Originally Posted by reveal
Didn't you already do that? You posted (DR4/Silver). Is that not his DR? I don't understand the question.

Also he is 20th level Barbarian and have DR 5/- his DR is stack or DR 4/Silver is useless?

 

[reveal]

Also he is 20th level Barbarian and have DR 5/- his DR is stack or DR 4/Silver is useless?

Ah. I think I see what you're saying. No, DRs do not stack. You use whichever is better in a given situation.

 

[Staffan]

Really. More importantly, was that insult really called for? How did it help your post, Staffan?

It was more a matter of astonishment than insult, though if Ryan took it as an insult I wish to pre-emptively apologize for it. I just figured that someone who had written a book that's so acclaimed as Elements of Magic and been on ENWorld so long (it's not like this is the first time the topic has come up - we usually have a thread about it per month or so) would have known.

As for the other question posted in the thread: DR generally doesn't stack either, it overlaps (unless there's something that specifically says it stacks). If you have multiple types of DR, the proper way of applying it is to start with checking the one with the largest numeric value first, and then proceeding down the list until you find something that isn't penetrated.

Example: Let's say you have a titan (DR 15/lawful). This titan is also a 10th level barbarian (DR 2/-). He has a 10th level wizard buddy who has just cast stoneskin on him (giving DR 10/adamantine).

He gets attacked by Adam, a 16th level monk, Betty, a 15th level monk, and Cyril, a 16th level fighter with a holy greatsword. Adam hits him, and does 18 points of damage (2d8+mods). First, we test DR 15/lawful - Adam has ki strike (lawful), so that's not a problem. We then test 10/adamantine - Adam has ki strike (adamantine) too, so again not a problem. Finally, we get to DR 2/-, which is a problem. The titan takes 16 points of damage.

Next, Betty takes a shot. She hits and does 12 points of damage (she only does 2d6+mods), and isn't as lucky as Adam. Again, we start with testing the 15/lawful - that's OK, on account of ki strike. Next we try the 10/adamantine - but Betty's hands aren't as poweful as adamantine yet, so she loses 10 points of damage from her attack, and only 2 points of damage goes through.

Last, Cyril gets an opportunity, and does 25 points of damage (2d6+mods+2d6 for holy). However, he runs into trouble even with the 15/lawful DR, so only 10 points get through.

As a side note, had Cyril wielded a flaming sword, that extra d6 would have been treated as separate damage which would not be subject to DR - but would be subject to energy resistance. Titans don't have that, but if he had been fighting a fiend of some sort that would probably have been absorbed.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Also he is 20th level Barbarian and have DR 5/- his DR is stack or DR 4/Silver is useless?

As reveal said, they do not stack. So, DR 4/Silver when you already have DR 5/- is largely useless. I can't think of a use for it actually, so maybe it's entirely useless.

 

[reveal]

As reveal said, they do not stack. So, DR 4/Silver when you already have DR 5/- is largely useless. I can't think of a use for it actually, so maybe it's entirely useless.

Ya, I started to post examples of using one over the other, but found that, since it's DR/-, the DR 4/Silver was pointless.

Staffan has better examples.

 

[GlassJaw]

It was more a matter of astonishment than insult

For the record, I was kind of surprised too, considering the answers were pretty much right in the SRD. Whatever, no biggie.

 

[reveal]

For the record, I was kind of surprised too, considering the answers were pretty much right in the SRD. Whatever, no biggie.

Considering the amount of geeks on here that will quickly jump right in and answer the question, why bother looking it up yourself?

 

[RangerWickett]

Heh. I posted this, then didn't check the thread for a few hours. I didn't have time to take it as an insult. *grin*

So it's okay. I took no offense. I just hadn't had to deal with material DR much, so I assumed it worked the way magic DR worked. As for the barbarian DR, I was pretty sure I knew how it worked, but I was hoping the rules could be lawyered from some amusing illogic (such as how you can beat down a steel door with a whip, but you can't harm someone in full plate).

I think I'm going to house rule that you can, if you're in a grapple, hit a creature with its own natural weapons. I just imagine some epic barbarian, deprived of all his weapons, grappling with the Tarrasque and punching it with its own meaty fist.