Wounding Weapon vs. Damage Reduction???

[Lord Pendragon]

Still, contact poisons still work, flaming still works, why would wounding 'not' work? It doesnt seem to be dependant on actually dealing damage, mayhaps merely coming in contact with something it magically sucks out some blood.

Why do injury poisons not work? Why do diseases not work? Because some effects are negated by DR. Wounding has always been, and from the flavor text certainly seems to still be, dependant on making a wound. It's not a touch attack, so "merely coming in contact with something it sucks out some blood" doesn't work. It creates a wound that causes significant blood loss. Enough for the victim to lose con....so long as you can get through his DR.

 

[Scion]

It has the same wording as flaming, other than it says the damage is via 'blood loss', whatever that means in game terms.

One does con damage on a successful hit (note, not successful damage) the other does fire damage on a successful hit.

Do we know if wounding works just by touching someone? nope, but then we dont know that about flaming either.

The old wounding made a wound that kept on bleeding, that seems to be where the blood loss wording comes from. However, the new wounding does something very different than the old, so assumptions based on it can not be used.

Injury and disease do not work because you have to have an actual wound through which to transmit the badness, no such mention is made on wounding (at least in the srd).

I believe that wounding would even penetrate regeneration for that matter. Even if the weapon only does subdual normally to the creature.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I can see your argument, though, for the purposes of my games, I disagree with it. Without mentioning some other form of transfer, I think "blood loss" can be, and should be, ruled to occur as a result of an actual wound, which would require actual damage. If the blade were to magically suck blood from the body without any wound required, I think there'd be a mechanical touch attack option (as is, in fact, the case with a Rapier of Puncturing.) As there is not, and the flavor text mentions blood loss, it seems clear to me that Wounding does not function if a wound isn't made.

 

[Scion]

I understand, but flaming does not mention any sort of touch attack either, yet it sounds like you might allow it one anyway.

I think that sucking out whatever counts as con via touching works about as well as burning someone with a flaming weapon, and really I would allow either one unless something comes up to say it shouldnt work that way.

If nothing else, I suppose it could be thought of in the same way as a contact poison, yet magical in nature. I would prefer the whole 'blood loss' wording to be gone and instead a more general explanation put up.. like maybe it corrupts the persons vital fluids (not in the evil way, just in the bad and sickly gangrene sort of way)