Energy Resistance Stacking

[Laniius]

Does energy resistance from multiple sources stack? For instance, I want to make a tiefling favoured soul. The tiefling gets fire, cold, and electricity resistance 5, and the favoured soul gets energy resistance 10 to 3 energy types. If I make a tiefling favoured soul, does that mean I can get energy resistance 15 to fire, cold, and electricity?

[sonofzeal]

I'd take the better of the two, but then allow spells to stack on top of that.

[tyckspoon]

Check your sources and see if they say whether or not they stack. Otherwise, the only general rule I know is that 'natural' energy resistance does not stack with energy resistance from a spell- that clause is in the rules for the 'Resistance to Energy' special ability. In the absence of any other specific instructions from the source of the ability, I would assume they stack.

[ericgrau]

The cost of energy resistances seems to be linear, i.e. twice as much costs roughly twice as much, so letting them stack from 2 different sources seems fair. Dunno why spells were made the exception. I suppose that's too easy to get a high resistance whereas templates and class features cost you LA and class features.

[KillianHawkeye]

It doesn't stack without a specific exception, just like damage reduction doesn't stack.

[tyckspoon]

It doesn't stack without a specific exception, just like damage reduction doesn't stack.

Do you have a reference for that? Damage Reduction tells you it doesn't stack in the rule for Damage Reduction itself. Energy Resistance (or rather Resistance to Energy, which is what they filed it under for some reason) doesn't have that kind of language in it; it just tells you it doesn't stack with energy resistance gained from spells, which leaves all kinds of other sources that presumably do stack.

[Zaq]

Do you have a reference for that? Damage Reduction tells you it doesn't stack in the rule for Damage Reduction itself. Energy Resistance (or rather Resistance to Energy, which is what they filed it under for some reason) doesn't have that kind of language in it; it just tells you it doesn't stack with energy resistance gained from spells, which leaves all kinds of other sources that presumably do stack.

Rules Compendium, page 48. They don't stack, sadly.

There are specific exceptions, but they're just that . . . exceptions.

[tyckspoon]

Rules Compendium, page 48. They don't stack, sadly.

There are specific exceptions, but they're just that . . . exceptions.

Gah. Freaking Rules Compendium errata. You're not supposed to make people pay for it when you want to change rules like that. *Grumble grumble* *makes a note of that one next to the Swift wands and AMF line-of-effect thing*

[Lord Vukodlak]

Gah. Freaking Rules Compendium errata. You're not supposed to make people pay for it when you want to change rules like that. *Grumble grumble* *makes a note of that one next to the Swift wands and AMF line-of-effect thing*

They didn't change the rules they never stacked, items/spells that give you energy resistance give you a falt number, they don't say you gain +10 energy resistance vs... They say you gain energy resistance 10

Furthermore

Resistance To Energy

A creature with resistance to energy has the ability (usually extraordinary) to ignore some damage of a certain type each round, but it does not have total immunity.

Each resistance ability is defined by what energy type it resists and how many points of damage are resisted. It doesn’t matter whether the damage has a mundane or magical source.

When resistance completely negates the damage from an energy attack, the attack does not disrupt a spell. This resistance does not stack with the resistance that a spell might provide.

[Xtomjames]

A simple answer: Energy resistances stack. If you have a monster that has energy resistance 5 fire and then take a class that provides energy resistance 10 fire your character has a total of fire resistance 15. This doesn't stack with spell resistance. Spells that provide energy resistance in the same way also stack as do items. However it must explicitly be the same. There are some spells that aren't resistance so much as absorption, even though they read the same. Spells that indicate that "after X amount of damage has been absorbed the spell ends" do not stack with normal energy resistance.

Energy resistances of different types do not stack but overlap. For example if you had a twisted spell that caused both fire and cold damage, and you had Fire Resistance 10 but no cold resistance, then you'd absorb only 10 points of fire damage and take the cold damage. If you had resistance to both you'd negate damage according to both but they couldn't affect any element not associated with the resistance.

This is the same for DR. If your character has natural DR, say like a Pixie with DR 10/ Cold Iron and you get another item that has DR/Cold Iron the two stack. DRs of other types over lap instead and do not combine. Thus if you have DR Cold Iron 5 and DR Magic 10, then you'd have to choose which DR was more appropriate for the damage being taken and apply only one of the two DRs.

It should be noted that there is a discrepancy between the DMG, Rules Compendium, and Unearthed Arcana about the functions of DR that is X/-. The DMG says that DR's don't stack period, the Rules Compendium leaves out the stacking altogether, and Unearthed Arcana says that unless a DR is specific to an type (cold iron, magic, good, evil, etc~ in other words it looks like DR 5/Magic) the DR's stack. So if you have Adamantine Armor that grants DR 2/- and natural DR 5/magic the two would stack granting DR 7/magic.

There is also discrepancies between Pathfinder, Dark Sun 3.5, Dragonlance 3.5 and D&D 3.5 on some of these rules.

[Zaq]

A simple answer: Energy resistances stack. If you have a monster that has energy resistance 5 fire and then take a class that provides energy resistance 10 fire your character has a total of fire resistance 15. This doesn't stack with spell resistance. Spells that provide energy resistance in the same way also stack as do items. However it must explicitly be the same. There are some spells that aren't resistance so much as absorption, even though they read the same. Spells that indicate that "after X amount of damage has been absorbed the spell ends" do not stack with normal energy resistance.

Energy resistances of different types do not stack but overlap. For example if you had a twisted spell that caused both fire and cold damage, and you had Fire Resistance 10 but no cold resistance, then you'd absorb only 10 points of fire damage and take the cold damage. If you had resistance to both you'd negate damage according to both but they couldn't affect any element not associated with the resistance.

This is the same for DR. If your character has natural DR, say like a Pixie with DR 10/ Cold Iron and you get another item that has DR/Cold Iron the two stack. DRs of other types over lap instead and do not combine. Thus if you have DR Cold Iron 5 and DR Magic 10, then you'd have to choose which DR was more appropriate for the damage being taken and apply only one of the two DRs.

It should be noted that there is a discrepancy between the DMG, Rules Compendium, and Unearthed Arcana about the functions of DR that is X/-. The DMG says that DR's don't stack period, the Rules Compendium leaves out the stacking altogether, and Unearthed Arcana says that unless a DR is specific to an type (cold iron, magic, good, evil, etc~ in other words it looks like DR 5/Magic) the DR's stack. So if you have Adamantine Armor that grants DR 2/- and natural DR 5/magic the two would stack granting DR 7/magic.

There is also discrepancies between Pathfinder, Dark Sun 3.5, Dragonlance 3.5 and D&D 3.5 on some of these rules.

I'm pretty sure this is absolutely false.

[Lord Vukodlak]

I'm pretty sure this is absolutely false.

It is absolutely fake

[KillianHawkeye]

I'm pretty sure this is absolutely false.

Agreement. :smallannoyed: