stacking DR

[Korivan]

Quick question. Lets say we have a barbarian with some DR/-, then he was equipped with adamantine armor for about 3/- more. do they stack?

[Salanmander]

Nope, sorry.

You get the best DR for any particular situation, but they never stack. So if you have DR 3/- and DR 10/magic, you'll have DR 10 vs. non-magic weapons, and DR 3 vs. magic weapons. With, say DR 1/- and DR 3/-, you'd have DR 3 vs. everything.

[sonofzeal]

Salanmander is entirely correct.

It's also kind of a stupid rule. Feel free to houserule it out - I've never heard anything that becomes broken that way. The only way to fast-stack DR that I know of is already explicitly stackable; making the rest stack too won't create any brokenness.

[Salanmander]

Salanmander is entirely correct.

It's also kind of a stupid rule. Feel free to houserule it out - I've never heard anything that becomes broken that way. The only way to fast-stack DR that I know of is already explicitly stackable; making the rest stack too won't create any brokenness.

Agreed. I think WotC VASTLY underestimated the speed of combat, leading them to overestimate the value of DR and fast healing.

[limejuicepowder]

Agreed. I think WotC VASTLY underestimated the speed of combat, leading them to overestimate the value of DR and fast healing.

Take a look at some of the example characters. It's common to see melee-tank types (I use the term loosely) pawing away with +13 attack bonus and 1d8+4 damage....at level 9. Clearly, they're playing a different game.

[sonofzeal]

Take a look at some of the example characters. It's common to see melee-tank types (I use the term loosely) pawing away with +13 attack bonus and 1d8+4 damage....at level 9. Clearly, they're playing a different game.
Where's that? Tordek's (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cc/20000626d)got +13/+8(1d10+6), two levels earlier.

[Soranar]

Didn't DR of the same type stack?

In this particular case, barbarian DR/ - isn't the same as adamantine DR but say a warlock's cold iron DR would stack with more cold iron DR sources (fey heritage or playing a race with cold iron DR for example)

[Ernir]

Didn't DR of the same type stack?

In this particular case, barbarian DR/ - isn't the same as adamantine DR but say a warlock's cold iron DR would stack with more cold iron DR sources (fey heritage or playing a race with cold iron DR for example)

No, they don't. See the last paragraph of Damage Reduction. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#damageReduction)

[Roguenewb]

I usually use DR as "gates" (and I know this is a house rule), to get to the player or creature, each packet of damage has to go through all the gates. If you have DR 5/Silver, 3/- and 4/Adamantine. If you have a steel sword and deal 20 damage, it gets checked by the silver gate, are you silver it asks? It says, nope, and 5 damage is prevented. Next it comes to the adamantine armor and is asked, are you adamantine? Again your sword says no, and you lose 4 more damage. Finally the /- asks... do you exist? (I guess), and takes 3 more damage off. Damage is reduced by 5, then by 4, and finally by 3. So 12 less.

[Madcrafter]

If you take a common sense approach (eg houserule), they should stack. After all, the sword has to go through both the armour and the barbarian's badassery to get to any vital stuff.

If you want some stacking DR though, you can use the Roll With It feat from SS. Explicitly stacks, gives DR 2/-, and can be taken multiple times. I built a fun bodyguard that used that and shield other once.

[Korivan]

I figured as much, and yes, we will be house ruling it out. If people started getting DR 50/- or more I could see it as overpowering. But 10 to 20 DR/- can easily overcome with modest attempts.

[limejuicepowder]

Where's that? Tordek's (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cc/20000626d)got +13/+8(1d10+6), two levels earlier.

Oh he's cooking with gas now.

Kybrin, pg 54 of ToM. +13 +8, 1d8+3. CR9.

Breven Holstoff, pg 63 of ToM. +18 +13 +8, 1d8+5+1d6. CR15.

Harlech, pg 68 of CW. +16 +11, 1d8+6 (bow). CR10

Mathurin, pg 56 of CW. +24 +19 +14 +9. 1d10+7. CR16

I wasn't speaking literally I suppose, but those are pretty bad. Breven could at least use TH power attack, but Kybrin and Mathurin are sword/board. Harlech has an even worse melee attack, or he can plunk away with his bow.

Imagine trying to use those stats against DR and fast healing? Maybe that's why fast healing and DR are so highly valued.

[demigodus]

I figured as much, and yes, we will be house ruling it out. If people started getting DR 50/- or more I could see it as overpowering. But 10 to 20 DR/- can easily overcome with modest attempts.

Actually, magic spells ignore DR. As do elemental attacks.

So I would argue that even DR 50/- isn't overpowering. That player just created a character that is REALLY good at taking hits in melee. Kinda like a glorified monk. Without some lockdown capabilities on his party, or something in the party that forces the enemies to go through him, he would STILL fail at tanking. If he has something like that, the party is just using excellent tactics to deal with melee characters. They probably deserve the edge at that point.

Just throw a few casters at them every so often if the player ends up outshining the party.

tldr: magic ignores DR, so DR is never overpowering so long as there is magic on the enemy side, and you don't also have insane magic resistance.

[Korivan]

I'd only really argue 50/- is overpowering against non casters. And most things in the monster manual that don't deal with special attacks. I know a lot of pc builds can deal more then 100 damage in melee without breaking rules or performing cheesy stuff.

[Togath]

Where's that? Tordek's (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cc/20000626d)got +13/+8(1d10+6), two levels earlier.

The guy who wrote those articles didn't even seem to have read the rulebooks, tordek would already be proficient with dwarven waraxes(and the guy who wrote it gave him exotic weapon proficiency for it, then again, the guy to wrote those was pretty bad at writing stats for everything)