Question: Energy Resisted and Ability Damage.

[D4rtagnan]

If a spell would do ability damage to a target with energy resisted as the same source as spell. Would the energy damage still go through.

For example if you hit a creature that resistant to sonic (and yes I know there is not many out there) with a spell like Dirge. Does the creature still take the ability damage even if it a sonic based attack?

[Kelb_Panthera]

If a spell would do ability damage to a target with energy resisted as the same source as spell. Would the energy damage still go through.

For example if you hit a creature that resistant to sonic (and yes I know there is not many out there) with a spell like Dirge. Does the creature still take the ability damage even if it a sonic based attack?

Depends on the specific wording of the spell but generally speaking, if the resistance completely negates the energy damage then the ability damage rider effect is cancelled. If any of the energy damage gets through, even just 1 point, then the ability damage takes hold.

Though most spells that fit your criteria offer a save to negate the ability damage seperately from whatever defenses could've protected you from the energy damage.

[Jeraa]

Energy resistance only stops energy damage of a specific type, not ability damage. It doesn't matter what the subtype of the spell is, only what kind of damage it does.

Dirge is a [Sonic] spell, but it does not do sonic damage. It only does ability damage.

[NoldorForce]

Depends on the specific wording of the spell but generally speaking, if the resistance completely negates the energy damage then the ability damage rider effect is cancelled. If any of the energy damage gets through, even just 1 point, then the ability damage takes hold.Source? (Something like this does occur for injury-based poison, so that may be confusing you.)

In general, the given defense will state how it defends against an attack type. Energy resistance, for instance, reduces typed damage of that sort, so ability damage (which carries no energy type even though it may be from an effect with an energy descriptor) goes right past it. By default all forms of energy immunity (lowercase!) defend against all harmful effects related to that energy, so if you had sonic immunity then any sonic-descriptor effect would deal no damage, hit point (sonic typed) or ability. However, as an exception the Energy Immunity spell (uppercase!) explicitly defends only against hit point damage - watch out.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Source? (Something like this does occur for injury-based poison, so that may be confusing you.)

In general, the given defense will state how it defends against an attack type. Energy resistance, for instance, reduces typed damage of that sort, so ability damage (which carries no energy type even though it may be from an effect with an energy descriptor) goes right past it. By default all forms of energy immunity (lowercase!) defend against all harmful effects related to that energy, so if you had sonic immunity then any sonic-descriptor effect would deal no damage, hit point (sonic typed) or ability. However, as an exception the Energy Immunity spell (uppercase!) explicitly defends only against hit point damage - watch out.

I was making a generality about the common wording of spells that do energy damage and cause ability damage simultaneously, rather than citing a specific rule.

Many spells that do both actually say that negating the hp damage will negate the ability damage as well, in their descriptions.

I didn't actually look up the example spell the OP gave. Sonic resistance of any level below immunity won't prevent or reduce the spell's effect if all it does is ability damage.