Endure Elements Question

[Chilingsworth]

I just noticed a discrepency in the Endure Elements spell:


A creature protected by endure elements suffers no harm from being in a hot or cold environment. It can exist comfortably in conditions between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit without having to make Fortitude saves). The creature’s equipment is likewise protected.

Endure elements doesn’t provide any protection from fire or cold damage, nor does it protect against other environmental hazards such as smoke, lack of air, and so forth.


The two bolded sections seem to contridict eachother. Specifically, the enviornment itself starts dealing actual cold damage at -20 degrees F. So... does the spell let you be perfectly comfortable while getting frostbite? :smallconfused:

[Pandiano]

RAI: Protects from damage from enviroment, but not from attacks.
RAW: Amazingly hilarious!

[Yuki Akuma]

It just says you can exist comfortably without having to make Fortitude saves.

So at -20 degrees, you take the automatic coldlethal damage, but don't take the nonlethal damage.

Also technically frostbite is from the nonlethal damage, the coldlethal damage doesn't cause frostbite. :smallwink:

[Andezzar]

Cold environments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#coldDangers) don't actually deal elemental cold damage, just generic non-lethal and lethal damage.

[Chilingsworth]

Cold environments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#coldDangers) don't actually deal elemental cold damage, just generic non-lethal and lethal damage.

Well, that's a whole nother level of wierdness. Also, if you happen to wear metal armor, it does deal cold damage (since it affects you as per chill metal.)

I also note that the opposite extreme doesn't have this conflict, since heat only starts dealing lethal damage at 140 degrees.

[Ashtagon]

RAI: Protects from damage from environment, but not from attacks.
RAW: Amazingly hilarious!

This. Very much this.

[JaronK]

Well, that's a whole nother level of wierdness. Also, if you happen to wear metal armor, it does deal cold damage (since it affects you as per chill metal.)

I also note that the opposite extreme doesn't have this conflict, since heat only starts dealing lethal damage at 140 degrees.

Note that having resistance to cold damage does raise your resistance to cold weather based damage, so it actually works okay.

JaronK

[Bagger]

This. Very much this.

So much true!

WotC have never been known for clever wording =)

[Kumori]

I generally houserule that a creature with at least one point of resistance to Cold or Fire is immune to the nonlethal damage from severe whether exposure on that end of the spectrum, and the resistance is applied to the lethal damage.

[Andezzar]

I generally houserule that a creature with at least one point of resistance to Cold or Fire is immune to the nonlethal damage from severe whether exposure on that end of the spectrum, and the resistance is applied to the lethal damage.There are rules similar to this in Frostburn/Sandstorm.