Evasion and Elemental Subtype

[Auramis]

According to the rules of evasion, if you succeed a save that normally takes half damage, you take no damage, yet subtypes like fire state that, regardless of saving throws (success or failure), you take 50% of the damage anyway.

If you have evasion, does this 50% damage still apply, or is that evaded as well? I think it does apply, because it states regardless of the save, but my brother disagrees.

[Tar Palantir]

With elemental vulnerability you take 50% extra damage from relevant attacks (think of it as a sort of mini-crit). Evasion turns successful saves into no damage, and with improved evasion you take half. Thus, with both, someone who makes the save without evasion (or fails one with improved evasion) takes 75% rolled damage, and someone who makes the save with evasion takes none.

[Auramis]

Using fire as an example.


A creature with the fire subtype has immunity to fire. It has vulnerability to cold, which means it takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from cold, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

The wording for that seems really clear to me, that, regardless of a successful save or a failure, you take 50% damage that can't be avoided without spells to resist it. I don't see how Evasion works to avoid damage that applies regardless of throws.

[Lateral]

That's not how that works. You take 50% extra damage, as in 'you take the damage inflicted, and add 50% of that on top.'

If you successfully save, and you have evasion, the damage inflicted is zero. Fifty percent of zero is zero. Zero plus zero is zero.

[Auramis]

That's not how that works. You take 50% extra damage, as in 'you take the damage inflicted, and add 50% of that on top.'

If you successfully save, and you have evasion, the damage inflicted is zero. Fifty percent of zero is zero. Zero plus zero is zero.

Worded like that, that makes more sense to me. Sorry for the confusion, guys.