How would you rule this - Undead Shenanigans

[Nibbens]

Say you're doing an underwater adventure. And say there are skeletons around - your typical undead.
Now, lets say the water was boiling (for added challenge). Would you have the boiling water damage and eventually kill the skeleton? Or would the skeleton not ever die from the boiling because it's an inanimate object that wouldn't take damage from boiling water like, say skin, would?

[hamishspence]

Undead are not objects, and skeletons have no particular heat resistance.

Boiling water does "scalding" damage:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#heatDangers

[OldTrees1]

On the other hand, skeletons are immune to cold. So frigid waters would hurt the PCs but not the skeletons.

[Nibbens]

Silly me. Applying logic to pathfinder. lol. You make a point.

[hamishspence]

On the other hand, skeletons are immune to cold. So frigid waters would hurt the PCs but not the skeletons.

Water doesn't get cold enough for skeletal cold immunity to matter - undead are immune to nonlethal damage anyway:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#waterDangers
Very cold water deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from hypothermia per minute of exposure.

Freezing cold air is worse than cold water though:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#coldDangers

Extreme cold (below -20° F) deals 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage.

[OldTrees1]

Water doesn't get cold enough for skeletal cold immunity to matter - undead are immune to nonlethal damage anyway:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#waterDangers
Very cold water deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from hypothermia per minute of exposure.

Freezing cold air is worse than cold water though:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#coldDangers

Extreme cold (below -20° F) deals 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage.

Oh. That seems silly. Then again, I usually use elemental dungeons and ad-hoc hazards.

[hamishspence]

Extraplanar environmental cold can get pretty nasty - as much as 3d12 cold damage per round, in Auril's realm in the Faerun cosmology. Maybe there can be patches of "supercold water" way below freezing.

[Dyllan]

Oh. That seems silly. Then again, I usually use elemental dungeons and ad-hoc hazards.

Not really silly. If water gets below freezing, it becomes ice - and you're no longer dealing with water. But, air can get WAY below freezing, so super-frigid air is colder than water, and thus can do more damage.

[OldTrees1]

Not really silly. If water gets below freezing, it becomes ice - and you're no longer dealing with water. But, air can get WAY below freezing, so super-frigid air is colder than water, and thus can do more damage.

I always pictured Cold damage as being around freezing and colder. (Although water can be below freezing naturally and easily supernaturally)

[Greenish]

Or would the skeleton not ever die from the boiling because it's an inanimate object that wouldn't take damage from boiling water like, say skin, would?An animated skeleton isn't inanimate, by definition.