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crimson77
2007-09-07, 08:22 AM
Here is my question, maybe some of you can shed light on my predicament.

Here is the situation. The party is faced with a Troll (only harmed by fire and acid), one member of the party is a cleric and casts Searing Light (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/searingLight.htm). Does this spell do fire damage? If not, how would you characterize the damage the spell does?

Dhavaer
2007-09-07, 08:30 AM
It deals untyped damage.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-07, 08:31 AM
A spell only does fire damage if the spell says it is fire damage. The damage done by searing light has no such qualifier.

As it's a divine spell, I'd simply describe the damage in character as coming from some sort of generic holy energy. You know—the type that has absolutely no game meaning whatsoever.

Starsinger
2007-09-07, 11:06 AM
Searing Light, Sunbeam, and Sunburst deal the hidden "Light" type damage, which is extra effective on undead and fungi.

meet shield
2007-09-07, 11:26 AM
it does damage of good energy, else if you have got energy sostitucion...

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-07, 11:31 AM
it does damage of good energy, else if you have got energy sostitucion...
The damage is completely untyped. And the spell has no energy descriptor, so it is unaffected by Energy Substitution. And "Good" is not a form of Energy for the purposes of Energy Substitution or any other effect that refers to Energy.

Indon
2007-09-07, 11:40 AM
And "Good" is not a form of Energy for the purposes of Energy Substitution or any other effect that refers to Energy.

Yeah, Good is like an energy subtype. There are a number of those, concepts defined only nebulously in spell and feat descriptions.

crimson77
2007-09-07, 01:50 PM
Thank you for your answers. You helped clear somethings up for me.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-07, 02:08 PM
Yeah, Good is like an energy subtype. There are a number of those, concepts defined only nebulously in spell and feat descriptions.
Well, see the PHB Glossary entry for "energy damage," and it'll tell you the forms of energy are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. When it comes to Energy, that's what the rules refer to.

With spells, Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos are alignment descriptors. Their only real purpose is to put restrictions on divine spellcasters. It has nothing to do with damage types or anything else.

Chronos
2007-09-07, 02:10 PM
If there were a Good damage type, it would seem to be the sort of damage done by Holy Smite, which doesn't particularly resemble that from Searing Light, Sunbeam, etc. On the Holy Smite side, it doesn't affect good creatures at all, and doesn't have any special effect vs. undead (beyond the fact that most undead happen to be evil). Plus, it can only be cast by good divine characters. The light-damage spells, on the other hand, don't care about the alignment of their target, do extra damage vs. undead (including the odd good undead), and can be cast by a person of any alignment, including (in some cases) arcane characters.

Indon
2007-09-07, 02:36 PM
Well, see the PHB Glossary entry for "energy damage," and it'll tell you the forms of energy are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. When it comes to Energy, that's what the rules refer to.

With spells, Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos are alignment descriptors. Their only real purpose is to put restrictions on divine spellcasters. It has nothing to do with damage types or anything else.

Actually, you're right. I was thinking of Positive energy when I talked about subtypes and such.

Dausuul
2007-09-07, 05:26 PM
By RAW, searing light does untyped damage. That said, if the PCs had no source of fire or acid available, I would probably stretch a point and let searing light count as fire damage, only for negating the regen of evil creatures.

However, if they had other ways to do lethal damage to the troll, I'd stick to the letter of the rules.

Anxe
2007-09-08, 09:15 AM
Searing Light deals Light Damage. Light damage only affects certain creatures adversely as listed in the spell description and is beneficial to even less. When it helps a creature the creature's description will say that somewhere.

Starbuck_II
2007-09-08, 10:41 AM
By RAW, searing light does untyped damage. That said, if the PCs had no source of fire or acid available, I would probably stretch a point and let searing light count as fire damage, only for negating the regen of evil creatures.

However, if they had other ways to do lethal damage to the troll, I'd stick to the letter of the rules.

Come on: none of them can afford a torch?

Ralfarius
2007-09-08, 12:00 PM
Yeah, I wouldn't give searing light as an anti-troll weapon.

This little tidbit is from the Regeneration description in the SRD (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monsterTypes.html)

Regeneration (Ex): A creature with this ability is difficult to kill. Damage dealt to the creature is treated as nonlethal damage. The creature automatically heals nonlethal damage at a fixed rate per round, as given in the entry. Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, deal lethal damage to the creature, which doesn’t go away. The creature’s descriptive text describes the details. A regenerating creature that has been rendered unconscious through nonlethal damage can be killed with a coup de grace. The attack cannot be of a type that automatically converts to nonlethal damage.

Attack forms that don’t deal hit point damage ignore regeneration. Regeneration also does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. Regenerating creatures can regrow lost portions of their bodies and can reattach severed limbs or body parts; details are in the creature’s descriptive text. Severed parts that are not reattached wither and die normally.

A creature must have a Constitution score to have the regeneration ability.
I put a little bold for emphasis there.

You don't need to do nothing but fire damage to a troll. Just beat it like a rented mule until it's unconscious, light a torch (or start a fire, while continuing to beat it), and poke it in the face with the fire. There you have an ex-troll.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-08, 01:40 PM
Searing Light deals Light Damage. Light damage only affects certain creatures adversely as listed in the spell description and is beneficial to even less. When it helps a creature the creature's description will say that somewhere.
Uh, no.

There is no rule that I have read that provides for "Light damage."

And if a spell were to deal Light damage, it would say the damage was "Light damage." The description of searing light says no such thing.

AtomicKitKat
2007-09-08, 01:44 PM
Searing Light, Sunburst, et al pretty much just do "Divine Damage". If you really want to get technical, they're "extra-strength sunlight".:smalltongue:

Leon
2007-09-09, 01:09 AM
Come on: none of them can afford a torch?

My best kill on a troll was with a Torch - 34 Fire Damage to a River Troll

TheOOB
2007-09-09, 01:27 AM
Uh, no.

There is no rule that I have read that provides for "Light damage."

And if a spell were to deal Light damage, it would say the damage was "Light damage." The description of searing light says no such thing.

Though if a creature mentions that they take additional damage from light based spells, it's reasonable for a DM to make that apply to searing light. Thats purely DM fiat though.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-09, 10:51 AM
Though if a creature mentions that they take additional damage from light based spells, it's reasonable for a DM to make that apply to searing light. Thats purely DM fiat though.
Sure. But there is no codified Light damage type to make that sort of situation easier.