Caltrops Damage Type

[SirNibbles]

I'm trying to find a source that says what kind of damage caltrops deal. Piercing makes the most sense, and danddwiki has it listed in the Piercing Weapon category, but I can't find any official source that explains what type of damage it deals.

[Telonius]

Here's the text from the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#caltrops):


A caltrop is a four-pronged iron spike crafted so that one prong faces up no matter how the caltrop comes to rest. You scatter caltrops on the ground in the hope that your enemies step on them or are at least forced to slow down to avoid them. One 2-pound bag of caltrops covers an area 5 feet square.

Each time a creature moves into an area covered by caltrops (or spends a round fighting while standing in such an area), it might step on one. The caltrops make an attack roll (base attack bonus +0) against the creature. For this attack, the creature’s shield, armor, and deflection bonuses do not count. If the creature is wearing shoes or other footwear, it gets a +2 armor bonus to AC. If the caltrops succeed on the attack, the creature has stepped on one. The caltrop deals 1 point of damage, and the creature’s speed is reduced by one-half because its foot is wounded. This movement penalty lasts for 24 hours, or until the creature is successfully treated with a DC 15 Heal check, or until it receives at least 1 point of magical curing. A charging or running creature must immediately stop if it steps on a caltrop. Any creature moving at half speed or slower can pick its way through a bed of caltrops with no trouble.

Caltrops may not be effective against unusual opponents.

It doesn't list a damage type, so technically it's untyped damage. I think it would be reasonable for a DM to rule that something resistant to piercing damage would count as an "unusual opponent," but that's up to individual interpretation.

[Blue Jay]

Caltrops obviously deal piercing damage, but I'm not sure if the rules actually say it anywhere, so I guess technically Telonius is right.

WotC frequently left off physical damage types in places where I feel it ought to have been defined. Physical damage types are relatively unimportant for most purposes, so I doubt the editors considered it a priority, and it frequently got overlooked.

For a example, the MM Glossary entry for Natural Weapons (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#naturalWeapons) says tentacle attacks deal "bludgeoning (and sometimes slashing) damage," but the individual monster entries usually don't state damage types. Displacer Beasts, for example, are said to "tear at opponents with their tentacles," so it's probably safe to assume that their tentacles deal slashing damage. But the rules don't actually say that: it's just left up to context and common sense, which is rather unfortunate.