How many damage types are there?

[frogglesmash]

Specifically referring to damage that targets health.

This is what I've got so far.

Acid
Bludgeoning
City: Via City Magic Feat
Cold
Desiccation: Via a number of sources in Sandstorm
Divine: Via Flame Strike Spell
Ectoplasmic: Via Psychokinetic and Psychokinetic Burst weapons in EXPH
Electricity
Falling
Fire
Force
Frostburn: Via a number of sources in Frostburn
Heat: Via Percolator in Arms and Equipment Guide
Hellfire: Via a number of sources in Fiendish Codex II
Negative Energy
Nonlethal: Modifies other damage types
Piercing
Positive Energy
Scalding: Via boiling water
Slashing
Sonic
Stunning: Via Oozemaster's Oozy Touch
Unholy: Via Corrupt Spell Feat
Untyped
Vile: Via a number of sources in BoVD, modifies other damage types.

Special Mention
Ballistic: Via firearms in D20 Modern

Also, is nonlethal it's own damage type, or is it a quality that gets added to other damage types? <-Solved

[Zaq]

City damage, accessed by using the City Magic feat.

Stunning damage, which as far as I know exists only in the oozemaster's oozy touch ability. Which is dumb. No, it's not just nonlethal damage. The same stupid table has a different ability that does nonlethal.

Desiccation damage, which several game elements in Sandstorm inflict.

Vile damage, dealt by a few things in the Book of Vile Darkness.

Unholy damage, dealt by spells modified with the Corrupt Spell feat.

I feel like there's a few other goofy ones out there, but those are the ones that spring to mind. Maybe count the "divine energy" half of flame strike and similar effects? That isn't called out quite as explicitly as "unholy damage" is, though.

Pretty sure that nonlethal is a tag (for lack of a better term) that gets added to other damage, though untyped damage that is nonlethal might just be called "nonlethal damage."

[KillianHawkeye]

Also, is non lethal it's own damage type, or is it a quality that gets added to other damage types?

Nonlethal is a modifier* to damage taken/dealt, not a damage type. A sap deals bludgeoning damage that happens to be nonlethal. Any damage taken by a troll that isn't either fire or acid is nonlethal to it because of his regeneration. A merciful weapon deals nonlethal damage, but the damage type is not changed by this.

*Not a numeric modifier like a bonus or penalty to damage rolls, though.

[frogglesmash]

City damage, accessed by using the City Magic feat.

Stunning damage, which as far as I know exists only in the oozemaster's oozy touch ability. Which is dumb. No, it's not just nonlethal damage. The same stupid table has a different ability that does nonlethal.

Desiccation damage, which several game elements in Sandstorm inflict.

Vile damage, dealt by a few things in the Book of Vile Darkness.

Unholy damage, dealt by spells modified with the Corrupt Spell feat.

I feel like there's a few other goofy ones out there, but those are the ones that spring to mind. Maybe count the "divine energy" half of flame strike and similar effects? That isn't called out quite as explicitly as "unholy damage" is, though.

Pretty sure that nonlethal is a tag (for lack of a better term) that gets added to other damage, though untyped damage that is nonlethal might just be called "nonlethal damage."

I've updated the list. That bit about stunning damage is pretty funny, classic WotC.

[MisterKaws]

Nonlethal is a modifier that can be added to any damage, even Vile.

In fact, that's the easiest way to seal a Tarrasque.

[magic9mushroom]

Vile Damage: Via a number of sources in BoVD

Vile isn't a damage type, it's a quality added on to other damage types. Violate Spell, for instance, makes half the damage vile damage, but it's still whatever sort of damage it originally was (the example is Lightning Bolt, which becomes half electricity damage and half vile electricity damage). A lot of people forget that.

(I mean, of course, you can have vile untyped damage, or vile unholy damage.)

[frogglesmash]

Vile isn't a damage type, it's a quality added on to other damage types. Violate Spell, for instance, makes half the damage vile damage, but it's still whatever sort of damage it originally was (the example is Lightning Bolt, which becomes half electricity damage and half vile electricity damage). A lot of people forget that.

(I mean, of course, you can have vile untyped damage, or vile unholy damage.)

Noted, and edited.

[Wraith]

I can never remember the wording; is it "Magical Damage" or just "damage from a Magical Source"?

In particular I'm thinking of something like a Monk's Ki Strikes which allows them to strike as though with a magical weapon, or an Incorporeal creature which can only be hit by the same.

I'm not sure about that one; "magical damage" might be the abbreviation rather than a specific type.

[Vhaidara]

I don't have a page number or the book on hand to reference, but iirc Arms and Equipment Guide has the percolator that you can use to throw boiling water at someone, dealing heat damage.

[Jack_Simth]

Frostburn damage (from Frostburn). Another variation on "Harder to heal than normal".

[Eldan]

Ability damage is technically its own category of damage, even if it works differently.

There's also this in psionics:


This weapon functions as a psychokinetic weapon that also releases a blast of destructive psionic energy upon scoring a successful critical hit. In addition to the extra damage of the psychokinetic ability (see above), a psychokinetic burst weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on a successful critical hit. If the weapon’s critical multiplier is ×3, add 2d6 points of extra damage instead, and if the multiplier is ×4, add 3d6 points of extra damage. This extra damage is ectoplasmic in nature and is not affected by damage reduction. Bows, crossbows, and slings bestow this ability upon their ammunition.



Which is more a weird qualifier than a damage type.

[noob]

you forget scalding damage which is inflicted by boiling water which have nothing to do with heat damage(read the environmental damage section in the dungeon master guide).

[Biggus]

Holy and Unholy weapons deal extra damage only against evil and good creatures respectively, whether they're actually a damage type is debatable though

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#holy

Also falling damage is arguably a type of its own

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

EDIT: If Holy and Unholy count as types, presumably so do Anarchic and Axiomatic

[Zaq]

Holy and Unholy weapons deal extra damage only against evil and good creatures respectively, whether they're actually a damage type is debatable though

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#holy

Also falling damage is arguably a type of its own

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

EDIT: If Holy and Unholy count as types, presumably so do Anarchic and Axiomatic

Unholy is definitely a damage type as evidenced by Corrupt Spell dealing, quote, “unholy damage,” but I don’t think the extra damage dealt by Holy/Unholy/Axiomatic/Anarchic weapons is actually typed. Which means that unholy damage is a thing, but Unholy weapons don’t deal it. Way to go, WotC!

[Telok]

Wasn't there hippo damage? Or am I just misremembering? I never did actually own that book.

[Malphegor]

This thread's brief look at it looks relevant http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?139529-D-amp-D-3-5-Types-of-damage

from that thread:

Scalding (from boiling water) is apparently separate to fire damage (I've no idea what book that's from.)

Lava is untyped but counts as fire for resistances (... so does that mean it counts as fire? Who knows? if it helps I know the spell wall of magma deals fire damage so... probably fire and whatever book talks about lava just failed to explain properly(presumably the dmg).)

[noob]

This thread's brief look at it looks relevant http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?139529-D-amp-D-3-5-Types-of-damage

from that thread:

Scalding (from boiling water) is apparently separate to fire damage (I've no idea what book that's from.)

Lava is untyped but counts as fire for resistances (... so does that mean it counts as fire? Who knows? if it helps I know the spell wall of magma deals fire damage so... probably fire and whatever book talks about lava just failed to explain properly(presumably the dmg).)

I mentioned scalding damage here.
It is from the dungeon master guide in the environmental damage section.

[thorr-kan]

I don't have a page number or the book on hand to reference, but iirc Arms and Equipment Guide has the percolator that you can use to throw boiling water at someone, dealing heat damage.
Percolator, A&EG, p24: "If used in desperation as a weapon, the contents of a full boiling percolator deal 1d3 points of heat damage (max range 5 feet).

[thorr-kan]

If you want to open that can of worms, d20 Modern gives the ballistic damage type for bullets.

[ShurikVch]

Magic of Incarnum includes Essentia damage

Usage of Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm) rules opens up possibility to Sanity damage

"Adding Injury To Insults" article (Dragon #294) gives Reputation rules: including Reputation score, and Reputation damage - inflicted mostly via usage of Perform (wit); Scathing Wit feat causing targeted creature nonlethal damage equal to Reputation damage, if creature can hear and understand you, and fails Fort save DC 10 + Perform (wit) modifier

[noob]

Magic of Incarnum includes Essentia damage

Usage of Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm) rules opens up possibility to Sanity damage

"Adding Injury To Insults" article (Dragon #294) gives Reputation rules: including Reputation score, and Reputation damage - inflicted mostly via usage of Perform (wit); Scathing Wit feat causing targeted creature nonlethal damage equal to Reputation damage, if creature can hear and understand you, and fails Fort save DC 10 + Perform (wit) modifier

So that the bard can stun people with its wit?

[frogglesmash]

List Updated.


I can never remember the wording; is it "Magical Damage" or just "damage from a Magical Source"?

In particular I'm thinking of something like a Monk's Ki Strikes which allows them to strike as though with a magical weapon, or an Incorporeal creature which can only be hit by the same.

I'm not sure about that one; "magical damage" might be the abbreviation rather than a specific type.

Afaik the "magic" property refers to the weapon, and not the damage.


Holy and Unholy weapons deal extra damage only against evil and good creatures respectively, whether they're actually a damage type is debatable though

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#holy

EDIT: If Holy and Unholy count as types, presumably so do Anarchic and Axiomatic

As previously mentioned, the extra damage dealt by those weapons is untyped.


Ability damage is technically its own category of damage, even if it works differently.


Magic of Incarnum includes Essentia damage

Usage of Sanity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/sanity.htm) rules opens up possibility to Sanity damage

"Adding Injury To Insults" article (Dragon #294) gives Reputation rules: including Reputation score, and Reputation damage - inflicted mostly via usage of Perform (wit); Scathing Wit feat causing targeted creature nonlethal damage equal to Reputation damage, if creature can hear and understand you, and fails Fort save DC 10 + Perform (wit) modifier

As I said in the initial post, I'm only concerned with damage that targets health.


Lava is untyped but counts as fire for resistances (... so does that mean it counts as fire? Who knows? if it helps I know the spell wall of magma deals fire damage so... probably fire and whatever book talks about lava just failed to explain properly(presumably the dmg).)

The Rules Compendium clarified that lava does indeed do fire damage, and while the Rules Compendium can be a contentious source, I feel that this is an uncontroversial ruling.

[noob]

the nonlethal spell metamagic suggests the damage type of the spell is replaced by nonlethal damage(so that a fire spell would stop dealing fire damage but deal nonlethal damage)

[Endarire]

Is this so we can take the feat Elven Spell Lore (Player's Handbook II) and apply all its damage types to venomfire (Serpent Kingdoms) as I suggested here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?583707-Elven-Spell-Lore-Venomfire)?

[mabriss lethe]

I'm pretty sure that Psychokinetic/burst weapons are actually untyped damage. (I'm going by SRD here, so it could be a bit off from the source.) the listed damage doesn't have a type listed next to it or explicitly called out anywhere as "ectoplasmic damage" It says "the damage is ectoplasmic in nature" which isn't the same as far as the rules are concerned.

[Powerdork]

Yeah, apparently there's your common damage types (acid, cold, electricity, fire, sonic, slashing, bludgeoning, piercing, force, positive energy, negative energy, steam, city, heat...) and your types of damage (nonlethal, vile, ectoplasmic?). And it's a whole mess.

[meschlum]

It's also possible to get purely nonlethal damage (so "nonlethal untyped" by the notation above) via forced marching, and wholly untyped damage via the Spur Mount option for Ride.