Damage Resistance and Caltrops: How Would You Rule?

[MaxWilson]

This is a thread about DM judgment, not about RAW. Technical arguments between multiple people about what the RAW says are not welcome here--I just want to hear how you'd actually run it as DM.


Caltrops: As an action, you can spread a single bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the saving throw.

Hypothetical scenario:

A creature runs through the caltrops area at full speed. Due to damage resistance (Rage, Warding Bond, Empty Body, whatever) and rounding down, the creature cannot take HP damage from the caltrops.

(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

(2) On a failed save, do they lose speed, or just stop moving?

(3) When they stop moving, do they have to wait until next round to resume moving or can they move again immediately?

(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

[nathanv]

(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

Depends on the creature/effect. Something with damage resistance due to being (semi) incorporeal, like a specter*, no, just autosave. A raging barbarian, I might offer a choice of Con or Dex for the save, and/or offer advantage on it. Straight advantage on the save is the simplest way to handle it.


(2) On a failed save, do they lose speed, or just stop moving?

For future turns? No reduction to walk speed if they didn't actually take damage. At most, the potential to stop.


(3) When they stop moving, do they have to wait until next round to resume moving or can they move again immediately?

They stop, and lose all remaining walk movement for the turn. (May still fly or whatever.) In cases like these, with resistance, I'd still permit them to take the Dash action if they could otherwise (not sure about if somebody without resistance wanted to dash-after-stop, probably depends on the context.)


If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

If it's a player that took Blade Ward and wants to waltz through caltrops, honestly, I'd be inclined to give it to them, because Blade Ward is just not a very optimized choice, so I'm going to bend the rules in its favor to make the player feel as if their choice of that cantrip mattered. The RAW doesn't support this though. If it's an NPC antagonist, I'm not going to bend the rules in its favor, and Blade Ward won't help.

*a lot of the time, monster resistance is to attacks, and so won't RAW protect either, but I'm not letting players use caltrops on disembodied spirits, sorry.

[Dork_Forge]

This is a thread about DM judgment, not about RAW. Technical arguments between multiple people about what the RAW says are not welcome here--I just want to hear how you'd actually run it as DM.


Caltrops: As an action, you can spread a single bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the saving throw.

Hypothetical scenario:

A creature runs through the caltrops area at full speed. Due to damage resistance (Rage, Warding Bond, Empty Body, whatever) and rounding down, the creature cannot take HP damage from the caltrops.

Now that you mention it I have no idea on reducing damage to 0 with resistance being RAW or not, i handle damage being a minimum of 1 so this situation wouldn't happen in my game but I'll try and answer with rounding down ot 0.


(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

Yes, resistance only matters if the creature takes damage to begin with


(2) On a failed save, do they lose speed, or just stop moving?

I'd still say both apply


(3) When they stop moving, do they have to wait until next round to resume moving or can they move again immediately?

I'd say they have to wait until next turn unless they dash, otherwise stopping at all is... kinda weird if there's no consequence.


(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

No, Blade Ward is specific about being weapon attacks, I wouldn't let it work against e.g. a dart trap, so I would't let it work here.

[quindraco]

This is a thread about DM judgment, not about RAW. Technical arguments between multiple people about what the RAW says are not welcome here--I just want to hear how you'd actually run it as DM.


Caltrops: As an action, you can spread a single bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area. Any creature that enters the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving through the area at half speed doesn't need to make the saving throw.

Hypothetical scenario:

A creature runs through the caltrops area at full speed. Due to damage resistance (Rage, Warding Bond, Empty Body, whatever) and rounding down, the creature cannot take HP damage from the caltrops.

(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

(2) On a failed save, do they lose speed, or just stop moving?

(3) When they stop moving, do they have to wait until next round to resume moving or can they move again immediately?

(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?


I would skip the Dex save unless I needed to know if the creature contacted the caltrops, e.g. if there was contact poison smeared on them.
Stopping moving doesn't do anything, since it can just resume moving, so I don't need to rule on that. I would not inflict the speed penalty - I can see that caltrops are written to be contact vector, but I think they should be injury.
No, they can move again immediately. The reason the rules have the creature stop moving in general - i.e. when the caltrops resolve - is that their speed drops, and WOTC wanted to avoid people getting confused by speed changes in the middle of movement. Mechanically, having them stop does nothing, even without piercing resistance.
This is the same question as caltrops working on lycanthropes. I think anything that protects you from attack damage should also work on "trap" damage, and I include caltrops in "trap" damage, so I would have Blade Ward work on caltrops.


As you requested, the above is how I would homebrew it at my personal table.

[Unoriginal]

As a DM:



(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

Nope. The caltrop's stopping power comes from getting your limb pierced, if you don't get damaged then it can't slow you.



(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

It doesn't. Blade Ward protects against attacks, not hazards.

[Grod_The_Giant]

(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?
I could see an argument for "stepping on a caltrop could throw you off-balance even if it doesn't pierce your skin," but... screw it. "This monster/player is just too damn tough to care about caltrops" makes just as much sense while being fundamentally cooler.


(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

Sure, I'd allow it, on the principle of "it's close enough, and too minor a niche to worry about."

[MaxWilson]

As you requested, the above is how I would homebrew it at my personal table.

Yes, thank you! It's interesting and thought provoking to read everybody's rulings.

[da newt]

At every table I have played at or DMed, if you are resistant to damage then you only take half and round down BUT if you take 1 hp damage - you cannot make half of 1 into no damage at all, you cannot make a hit into a miss or a fail into a success just because you are resistant. If you are hit or fail a save you take damage (1 hp minimum) unless you are IMMUNE.

So for your questions, even if you are resistant, you still take 1 damage if you fail a save and the rest of the riders apply as written.

[rlc]

(1) Does the creature still have to make a Dex save, if you're DMing?

(2) On a failed save, do they lose speed, or just stop moving?

(3) When they stop moving, do they have to wait until next round to resume moving or can they move again immediately?

(4) If you're the DM, does Blade Ward work against caltrops even though it's a save and not an attack roll?

Yes, lose speed, immediately, and no.

[Tanarii]

My ruling: you still take 1 pt of damage even with resistance. All effects apply as normal.