Swarm and Natural Armor

[Paragon]

This is a houserule that just made sense to my group when the situation arose in-game so I'll just share it here and see if it does indeed or not.

So I was playing a Crocodile Lycanthrope Blackguard in Hybrid form and this form gives you Natural Armor which I picture as you growing crocodile-like skin. We were attacked by a swarm of insects at some point and I felt like mosquito bites should not be able to pierce said skin.

This would maybe be better described with DR 1/- making you immune to swarm damage (but not nauseating effects and such).

What do you guys think ?

[mattie_p]

Horses get +3 NA bonus yet get bitten by horseflies (IRL). I don't think NA does what you think it does.

[Beni-Kujaku]

Swarms do not only attack your skin, they envelop you and bite at everything unprotected, underbelly, eyes, mouth, nose... Except if you somehow have a supernatural natural armor which covers every single square inch of your body, I wouldn't say anything about being immune to swarm attacks

[Gruftzwerg]

There are a few rare attacks that can't penetrate NA, but those are all specific exceptions. Swarm attacks (in general) sadly ain't one of those exceptions.

[Asmotherion]

Horses get +3 NA bonus yet get bitten by horseflies (IRL). I don't think NA does what you think it does.
He already said it was a houserule.

As a rule, I don't mind it, but would not implement it in my game. For one, in nature, Mosquitoes bite crocodiles just fine. I also think what you want to implement is safely done with DR.

On the other hand, I have played with this variant rule http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/armorAsDamageReduction.htm so it's less game-breaking than one may think.

[loky1109]

Swarms do not only attack your skin, they envelop you and bite at everything unprotected, underbelly, eyes, mouth, nose... Except if you somehow have a supernatural natural armor which covers every single square inch of your body, I wouldn't say anything about being immune to swarm attacks
Any insect like creature has. It even doesn't need to be Su. For example - Thri-kreen.

Underbelly, eyes, mouth, nose - all these places are protected.

[Thurbane]

Does DR apply to swarm damage? If so, lycanthropes already have inbuilt protection.

[Darg]

On the other hand, I have played with this variant rule http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/armorAsDamageReduction.htm so it's less game-breaking than one may think.

I have to second this. It lets DR be useful for players and makes low level encounters less deadly in a reliable way.

I also rule that spells dealing physical typed damage are reduced by damage reduction. Along with other types of untyped sources of damage that should be reduced like falling damage. It only makes sense.


Does DR apply to swarm damage? If so, lycanthropes already have inbuilt protection.

It's not a spell, SLA, or energy damage. And it is a physical, normal attack so I would say so.

[Tzardok]

I also rule that spells dealing physical typed damage are reduced by damage reduction. Along with other types of untyped sources of damage that should be reduced like falling damage. It only makes sense.


I always thought that was RAW. It's a house rule?

[Darg]

I always thought that was RAW. It's a house rule?

Technically because DR is only stated to reduce damage from attacks. That said, the fluff provided for DR would make sense for things that are not attacks and physical typed spell damage. "Common sense" would say that it works, so I say it does.