Summon Draconic Spirit breath weapon matches shared resistance?

[Confused Dad]

Does the Breath Weapon of a Draconic Spirit from the spell "Summon Draconic Spirit" and the caster’s Shared Resistance have to match?

Breath Weapon. The dragon exhales destructive energy in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature takes 2d6 damage of a type this dragon has resistance to (your choice) on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Shared Resistances.
When you summon the dragon, choose one of its damage resistances. You have resistance to the chosen damage type until the spell ends. This feature makes it clear that the spirit has more than one resistance for you to choose from.

Nowhere in the feature descriptions are these two linked. IMHO, the wizard chooses 1. A shared resistance type and 2. A breath weapon type. There is no RAW reason that the breath weapon is fire and the resistance is acid,for example,as long as both are chosen from the same family. My DM disagrees and states that the wizard chooses 1 element as both the resistance AND the breath weapon

[Silly Name]

If you want to argue strict RAW, it says nowhere those two choices are linked.

You make several choices as the spell is cast:

Choice 1: Dragon Family (Chromatic, Metallic, Gem)

This determines what the Draconic Spirit's resistances are (Chromatic and Metallic share a list)

Choice 2: The Draconic Spirit statblock has the "Shared Resistance" quality, which tells you "When you summon the dragon, choose one of its damage resistances. You have resistance to the chosen damage type until the spell ends."

Choice 3: Among its actions, the Draconic Spirit has Breath Weapon, which says that on a failed save against that breath weapon "a creature takes 2d6 damage of a type this dragon has resistance to (your choice)".

The way the Breath Weapon attack is worded, you can even pick different elements every time the Draconic Spirit uses it, because it doesn't say you have to make a choice and stick with it when you cast the spell.

IF your DM wants to houserule that Shared Resistance "locks" the damage type of the breath weapon, they can do that - but it's not RAW.

I would also note that your DM's position is nerfing the spell - if I summon a Draconic Spirit against a Fire Elemental, I obviously wanted Shared Resistance to Fire damage, but I don't want the Spirit's breath weapon to deal Fire damage.

[Witty Username]

I don't see a reason I would want them to be different from a narrative angle.

It isn't immersion breaking all that much though, as Summons are more of a spell effect in the shape of a creature instead of an actual one, it feeling like a dragon is probably more important than being one.

[JNAProductions]

The Breath Weapon damage type and the Resistance you gain are chosen from the same list, but they don't have to be the same choice.

[KorvinStarmast]

For the OP:
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/211024/22566

Looks like your question. Was that you?

[Gignere]

I disagree that you can mix and match the resistance and damage type. The breath weapon said you do the type of damage you have resistance to. What damage you have resistance to is chosen first.

If it is not chosen your dragon won’t have resistance to that damage. This is the most straight forward way of reading it. Your draconic spirit can only have one resistance because it’s chosen by you already. The wording isn’t damage type is a type that you can be resistance to, the wording is damage you are resistance to. It said your choice because it was your choice to pick the resistance initially.

[Silly Name]

I disagree that you can mix and match the resistance and damage type.

RAW, you can.


The breath weapon said you do the type of damage you have resistance to.

1. The damage is done by the draconic spirit, not the caster

2. The breath weapon says it does "damage of a type this dragon has resistance to (your choice)"


What damage you have resistance to is chosen first.

Sure - acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison if the draconic spirit is Chromatic or Metallic, or force, necrotic, psychic, radiant, and thunder if it's a Gem dragon. The spirit has all the resistances associatedwith its type, and then the Shared Resistance trait lets the caster choose one of those resistances to benefit from:

"Shared Resistances. When you summon the dragon, choose one of its damage resistances. You have resistance to the chosen damage type until the spell ends."


If it is not chosen your dragon won’t have resistance to that damage.

The spirit's resistances are chosen as part of casting the spell, when the caster chooses if the draconic spirit will be a Chromatic, Metallic or Gem draconic spirit. Shared Resistance only applies to the caster, not the spirit.


This is the most straight forward way of reading it.

Not if you read the spell and the statblock. Shared Resistances is a choice completely divorced from the damage type of the breath weapon. As I said before, the breath weapon doesn't even lock your choice - it can deal Fire damage one turn, and Cold damage the next.