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Gamebird
2008-02-28, 04:31 PM
My barbarian recently gained Damage Resistance 1/-. Cool, huh? But now I have questions that are probably addressed in the RAW somewhere, but I don't have those resources available to me at this moment. I do, however, have access to this board.

So here goes:
If I have DR 1/-, and someone attacks and hits with one of the following attacks, doing only one point of damage that my DR negates, then what happens?
A. A ghoul claws me for 1 point. Do I still have a Fort check to avoid being paralyzed, or since I took no damage (after DR), am I exempted from the Fort check?

B. Someone shoots me with a poisoned arrow/dart/scorpion tail/miscellaneous insinuative poison/etc. They do one point of damage, which the DR negates. Do I have to save against the poison or is it dependent on me actually taking damage?

C. Gah! I was sure I had several other examples of my confusion, but now all I have is an example of my poor memory. Oh well. I'd love to hear your take on it, as well as anything I might be overlooking about DR.

Illiterate Scribe
2008-02-28, 04:34 PM
Well, you could take precedent from the monk's attacks, which specify that you don't make your enemies suffer the special status effects unless you pierce the DR.

batsofchaos
2008-02-28, 04:36 PM
Quoted from the SRD:


Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury type poison, a monk’s stunning, and injury type disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.

So you're chill on most fronts.

Chronos
2008-02-28, 04:41 PM
So you're chill on most fronts.Including a Chill Touch spell, where you would probably prefer to not be chill.

Person_Man
2008-02-28, 04:57 PM
Agreed. Unless the effect specifically says otherwise in the description, if the attack deals no damage, it has no effect.

Also, I wasn't aware anyone actually ever played up to Barbarian 7 anymore. Everyone I know multiclasses or goes into a PrC by level 5, if not sooner. Bravo.

Douglas
2008-02-28, 05:03 PM
For the ghoul, if you take no damage you don't need to make the save.

For poison, it depends on the poison. Injury poisons are ignored unless you actually take damage, contact poisons would still work.

Chill Touch is both not a weapon and a touch attack, so it is not reduced by DR and its special effects have full effect.

ColdBrew
2008-02-28, 05:16 PM
Including a Chill Touch spell, where you would probably prefer to not be chill.
:smallsigh: *groan*

batsofchaos
2008-02-28, 05:23 PM
What's with all this hooplah over Chill Touch? Y'all need to stop being so touchy and just chill. :smallbiggrin:

Talic
2008-02-28, 05:26 PM
My barbarian recently gained Damage Resistance 1/-. Cool, huh? But now I have questions that are probably addressed in the RAW somewhere, but I don't have those resources available to me at this moment. I do, however, have access to this board.

So here goes:
If I have DR 1/-, and someone attacks and hits with one of the following attacks, doing only one point of damage that my DR negates, then what happens?
A. A ghoul claws me for 1 point. Do I still have a Fort check to avoid being paralyzed, or since I took no damage (after DR), am I exempted from the Fort check?

Yes. The ghoul's attack specifies that anyone hit must save.

SRD, Ghouls

Those hit by a ghoul’s bite or claw attack must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds. Elves have immunity to this paralysis.




B. Someone shoots me with a poisoned arrow/dart/scorpion tail/miscellaneous insinuative poison/etc. They do one point of damage, which the DR negates. Do I have to save against the poison or is it dependent on me actually taking damage?

Depends. If the poison is injury, no. If it's contact, yes.


C. Gah! I was sure I had several other examples of my confusion, but now all I have is an example of my poor memory. Oh well. I'd love to hear your take on it, as well as anything I might be overlooking about DR.
Basically, any attack that requires damage is negated if all damage is prevented. Any attack that must merely hit is not.

ColdBrew
2008-02-28, 05:31 PM
Yes. The ghoul's attack specifies that anyone hit must save.
But they still get their shield bonus, right? :smallwink: I keed, I keed...

Talic
2008-02-28, 05:49 PM
But they still get their shield bonus, right? :smallwink: I keed, I keed...

Barbarians with shields?

Barbarian... Yeah, I know that term.

Shield... Yeah, I know that one.

For some reason, I can't conceive of putting the two together.

ColdBrew
2008-02-28, 05:56 PM
I'm so angry I'm going to defend myself! That'll show you!

Squash Monster
2008-02-28, 06:28 PM
Barbarians with shields?

Barbarian... Yeah, I know that term.

Shield... Yeah, I know that one.

For some reason, I can't conceive of putting the two together.Imagine a barbarian armed with the following:

A spiked heavy shield, which has the Bashing enchantment.

And that's it. He has Improved Shield Bash, and he uses his shield in both hands. Maybe he multiclassed into Fighter to get Dungeon Crasher, and he bullrushes people into the wall with his two-handed shield.

People try to explain to him how that's not how you use a shield. But he's a bit dim, and just doesn't get it.

Gamebird
2008-02-28, 07:14 PM
Agreed. Unless the effect specifically says otherwise in the description, if the attack deals no damage, it has no effect.

Also, I wasn't aware anyone actually ever played up to Barbarian 7 anymore. Everyone I know multiclasses or goes into a PrC by level 5, if not sooner. Bravo.
I've had enough of grotesquely multi-classed/prestiged characters lately. So the two characters I've started in the last year are single classed (one a Barbarian with a few Ranger-type customizations and the other a core rogue).