Author Topic: obtaining protection from rare damage types... (divine, arcane, psionic, ect)  (Read 4442 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

nijineko

  • King Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 887
  • two strange quarks short of a graviton...
for physical damage, there is damage reduction; for energy damage there is energy resistance or immunity; for spells and psionics there is spell/psi resistance - but that is only a partial cover, as some spells and powers ignore such; and of course there are the save-or-die effects, which can only be countered by a successful save.

but what about divine damage, arcane damage, or psionic damage? they count as energy so they bypass dr, but there is no energy resistance effect which protects against them!

are there other types of damage or effects which cannot be protected against?

is there any way to get protection from divine, arcane or psionic damage? (other than not being hit in the first place, that is)
arukibito ga michi wo erabu no ka, michi ga arukibito wo erabu no deshou ka?
Never game alone again!
KadoKado! Game for gifts!
The Ultimate Dice Rolling Engine

Maat_Mons

  • Hong Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 1041
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
Hardness protects against all forms of damage.  

To gain hardness, use polymorph any object (Player's Handbook 263) to turn a resilient object into a creature, use true mindswitch (Expanded Psionics Handbook 120) with that creature, and wait for polymorph any object to expire.  You are now the desired object.  This works best for a psion.  

Adamantine: hardness 20 (Dungeon Master's Guide 283)
+5 enhancement bonus: hardness +10 (Dungeon Master's Guide 217 and 222 [see errata])
Greater crystal of adamant weaponry: hardness +10 (Magic Item Compendium 64)
Hardening at CL 20: hardness +10 (Spell Compendium 109)
Matter manipulation: hardness +5 (Expanded Psionics Handbook 115)
Soulforged: hardness +1 (Dungeon Master's Guide II 279)
« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:14:46 AM by Maat_Mons »

JaronK

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 4039
The Haunt Shift spell can also put you into an object.  It's a complex spell (rules wise) so read it over a bunch until you've got it.  Also, Obdurium (from Stronghold Builder's Guide) is Hardness 30, while Blue Ice is IIRC Hardness 8 but doesn't have to worry about stuff like Rust Monsters.  Dwarvencraft Quality items (Races of Stone) have extra HP and +2 Hardness, and the Augment Item spell (Stronghold BG, again) doubles hardness for caster level days.

JaronK

Maat_Mons

  • Hong Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 1041
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
Blue ice has hardness 10.  It ties with bronzewood (Eberron Campaign Setting 126), deep crystal (Expanded Psionics Handbook 128), dragonhide (Dungeon Master's Guide 283), duskwood (Magic of Faerun 178), and frystalline (Book of Exalted Deeds 38).  Sentira (Secrets of Sarlona 135) has hardness 15 and is generally great, since it has the properties of mithral except for being crystal. 

Vistella

  • Barbary Macaque at the Rock of Gibraltar
  • ***
  • Posts: 187
    • Email
the statue spell gives hardness 8 basicly all day long

Oblivion590

  • Monkey bussiness
  • *
  • Posts: 11
There are quite a few other highly obscure damage types, but they rarely have specialized solutions. For example, Maw of Chaos deals chaos damage, and the breath of a topaz dragon uniquely deals either desiccation damage or dehydration damage--whichever *isn't* the type dealt by most other desiccating effects! There are even more that I cannot remember offhand, but the only "weird" damage type I can think of with a resistance is dehydration/desiccation, because there is a spell that can shield some of that type of damage. For anything else, I think you're stuck with hardness.

JaronK

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 4039
Sentira (Secrets of Sarlona 135) has hardness 15 and is generally great, since it has the properties of mithral except for being crystal. 

That's a good one as long as the various stone, earth, and mud spells aren't ruled by your DM to effect it.  The problem with using any metal or wood for your object form is that there are a variety of spells and/or special attacks that bypass hardness and screw you.  Using ice or something else that isn't one of those two types bypasses this problem.

And I thought Maw of Chaos did force damage.

JaronK

The_Laughing_Man

  • Barbary Macaque at the Rock of Gibraltar
  • ***
  • Posts: 212
Zodar (Fiend Folio p.199) is impervious to all attacks except those from bludgeoning weapons. Not a perfect protection but helps at least.

Lycanthromancer

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 4003
    • Email
You can use metamorphosis to grant hardness (because you can turn into an object); turning yourself into a psicrystal (for those warforged shapers with metamorphosis) is also a nice way to retain manifesting ability while gaining hardness.

Also, temporary hp. Psions, again, are good at this, since that and share pain mean you can get 5 temp hp per pp and half-damage as well.

Speaking of half-damage, shield other allows another to take half of your damage, and there are ways to become outright immune to death by damage.
[spoiler]Masculine men like masculine things. Masculine men are masculine. Therefore, liking masculine men is masculine.

I dare anyone to find a hole in that logic.
______________________________________
[/spoiler]I'm a writer. These are my stories. Some are even SFW! (Warning: Mostly Gay.)
My awesome poster collection. (Warning, some are NSFW.)
Agita's awesome poster collection.
[spoiler]
+1 Lycanthromancer
Which book is Lycanthromancer in?
Lyca ... is in the book. Yes he is.
 :D
shit.. concerning psionics optimization, lycan IS the book
[/spoiler]

Surreal

  • Hong Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 1430
    • Email
Defiant 3 (Planar Handbook) grants immunity to divine damage.
---
"The late, sedate, and no to great." ~Surreal

Some Handy Links for CO Work (WotC 339 version) - a compilation of links for base/prestige class handbooks, tactics, spellcasting, character builds, D&D databases, etc.
Archived version of the above with working links

The Mango Index - a giant index for all things D&D and where to find them
The Mango List Reborn! - rehosted by KellKheraptis

Lists of Stuff - listing of class features etc and how to get them, etc. sort of like above but a little more specific and sorted by category
Polymorph, Wildshape and Shapechange, oh my! (comparison charts) - side-by-side comparison of all the various form altering abilities
Alternative Class Features
alternative ways to get class skills

Lycanthromancer

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 4003
    • Email
My psionic powers revision grants energy resistance to positive and negative energy damage (and save boosts/turn resistance vs non-damage).
[spoiler]Masculine men like masculine things. Masculine men are masculine. Therefore, liking masculine men is masculine.

I dare anyone to find a hole in that logic.
______________________________________
[/spoiler]I'm a writer. These are my stories. Some are even SFW! (Warning: Mostly Gay.)
My awesome poster collection. (Warning, some are NSFW.)
Agita's awesome poster collection.
[spoiler]
+1 Lycanthromancer
Which book is Lycanthromancer in?
Lyca ... is in the book. Yes he is.
 :D
shit.. concerning psionics optimization, lycan IS the book
[/spoiler]

nijineko

  • King Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 887
  • two strange quarks short of a graviton...
Hardness protects against all forms of damage.  

To gain hardness, use polymorph any object (Player's Handbook 263) to turn a resilient object into a creature, use true mindswitch (Expanded Psionics Handbook 120) with that creature, and wait for polymorph any object to expire.  You are now the desired object.  This works best for a psion.  

Adamantine: hardness 20 (Dungeon Master's Guide 283)
+5 enhancement bonus: hardness +10 (Dungeon Master's Guide 217 and 222 [see errata])
Greater crystal of adamant weaponry: hardness +10 (Magic Item Compendium 64)
Hardening at CL 20: hardness +10 (Spell Compendium 109)
Matter manipulation: hardness +5 (Expanded Psionics Handbook 115)
Soulforged: hardness +1 (Dungeon Master's Guide II 279)

i wonder if some dm's would rule that the lapsing of the polymorph effect would be the same as suddenly not having a body, ergo, you die instantly. otherwise, quite useful. thank you for reminding me about hardness. =D


The Haunt Shift spell can also put you into an object.  It's a complex spell (rules wise) so read it over a bunch until you've got it.  Also, Obdurium (from Stronghold Builder's Guide) is Hardness 30, while Blue Ice is IIRC Hardness 8 but doesn't have to worry about stuff like Rust Monsters.  Dwarvencraft Quality items (Races of Stone) have extra HP and +2 Hardness, and the Augment Item spell (Stronghold BG, again) doubles hardness for caster level days.

JaronK

yes, i recalled obdurium too, as i have that book. excellent catch. i'm not familiar with haunt shift.. which source was that from, please?


Blue ice has hardness 10.  It ties with bronzewood (Eberron Campaign Setting 126), deep crystal (Expanded Psionics Handbook 128), dragonhide (Dungeon Master's Guide 283), duskwood (Magic of Faerun 178), and frystalline (Book of Exalted Deeds 38).  Sentira (Secrets of Sarlona 135) has hardness 15 and is generally great, since it has the properties of mithral except for being crystal. 

i missed sentira, nice addition. thanks!


the statue spell gives hardness 8 basicly all day long

i did not know about this spell, thank you! i can think of some fun stunts to pull off with npcs in the next castle the pcs visit thanks to this suggestion. =D


There are quite a few other highly obscure damage types, but they rarely have specialized solutions. For example, Maw of Chaos deals chaos damage, and the breath of a topaz dragon uniquely deals either desiccation damage or dehydration damage--whichever *isn't* the type dealt by most other desiccating effects! There are even more that I cannot remember offhand, but the only "weird" damage type I can think of with a resistance is dehydration/desiccation, because there is a spell that can shield some of that type of damage. For anything else, I think you're stuck with hardness.

ah yes, i did not specifically mention the desiccation or dehydration damage, good catch.


Zodar (Fiend Folio p.199) is impervious to all attacks except those from bludgeoning weapons. Not a perfect protection but helps at least.

i will have to find a way to look that up, i don't have that book. what kind of creature is that?


Defiant 3 (Planar Handbook) grants immunity to divine damage.

now that's useful too. i can see an npc discomfiting a pc cleric by obtaining immunity to fire and laughing off a flame strike completely unscathed. now if there was only something that did the same for arcane or psionic.



thanks for all the very useful suggestions all, including the ones i did not specifically reply too. it is all very much appreciated!
arukibito ga michi wo erabu no ka, michi ga arukibito wo erabu no deshou ka?
Never game alone again!
KadoKado! Game for gifts!
The Ultimate Dice Rolling Engine

Maat_Mons

  • Hong Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 1041
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
i'm not familiar with haunt shift.. which source was that from, please?

The spell is on page 66 of Libris Mortis.  You'll also need to read about haunting presences on page 6. 

Widow

  • Bi-Curious George
  • ****
  • Posts: 469
The Haunt Shift spell can also put you into an object.  It's a complex spell (rules wise) so read it over a bunch until you've got it.  Also, Obdurium (from Stronghold Builder's Guide) is Hardness 30, while Blue Ice is IIRC Hardness 8 but doesn't have to worry about stuff like Rust Monsters.  Dwarvencraft Quality items (Races of Stone) have extra HP and +2 Hardness, and the Augment Item spell (Stronghold BG, again) doubles hardness for caster level days.

JaronK

Obdurium works great as your base metal to alloy with Oerthblood from Dragon mag 351.  Very expensive but "they have twice the hardness of the base metal the Oerthblood is alloyed with and 1.5 times the hit points."  Next is Pure Ore from dragon #347, if you mix in one ounce of pure "it has twice the hit points and hardness of the item made from standard ore."  Pure Ore is any kind of metal mined on the Elemental plane of earth, you can have mithril, admantin, or obdurium pure ore for example.  I used this with a haunt shifted cohort once, very nice HP and hardness even before you add in spells.  Don't forget weapon and armor enchancement bonuses add to these as well.  Blueshine it for good measure if it is armor to avoid acid and rust damage.

The_Laughing_Man

  • Barbary Macaque at the Rock of Gibraltar
  • ***
  • Posts: 212
...
Zodar (Fiend Folio p.199) is impervious to all attacks except those from bludgeoning weapons. Not a perfect protection but helps at least.

i will have to find a way to look that up, i don't have that book. what kind of creature is that?
...

thanks for all the very useful suggestions all, including the ones i did not specifically reply too. it is all very much appreciated!

Zodar is a Medium-Size Construct that has Wish (Su) ability. Shapechangers love it! :D Here is a picture of it.

You are welcome.

JaronK

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 4039
Huh, never knew that stuff about Oerthblood or Pure Ore.  Assuming the combination would be triple hardness, a Dwarvencraft Pure Obdurium/Oerthblood item would have a base hardness of 92 before even factoring in spells.  At that point, things that ignore hardness or specifically screw metal are pretty much the only things that can hurt you at all.

JaronK

Wings of Peace

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 82
    • Email
Imo the simplest way to negate rare damage types would either be through some manner of power point exploit combined with the Elan ability to reduce damage or the Beastland Ferocity+Delay Death combo.  That's not to say the other methods mentioned here aren't just as effective, merely that from my perspective the two aforementioned tricks seem the most straightforward to pull off.

nijineko

  • King Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 887
  • two strange quarks short of a graviton...
oddly enough, i have that pure-ore idea in my own campaigns... i somehow missed it in my perusal of the various dragon mags. now, oerthblood i was aware of, just not that particular use. very helpful! i can see a green star adept loving that stuff. combine that with some sonic, acid, and rust protection and that is quite helpful.

i am not familiar with the beastland ferocity and delay death combo... is that something like being able to survive going negative for extended periods of time? elan is another good suggestion.
arukibito ga michi wo erabu no ka, michi ga arukibito wo erabu no deshou ka?
Never game alone again!
KadoKado! Game for gifts!
The Ultimate Dice Rolling Engine

Wings of Peace

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 82
    • Email
oddly enough, i have that pure-ore idea in my own campaigns... i somehow missed it in my perusal of the various dragon mags. now, oerthblood i was aware of, just not that particular use. very helpful! i can see a green star adept loving that stuff. combine that with some sonic, acid, and rust protection and that is quite helpful.

i am not familiar with the beastland ferocity and delay death combo... is that something like being able to survive going negative for extended periods of time? elan is another good suggestion.

So long as Beastland Ferocity and Delay Death are active no amount of negative hp will kill you and you can still cast.

Edit: The combo is particularly vicious when combined with both/either Dweomerkeeper and/or Initiate of Mystra.  Dweomerkeeper lets you make the two Supernatural and thus much harder to dispell, Initiate of Mystra as you probably guessed allows them to function in an AMF.