Resistance to energy feat

Ben DeVeny · Post by **Ben DeVeny** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:33 pm

Hello Team!

This ones probably a little tricky... I hope you can help this monk find the truth.

I am considering taking some feats called Resistance to energy, gives 5/- resist to heat, cold, and so on. I am afraid I will be wasting precious feats, if things in the engine dont stack.

Lets say Im a 20 lvl monk with the 20/+1 damage reduction all enlightened monks have. I have my thermal robes on that give 15/- cold protection (I love those by the way! thanks Nikki!), and have invested a feat in resist cold energy.

If the gods smile on me, I should be immune to the first 40 cold in each round. ((Or is it reduced for EVERY source of cold attack? assuming two attackers with cold))

How does it all stack up?

thanks for your time!!
-Shen

dougnoel · Post by **dougnoel** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:23 pm

I've moved this to the NWN General Discussion Forum as it isn't an Avlis-specific question, but a question about the NWN engine and 3E damage reduction rules.

I can answer the first part of your question. The 20/+1 damage reduction and the 15/cold resistance do not stack. Why? One protects from physical damage and the other protects from elemental damage. If someone were to attack you with a regular sword that happened to do cold damage, the damage reduction would absorb damage dealt by the sword and the cold resistance would absorb cold damage dealt by the sword.

As for robes with 15/cold resistence and a 5/cold resistence from a feat, I do not believe they should stack - but they might. Perhaps someone else in this forum will know.

Doug

Dirk Cutlass · Post by **Dirk Cutlass** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:26 pm

Thanks Doug. I'd already PM'd the guy since it was Ask The Team, now you've opened it up - I'll re-post it here...

I can't respond to your "Ask the Team" because its team-only responses, but your answer is that none of it will stack ... I think.

Your monks 20/+1 is about physical damage not elemental, so that won't stack with it.

Normally damage resistance does not stack, so your 15/- cold would not stack with 5/- from something else (just uses the higher). I say normally, because with items that is certainly the case, but as it is a feat it may be slightly different. You'd probably have to try is in a test mod to be 100% sure.

You'd probably get a better answer posting it in the General Discussion forum, then you'd get responses from players who know a lot more about this kind of thing.

Khaelindra · Post by **Khaelindra** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 3:15 pm

That boy must have received a lot of PMs...

I can confirm DC's answer: 15/- cold resist and 5/- cold resist do not stack. In general, any two effects that have an identical description do not stack, instead having the highest take effect and the lowest being redundant.

You have 5 types of "defensive effects" against physical damage, all of which use the best effect within their category which is applicable for the attacking effect:

1) physical damage resistance, f.i. Brawler's Belt (5/- damage resistance to bludgeoning)
2) physical damage reduction, f.i. Stoneskin spell (10/+5 vs. all physical) or monk's resistance (20/+1 vs. all physical)
3) physical damage soak, f.i. Adventurer Robe (+1 soak 5 damage, effectively 5/+1 damage soak)
4) elemental damage resistance, f.i. Cloak of Fire Resistance (15/- resistance to fire)
5) elemental damage reduction, f.i. Protection from Elements spell (30/- resistance to all elements)

Of course within the elemental resistance group there are five subgroups, one for each element, so 20/- fire resist and 20/- cold resist "stack" and both work against the same hellball coming your way.

Damage Resistance and Soak come before Damage Reduction, which means that damage resistance will make your damage reduction effects (that are often temporary spelleffects that wear down after a set amount of damage has been reduced, only exception being the inate reduction of monks and other special creatures) last longer.

In your example, 20/+1 is group 2, 15/- cold resist is group 4 (cold) and 5/- cold resist is group 4 (cold), so 5/- cold is superseded by the 15/- cold resist.

As a final note: although the different effects of damage reduction do not stack, they DO work in sequence because they have durations: if you have both a Stoneskin (10/+5 reduction) and a Premonition (30/+5 reduction) active, initially only the premonition works. However, unless the duration of the Stoneskin has lapsed, it will still be active when the Premonition has absorbed it's maximum amount of damage and it will kick into action the first attack after the Premonition has stopped working. The same goes for spells like Protection from Elements and Resist Elements.

Hope this helps!

Ben DeVeny · Post by **Ben DeVeny** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:19 pm

ha!
great!
nice to have friends!
Thanks good people!

I had a part two of the question.... do all of these defenses absorb damage from EVERY attack or once in a round, or... Just up to the limit of their capacity per round, or....

or

-shen

Fuzz · Post by **Fuzz** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:24 pm

Every attack each round.

Khaelindra · Post by **Khaelindra** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:43 pm

They don't have a capacity per round, they just have a capacity, period. And an absorption limit per attack.

Endure Elements for example soaks maximum of 10 elemental damage per attack, to a maximum total of 20. Stoneskin absorbs maximum of 10 physical damage per attack up to a total of 10/casterlevel (max. 100).

Don't be lazy, read the spell descriptions; they will tell you what you're asking now.

dougnoel · Post by **dougnoel** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:55 pm

Actually, it depends on what we're talking about. Some have a capacity per round, some do not. for example, you robes have a capacity of 15/round. Spells, well like Khaelindra said, read the descriptions.

I would like to thank everyone who PM'd Ben instead of posting before I moved the topic. I appreciate it.

Ben DeVeny · Post by **Ben DeVeny** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:19 am

rant!
I printed out all the manuals on paper, and read the spell descriptions on a daily basis, which is kind of odd considering the actual amount of spells I have access to. But its true. The spell sections are dog eared so I can find them fast. I have the players handbook beside the computer for the same purpose. Spell section painted blue with a marker on the edge of the pages.

Its not laziness that holds me back, its NOT UNDERSTANDING.

Asking on the boards is more a sign of ambition to figure it out than a sign of laziness. If I understood the fekking minibriefmicro descriptions, I wouldnt have to ask here.

Thank you for those of you who take the time to answer my questions.

The rest of you - BAH!

-shen, the old guy

Khaelindra · Post by **Khaelindra** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:22 am

My best advice to you on this: throw away the manual with regard to spell descriptions...they totally s**k.

Log in as a DM or uber-character in a single player mod, make sure you have access to all spells, and read the spell descriptions given ingame. They are quite clear and informative.

Good luck!

Khaelindra · Post by **Khaelindra** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:28 am

dougnoel wrote:Actually, it depends on what we're talking about. Some have a capacity per round, some do not. for example, you robes have a capacity of 15/round.

I walked into the temple of elemental evil (well, so it feels anyway...

) north of Elysia with a cloak of Fire Resistance. You know, the place where about 10 fire sorcerers start casting fireballs while have a dozen hellhounds breathe on you...

Well i survived, and only because the cloak took 15 damage off EACH of those 15 blasts that came my way each round.

I must admit that must have been 6 months ago or more, but has the cloak of resistance been altered since that time?

Spell Singer · Post by **Spell Singer** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:37 am

Damage Resistance or Damage Absorbtion is per attack regardless of the number of attacks. Damage Absorbtion has a limit on how much damage it can absorb after which the spell collapses.

A belt of the swordsman will take 5 pts off each and every attack that lands against you by slashing weapons.

A protection from elements will take 10 pts of each elemental attack until it absorbs 20 pts and then it collapses. Or is that resistance to elments ... whatever... A couple of archers can blow away a stone skin in much the same way...2 archers firing 5 arrows each can exceed its damage tolerance in a single round.

A robe of x protection from cold/heat/acid/etc works as the belt. So 20 fireballs hit you in one round...each losses x from their damage due to your protection from fire robe. It was for this reason my favorite item in the offical campaign was a ring of elemental protection.

Dirk Cutlass · Post by **Dirk Cutlass** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:42 am

Spell Singer wrote:A couple of archers can blow away a stone skin in much the same way...2 archers firing 5 arrows each can exceed its damage tolerance in a single round.

Assume the arrows hit of course, that's were the AC comes in

Khaelindra · Post by **Khaelindra** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:24 am

Spell Singer wrote: A protection from elements will take 10 pts of each elemental attack until it absorbs 20 pts and then it collapses. Or is that resistance to elments ... whatever...

Endure Elements: 10/20
Resist Elements: 20/30
Protection from Elements: 30/40
Energy Buffer: 40/60

Spell Singer · Post by **Spell Singer** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:14 am

The best way to view things like stone skin or any of the damage absorbtion spells is extra HPs.

This is not completely correct as in most cases some damage will go through but it is a good way to think of them when character level is 5+.

And yes AC may prevent the archers doing that...

dougnoel · Post by **dougnoel** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:51 pm

Khaelindra wrote:
dougnoel wrote:Actually, it depends on what we're talking about. Some have a capacity per round, some do not. for example, you robes have a capacity of 15/round.
I walked into the temple of elemental evil (well, so it feels anyway... ) north of Elysia with a cloak of Fire Resistance. You know, the place where about 10 fire sorcerers start casting fireballs while have a dozen hellhounds breathe on you... Well i survived, and only because the cloak took 15 damage off EACH of those 15 blasts that came my way each round.

I must admit that must have been 6 months ago or more, but has the cloak of resistance been altered since that time?

Huh. I will have to reflect on that. But if that's the way it is, that's the way it is.

Orchid · Post by **Orchid** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 1:09 pm

dougnoel wrote:
Khaelindra wrote:
dougnoel wrote:Actually, it depends on what we're talking about. Some have a capacity per round, some do not. for example, you robes have a capacity of 15/round.
I walked into the temple of elemental evil (well, so it feels anyway... ) north of Elysia with a cloak of Fire Resistance. You know, the place where about 10 fire sorcerers start casting fireballs while have a dozen hellhounds breathe on you... Well i survived, and only because the cloak took 15 damage off EACH of those 15 blasts that came my way each round.

I must admit that must have been 6 months ago or more, but has the cloak of resistance been altered since that time?
Huh. I will have to reflect on that. But if that's the way it is, that's the way it is.

As I've seen, it's like Khaelindra said.

Psyco · Post by **Psyco** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:00 am

damage resistance and damage reduction kicks in for every hit. There are some sources of these that have a limit on how long they will last (spells) but damage resistance from feats or equipment will work every seperate time you take damage.

Another thing to keep in mind is that onHit effects are taken as a different hit to the weapon itself. So if you had a weapon that did fire damage and then cast flame weapon or darkfire on it. a 5/- fire resist would stop the first 5 fire damage from the sword and then another 5 fire damage fom the spell.

The three types of damage obsorbtion are immunity, resistance and reduction, They stack quite happily with each other, but not with themselves (with the exception of immunity which does stack out to 100%).

So if you had 50% immunity to slashing, 20/- slashing resist and 20/+1 damage reduction, they would all stack, so if you got hit with 70 slashing damage, first the 50% immunity would kick in taking it to 35, then the resistance taking it to 15, then the reduction (assuming a non magical weapon) taking it to 5 damage.

If you have 20/- fire resist from an item, and 5/- fire resist from a feat, they will not stack as they are of the same type. only the 20/- will be active.

szabot · Post by **szabot** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:36 pm

This was in the fighter/barb forum, but I thought I'd put it here (I also don't think it's been answered here):

szabot wrote:
_LuCkY_ wrote:...What I did notice however is that the feat "Resistance to Energy" does NOT stack with "Epic Energy Resistance".
Is that true? Can someone confirm? If so, doesn't that seem like a mistake (ex, if you take resist fire energy, then later take energy resistance: fire, the first feat becomes obsolete)?