Thundering Drums and Undead

[Yiroep]

So, I was looking at the spell Thundering Drums, and it requires a fort save for half damage. The spell itself says nothing about objects, only affecting creatures.

Does that mean that undead are immune to it, since undead have "Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless)"?

Or do they automatically take half damage? Or do they need to make a fort save like normal and potentially fall prone if failed? I would think that they would be affected normally and need to make a fort save, logically, but it seems that the rules don't support that.

RAI it seems like they should be affected normally. I'm unsure about RAW.

[mplindustries]

RAI, they should affected normally.

RAW, they are completely unaffected because they are immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save.

[Michael Sayre]

RAW, no fort save, undead just ignore the effect. Based on the spell, someone probably should have put something in there about it affecting structures or unattended objects or something but... C'est la vie.

[cwslyclgh]

Ssalarn wrote:

RAW, no fort save, undead just ignore the effect. Based on the spell, someone probably should have put something in there about it affecting structures or unattended objects or something but... C'est la vie.

Or simply a caveat that the spell does indeed affect undead (and possibly constructs)... which would then be a case of the specific (Spell description) over riding the general (undead ability to ignore fort saves if it doesn't affect objects).

[enaudible]

And doesn't the fact that it is sonic damage have some bearing? I was just having the conversation about sonic+construct+fortitude=?

[Valfen]

"Energy Attacks: Energy attacks deal half damage to most objects" (Smashing an object)

Undead/constructs will be damaged like everyone else, and can make a fort save for half.

The whole "immunity to fort save" is there to make them immune to stuff like stinking cloud, since it makes no sense for creatures, you know, not alive. Almost every damage effect against which these creatures don't have specific resistance (cold immunity for undeads for example) will work normally.