First - I am very new to Pathfinder RPG, but not new to RPGs or the d20 system (although I have not played d20 in years). I am currently playing a barbarian, and was looking at the Chaos Totem powers. I was wondering if the DR from Chaos totem would stack with a barbarian's DR? I know the rules state, "If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation." So are the DR's from Chaos totem and and a barbarian's innate DR two different sources? Or are they really one source (barbarian class abilities)? For example, would a 10th level barbarian with Greater Chaos Totem have DR 12 vs everything but lawful, but if hit with a lawful weapon, would only have a DR 2? This would make logical sense to me.
The other part of my question is what constitutes a different source for DR? Is this different types of DR? Or literally a different source? For example, would the DR from adamantine armor stack with a barbarian's DR, since they are the same type of DR, but clearly a different source? The rules could certainly be clearer about this...
Hello and welcome! Glad to see you on the forums, hope that I may be of assistance.
I was wondering if the DR from Chaos totem would stack with a barbarian's DR? I know the rules state, "If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation."
To answer your question they would not. A barbarian's normal DR is DR X/-. The chaos totem's DR is DR X/lawful
For example, would a 10th level barbarian with Greater Chaos Totem have DR 12 vs everything but lawful, but if hit with a lawful weapon, would only have a DR 2? This would make logical sense to me.
Almost. 10th level barbarian with Greater Chaos Totem would have:
DR 2/- (always) and an additional DR 5/Lawful while raging. (Chaos totem gives 1/2 your barbarian level in DR).This would mean that if a Raging Barbarian was hit with damage from a lawful weapon (it bypasses the DR X/Lawful) it would be reduced by the DR 2/-. Think of it as layers of protection.
So are the DR's from Chaos totem and and a barbarian's innate DR two different sources? Or are they really one source (barbarian class abilities)?
yes, they are really two different sources. Both sources are derived from class abilities, but one is a Class Feature: Damage Reduction the other is a Rage Power: Greater Chaos Totem.
Unless specifically called out, the two sources do not combine.
Increased Damage Reduction (Ex): The barbarian's damage reduction increases by 1/—. This increase is always active while the barbarian is raging. A barbarian can select this rage power up to three times. Its effects stack. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this rage power.