Do energy resistances stack?


Rules Questions


A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

GroovyTaxi wrote:
A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?

Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.


James Jacobs wrote:
GroovyTaxi wrote:
A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?
Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.

So being a tiefling with an Infernal bloodline kinda sucks for that? Sad...


GroovyTaxi wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
GroovyTaxi wrote:
A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?
Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.
So being a tiefling with an Infernal bloodline kinda sucks for that? Sad...

Yeah, although doesn't it go up later for the bloodline? IDHMBWM to look. But, pretty sure it does, so while it's crap at level 1, at level 20 IIRC you have like resistance 20.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AbsolutGrndZer0 wrote:
GroovyTaxi wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
GroovyTaxi wrote:
A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?
Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.
So being a tiefling with an Infernal bloodline kinda sucks for that? Sad...
Yeah, although doesn't it go up later for the bloodline? IDHMBWM to look. But, pretty sure it does, so while it's crap at level 1, at level 20 IIRC you have like resistance 20.

Correct.


Fiendish Sorcery kinda offsets that problem. One of your racial abilities overlaps with your class ability when you're an infernal sorcerer, but then, when you're an infernal sorceror you'll also get bonus spells you wouldn't get in other classes that you can use on a variety of magical effects.


Troubleshooter wrote:
Fiendish Sorcery kinda offsets that problem. One of your racial abilities overlaps with your class ability when you're an infernal sorcerer, but then, when you're an infernal sorceror you'll also get bonus spells you wouldn't get in other classes that you can use on a variety of magical effects.

Yeah, you mean they get +2 Cha in regards to being a sorcerer, right?


AbsolutGrndZer0 wrote:
Troubleshooter wrote:
Fiendish Sorcery kinda offsets that problem. One of your racial abilities overlaps with your class ability when you're an infernal sorcerer, but then, when you're an infernal sorceror you'll also get bonus spells you wouldn't get in other classes that you can use on a variety of magical effects.
Yeah, you mean they get +2 Cha in regards to being a sorcerer, right?

Yeah, that's it. But then Abyssal seems better as it does the same thing. Still, as you said it becomes much higher on higher levels, so it's not too bad.

Shadow Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.

Aw poo, where is this mentioned?


Skerek wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Nope. Energy resistance does not stack.
Aw poo, where is this mentioned?

Bonuses of the same type never stack unless there is a rule that says otherwise. As an example you can't keep adding protection from energy to get 500 points of resistance against an elemental type.


They're not really bonuses; they're effects (this distinction is necessary, as 'bonuses' implies that the ability is somehow additive).

You have Fire Resistance 5 and Fire Resistance 10 (or FR 5 twice); but only the highest such effect takes place. Both exist, but the weaker is rendered irrelevant unless something neutralizes the greater ability, such as a Dispel Magic peeling off a Tiefling's Resist Energy (Fire) 30.


Troubleshooter wrote:

They're not really bonuses; they're effects (this distinction is necessary, as 'bonuses' implies that the ability is somehow additive).

You have Fire Resistance 5 and Fire Resistance 10 (or FR 5 twice); but only the highest such effect takes place. Both exist, but the weaker is rendered irrelevant unless something neutralizes the greater ability, such as a Dispel Magic peeling off a Tiefling's Resist Energy (Fire) 30.

They are not bonuses in the sense of you getting a +1 to attack, but in the sense of same type _______ they are. Basically if you get a value of X, and you get X from a different source they don't add up. You normally take the higher one unless otherwise stated. DR is an example of this. This has been a rule for since 3.5 at least. I never got in on 3.0 so I don't know about that.

I had to use the word bonus because same type effects is not defined AFAIK.

PS:I have not idea why I explained to you what you just explain to me, but I will let it stay. Maybe it will help someone else. The AFAIK sentence was the only one I really needed.


True. I know it mostly by logic and that's-how-it's-always-been-done, not having seen it spelled out.

Looking at it again, this could be covered under the section One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant.

Fire Resist 10 with FR 5 could be covered by Same Effect More Than Once in Different Strengths, while FR 5 with FR 5 could be covered by One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant. No need to refer to the benefits as bonuses : )


Almost everything that grants the same kind of bonus/ability does not stack.

Example... a level 2 Rogue that has Evasion (class ability) and a Ring of Evasion (which also grants the Evasion ability) does not gain the use of the ability twice.

He simply has an expensive ring that is redundant.


Yeah. Sometimes I think stuff should stack, but I know it doesn't. Like for example, I forget what it was but I was looking at a class i was thinking of giving a werewolf and one of the class abilities was DR 10/silver. Worthless to a werewolf. Though, i guess it's useful in human form, but still.

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