Hello, I searched as best I can but couldn't find an answer to this, so here I go.
How Exactley does the sunlight bomb work?
Sunlight Bomb (Su)*: The alchemist can throw bombs that explode with a searing radiance equivalent to that of sunlight and that act as blinding bombs. Undead, fungi, molds, oozes, slimes, and creatures to which sunlight is harmful or unnatural take +2 damage per die from the bomb. Undead that are harmed by sunlight and that fail their saves against the bomb are staggered for 1 round. An alchemist must be at least 10th level and must have the blinding bomb discovery before he can select this discovery.
And Blinding Bomb
Blinding Bomb (Su)*: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose for it to detonate very brightly. Creatures that take a direct hit from a blinding bomb are blinded for 1 minute unless they succeed at a Fortitude save. Creatures in the splash area that fail their saves against the bomb are dazzled for 1 minute. This is a light effect. An alchemist must be at least 8th level before selecting this discovery.
So starting with Blinding Bomb, it is clear on a direct hit the target has to make a Fort saving throw. For creatures in the splash area, I'm not quite sure if the saving throw is Ref as per usual, or a Fort save, like a directly hit creature deals with.
For the Blinding Bomb itself, the bonus to damage seems straightforward, but the Undead's immunity to any effect that requires a for save (unless it works on objects or is harmless) brings into question whether the line about staggering them is a waste of space.
So,
1. Is the saving throw for those caught in the splash of a Blinding/Sunlight Bomb Fort or Ref.
And,
2. When, if ever, would an undead creature actually be staggered by a sunlight bomb, given their immunities.
Undead are immune to the blinding effect, but they are staggered if they fail their Reflex save against the bomb itself. (Weirdly, an undead directly hit by the bomb is not staggered, as they don't get a Reflex save.)
I see it like this.
The Sunlight bomb is just a bigger version of the Blinding bomb. It says so. So it works just like it, but better. It says so.
The bomb does two things. Damage and blinding.
Blinding Bomb:
- The damage: xd6+INT damage to the target (no save) and a splash for x+INT damage to adjacent targets with a REF save for half splash damage.
- The blinding: Target gets Fort save or is blinded for 1 minute. Splash targets get a Fort save or are dazzled for 1 minute.
Upgrading to Sunlight Bomb does all of the above with extra bonus vs. undead (etc.):
- The damage: xd6+INT+2x damage to the target undead (no save) and a splash for x+INT damage to adjacent undead targets with a REF save for half splash damage.
- The blinding: Undead Target gets Fort save or is blinded for 1 minute and staggered for 1 round. Undead Splash targets get a Fort save or are dazzled for 1 minute and staggered for 1 round.
BUT, as noted, undead are immune to most FORT save effects, so this makes them completely immune to being blinded, dazzled, or staggered by this bomb, so all you really get for it is about 1 extra HP damage per Alchemist level but only against certain types of creatures.
Hardly worth it.
Why did they write it this way? It seems that the author forgot about undead and Fort saves. Unfortunately.
Thank you very much for your replies, I appreciate the help.
I think DM Blake sets it out very well, so I'll go with his interpretation.
Luckily this situation popped up in a home game where I'm the GM, so I think I'll just allow the Sunlight Bomb to actually affect undead. I mean, what's the point of "Undead that are harmed by sunlight and that fail their saves against the bomb are staggered for 1 round" otherwise?
That's very reasonable, and I'd play it the same way.