Diabolist's Hellfire and energy descriptors

[Murdock Mudeater]

Very curious on this one. Diabolist Prestige class has an ability to modify a spells damage so it does 1/2 fire and 1/2 unholy energy (basically, no resist damage). Says spell gains lawful and evil descriptors. Doesn't require spell to already deal fire damage.

My witch/diabolist uses a lightning bolt (given how few direct damage spells the witch has access to). That spell has the electricity descriptor.

As I read it, I'd be dealing 1/2 fire and 1/2 unholy damage, with a spell that has the electricity, lawful, and evil descriptors.

Do I have this right?

[Thornborn]

dotting

[Bob Bob Bob]

So first off, it helps if you post the actual text.

Channel Hellfire wrote:

At 2nd level, a diabolist can alter spells that deal energy damage to instead deal hellfire damage. She can do this as a free action a number of times per day equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Spells altered to use hellfire gain the lawful and evil descriptors.

So yeah, you can alter any spell that does energy damage to instead do "hellfire" damage, which is clarified in an earlier part of that book. It's not "no resist" though.

Hellfire wrote:

Hellfire is treated as normal fire, but deals half fire damage and half damage from unholy energy. Damage dealt by hellfire is known as hellfire damage. Evil-aligned creatures and creatures with the evil subtype take no damage from the unholy energy, but good-aligned beings and those with the good subtype take double the normal damage from it. Creatures under the effects of spells like protection from evil are unaffected by this unholy energy, though they may still take fire damage.

So evil creatures (or things with the evil subtype) are immune to the unholy damage and good creatures (or things with the good subtype) take double unholy damage. Protection from evil completely negates the unholy damage.

[Murdock Mudeater]

Sorry about not posting the rules. This is one of those which I only have physical rules, but no easy to link/quote PDF.

Still, wasn't asking about damage, just the descriptors.

Protection against evil, or evil alignment, does negate the unholy damage, but it still does half fire damage. So, the hellfire "lightning bolt" does no electricity damage, but retains the electric descriptor, right?

[Vritra]

Your lightning bolt would retain the [electric] descriptor. Albeit, it only affects a few specific things like some sorcerers, but it's still useful.

[Murdock Mudeater]

Vritra wrote:

Your lightning bolt would retain the [electric] descriptor. Albeit, it only affects a few specific things like some sorcerers, but it's still useful.

Interesting. So there is no automatic change to the descriptor if the energy damage is changed types?