Applying Energy Resistance to Damaging Spells

[Ms. Pleiades]

I've been going over the rules of Energy Resistance and haven't been able to come to a conclusion about how it applies to damaging spells that entail multiple dice.

I know that if you're a fighter that gets 4 iterative attacks with their great sword, DR is applied to each attacks separately, so it'd be 2d6+8 - DR for each attack. (let's say he's low strength and unbuffed.) If the DR is 5 and the rolls come out to [5][3] + 8, then the DR is factored in to make a total damage of 11 damage rather than 16.

What I'm wondering is how energy resistance works.

Say a 5th level wizard uses burning hands on a creature with Fire Resistance 2. They roll 5d4 to the result of 1+4+3+2+3.

Is two damage subtracted from each die roll, or the total damage that'd be calculated at the end?

[Nefreet]

Each occurrence of damage is lessened.

A Fighter swinging 4 times with a Flaming weapon would have the fire damage lessened on each swing, whereas each spell cast by a Wizard would be lessened.

[Efreeti]

Each ATTACK is reduced once, so the burning hands would be 5d4-2, not 5d4-10. Same way that the fighter's attacks are each reduced once, but not once per die.

Hope this helps.

[Ms. Pleiades]

Thanks. That helps out.

[Elicoor]

But, fire resist would apply to each roll for Scorching ray, as there are multiple attacks.

[Lifat]

Elicoor wrote:

But, fire resist would apply to each roll for Scorching ray, as there are multiple attacks.

And by each roll you mean for each 4d6 of the scorching ray, meaning that with fire resist 10 against an 11th lvl scorching ray you roll:

4d6-10 three times (assuming they all hit)

Personally speaking I don't understand why the rules are like that against scorching ray. I would probably houserule it and have fire resist apply only once against all of a scorching ray, because I really feel like the RAW nerfs scorching ray beyond necessary.

[Nefreet]

I guess I never realized that one.

So, you can only Sneak Attack once with Scorching Ray, no matter how many rays you fire, but Energy Resistance works against each one?

[mplindustries]

Nefreet wrote:

I guess I never realized that one.

So, you can only Sneak Attack once with Scorching Ray, no matter how many rays you fire, but Energy Resistance works against each one?

[sarcasm]Well, obviously. Sneak Attack is way too powerful to be allowed to work on multiple rays![/sarcasm]

[Lifat]

mplindustries wrote:

Nefreet wrote:

I guess I never realized that one.

So, you can only Sneak Attack once with Scorching Ray, no matter how many rays you fire, but Energy Resistance works against each one?

[sarcasm]Well, obviously. Sneak Attack is way too powerful to be allowed to work on multiple rays![/sarcasm]

[SARCASM]Obviously! We all know that the most powerful character out there is the damage dealing wizard[/SARCASM]

[Elicoor]

Lifat wrote:

mplindustries wrote:

Nefreet wrote:

I guess I never realized that one.

So, you can only Sneak Attack once with Scorching Ray, no matter how many rays you fire, but Energy Resistance works against each one?

[sarcasm]Well, obviously. Sneak Attack is way too powerful to be allowed to work on multiple rays![/sarcasm]

[SARCASM]Obviously! We all know that the most powerful character out there is the damage dealing wizard[/SARCASM]

[sarcasm] Gimme back my Trobriand's Baleful Teleport and you'll see how you deal damage [/sarcasm]

[Cap. Darling]

Yes scorching Ray is not so effective vs. Fire resistent folks but it is a level 2 spell so it is ok:)