How does Acid Arrow work?


Rules Questions


I can't seem to find a good answer. There is the possibility I'm over looking something simple. Any help would be appreciated.

Two arrows hit the same wizard. He takes 2x2d4 points of damage. How much ongoing damage does he take, 4d4, 2X2d4, or 2d4?

If hit twice in the same round with acid arrows for 2(2x2d4) damage? How much ongoing damage does he take, 8d4, 2x4d4, 2(2x2d4), 2x2d4, 4d4, 2X2d4, or 2d4?

The options I have shown are the damage all together, from each character, from each arrow, if damage from one character does not stack, if none of the ongoing damage stacks.

Thanks


Each hit of acid arrow does 2d4 per round of its duration, unless it is neutralized.


The simplest way to look at it might be this:

Shoot a guy with Acid Arrow in the leg. Part of his leg dissolves when you hit him (2d4). More of his leg dissolves on the next round (2d4). Make sense so far?

Now, suppose you shoot him in the left leg and I shoot him in the right leg. Each of his legs will take dissolve for 2d4 this round, and again next round. In this case, the acid on one leg does not increase or decrease the acid on the other leg - they work independent of each other, and each leg dissolves on its own regardless of what happens to the other leg.

Still make sense?

Now, the game is very simple. It doesn't matter if you shoot him in the leg or the head. It doesn't matter if he gets shot once, twice, or a hundred times, even if every shot is in the exact same spot or a hundred different spots. The game is too abstract to care.

Which means, each spell does its full normal damage regardless of how many times he gets shot in any round.

One spell, 2d4. Two spells, 2d4 twice. Three spells, 2d4 three times. Etc.

Roll the damage separately if the target has Acid Resistance or for some other reason might reduce the damage (but Acid Resistance is the only reason that comes to my mind right now). If he has Acid Resistance 5, then each separate 2d4 must subtract 5 to determine how much damage it does (which means you could shoot him with dozens of Acid Arrows and he might take zero total damage, or very little). But if he has no resistance, just go ahead and roll all the d4 together to save time.


Oh yeah, damage always "stacks".

Or more accurately, it doesn't "stack" at all because damage is always instantaneous. No, the spell isn't an instantaneous spell, but each round when it does damage, the damage itself is instantaneously applied which means there is nothing to "stack" - just subtract the HP from the target as the damage is applied.


DM_Blake wrote:

Oh yeah, damage always "stacks".

Or more accurately, it doesn't "stack" at all because damage is always instantaneous. No, the spell isn't an instantaneous spell, but each round when it does damage, the damage itself is instantaneously applied which means there is nothing to "stack" - just subtract the HP from the target as the damage is applied.

So for concentration checks would it then be one check per arrow at 10+ 1/2(2d4)+spell level?


You don't check per-arrow. If you are casting a spell, you total up the damage you take and apply 1/2 that to the one check.


Thanks all that really clears things up!


Okay, so similar question. .. in the core book under environmental effects, it states that acid does an additional 1d6 per round of exposure and that an attack counts as 1 round. How does this work with Acid Arrow or other attacks? Is the damage done on the same round as the initial hit, at the end of the round, or somewhere in between?


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Acid environments are different than the Acid Arrow spell.

The spell does exactly what it says it does: 2d4 when it hits and 2d4 every round after that for the duration.

Acid environments are talking about things like acid rain, or stepping in a pool of acid that just happens to be lying around in a dungeon somewhere. Generically, such things do 1d6 per round. If someone scoops up a handful of that acid pool and throws it at you, that does 1d6 too, in addition to any ongoing damage you're taking from standing in it.

Those are two very separate things, don't try to put them together.


DM_Blake wrote:

Acid environments are different than the Acid Arrow spell.

The spell does exactly what it says it does: 2d4 when it hits and 2d4 every round after that for the duration.

Acid environments are talking about things like acid rain, or stepping in a pool of acid that just happens to be lying around in a dungeon somewhere. Generically, such things do 1d6 per round. If someone scoops up a handful of that acid pool and throws it at you, that does 1d6 too, in addition to any ongoing damage you're taking from standing in it.

Those are two very separate things, don't try to put them together.

The person doing the scooping of course also takes 1D6 acid damage. :D


alexd1976 wrote:
DM_Blake wrote:

Acid environments are different than the Acid Arrow spell.

The spell does exactly what it says it does: 2d4 when it hits and 2d4 every round after that for the duration.

Acid environments are talking about things like acid rain, or stepping in a pool of acid that just happens to be lying around in a dungeon somewhere. Generically, such things do 1d6 per round. If someone scoops up a handful of that acid pool and throws it at you, that does 1d6 too, in addition to any ongoing damage you're taking from standing in it.

Those are two very separate things, don't try to put them together.

The person doing the scooping of course also takes 1D6 acid damage. :D

That's what resistances are for. Or good gloves.


Makes sense, but what threw me off was the statement about attacks. I took it to mean anything including thrown acid flasks, spells, acid spit from creatures, black dragon breath, etc..


The Environment section on Acid is referring to the actual physical alchemical acid, not to spell effects or dragon breath. Spells and Breath Weapons have their own specific rules.

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