Negative Energy damage


Advice


Various attacks use negative energy for damage, but i've seen different physical effects from that damage (the life is sucked out from the creature withering it and also other fiction where it had an explosive effect)

How does everyone describe the physical effects of negative energy damage, do you have it wither the body away leeching the body of nourishment until dead? Does it open wounds across the body like old injuries all coming back at once ? Or something else ?


I describe it as if they are wilting suddenly with age.


How do you describe the hp damage caused by weapons?

I will admit I just never bother unless it's a particularly large amount of damage (relative to hp/level).


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I describe negative energy as, well, the absence of living. Affected areas pale and darken as if no longer receiving blood. Particularly powerful negative energy effects actively cause the target to decay somewhat.

Of course, negative energy has unique ramifications in my campaign setting than typical Golarion, so take that as you will.


Think how damage would be described, then instead of burns the skin is just dead.

Silver Crusade

I've had a particularly good PFS GM ask players to describe their own negative channeling effects (and other effects generated by their PCs, including weapon crits for example).

This helped me decide that my Lamashtan separatist's negative channeling turns the victims inside out, revealing strange internal growths such as hair and tentacles. Damage that is only sufficient to slightly wound opponents obviously doesn't fully invert them, but they grow vestigial limbs and the like causing them great pain. These vestigial limbs and organs subsequently wither away to nothing.

I think this is much move immersive than just saying "everyone within 30 feet takes 22 damage, Will DC 16 for half."


I usually describe negative energy damage as either skin darkening and necrotising, or cuts spontaneously opening. The second for inflict wounds spells and the first for undead touch attacks, others as feels more gruesome.

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