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Does fire resistance protect you from environmental heat and does cold resistance protect you from environmental cold?
So far I haven't been able to find a proper answer to this, just people saying they should.
I know James Jacobs said they do at least twice (found here and here) but we all know his word isn't rule.
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Does fire resistance protect you from environmental heat and does cold resistance protect you from environmental cold?
So far I haven't been able to find a proper answer to this, just people saying they should.
I know James Jacobs said they do at least twice (found here and here) but we all know his word isn't rule.
Yes and no. Cold resistance will protect you from both lethal and non-lethal cold damage. It won't prevent any other effects of a cold environment (like just being cold, freezing, and so forth). The other reistances are similiarly effected.
Endure Elements is a super easy spell to solve this issue, but Endure Elements doesn't protect you from actual damage.
It's kinda a wierd system, but that's how it works.
I assumed the other effects that happen upon taking damage still happened.
The issue is that the damage both cold and heat do isn't defined beyond being non-lethal, with the exception of breathing in exceptionally hot environments. as such one could argue that the damage is untyped and the resistance does not apply.
So I guess the question actually is: Does cold environment do Cold damage and does hot environment do Fire damage?
Common sense would say yes but the rules don't say anything.
EDIT: I know Endure Elements makes you immune to all of it but that isn't the point.
Don't look at me >.>
Actually, endure elements only immunizes you to it between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 and 60 degrees Celsius). So if cold/fire resistance does protect you, it does a better job than endure elements.
Do you want fire giants and red dragons passing out from heat exhaustion in their volcano lair? Do you want a white dragon freezing to death on a glacier? Clearly the intent is that resistance/immunity to cold/fire helps you out in extreme environments.
I understand that. Common sense is it works. I'm not asking about common sense though. As it stands the damage isn't typed beyond being nonlethal.
So by RAW Fire Giants do suffer from heat exhaustion. Doesn't make any sense but it is how it's written at the moment. That is why I'd like an official clarification.
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Do you want fire giants and red dragons passing out from heat exhaustion in their volcano lair? Do you want a white dragon freezing to death on a glacier? Clearly the intent is that resistance/immunity to cold/fire helps you out in extreme environments.I understand that. Common sense is it works. I'm not asking about common sense though. As it stands the damage isn't typed beyond being nonlethal.
So by RAW Fire Giants do suffer from heat exhaustion. Doesn't make any sense but it is how it's written at the moment. That is why I'd like an official clarification.
It should always been assumed that a creature can survive in their Native Environment, unless noted otherwise. This goes for player characters and NPCs alike. There's no need to have rules for this, it can just be assumed.
Just like it can be assumed that a character without ranks in knowledge (religion), does know a thing or two about their worshipped deity.
Or a character without ranks in Knowledge (geography), can still give good directions in her hometown which she grew up in.
These things do not require rules, they are just common sense abilties that the players and the GM should be applying.
By a strict reading of the rules the non-lethal damage from cold and heat is untyped damage and therefore not prevented by the appropriate resist/protection from energy.
That said any GM who ruled that they don't protect you is a GM who will be short a player. If they lack that level of common sense who knows what other random rulings they will make.
Some things don't need to be spelt out.