Is this DR type progression correct?

[Senko]

I'm looking at the various damage reductions around and what can overcome them with an eye to having an idea of which is better. Just want to be sure I've not missed something this goes from 1 = best down to = worst DR you can have.

1) DR/- which provides protection against everything.
2) DR/Epic requires a +6 or equivilent weapon which will be fairly common if your using it at least at higher levels.
4) DR/Alignment requires a specific alignment or +5/Equivilent weapon to hurt you.
5) DR/Adamantine requires an adamantine weapon or +4/Equivilent weapon to hurt you.
6) DR/Cold Iron or Silver Requires Cold iron, silver or +3 weapon to hurt you.
7) DR/Magic Requires a +1 or equivilent weapon to hurt you.
8) Dr/Piercing or Slashing or Bludgeoning requires a weapon of the specific type to hurt you.

I'm putting piercing, slashing and bludgeoning below magic but its iffy as if the fighter doesn't have an appropriate weapon it doesn't seem to have a + equivilent where the weapon will overcome it like cold iron does e.g. a +10 sword wont do anything to bypass the DR of a creature with DR/Bludgeoning.

[avr]

Alignment and material based DR requires the actual enhancement bonus, not +1 and a load of special abilities. Alignment DR requires a specific ability, not just being that alignment to bypass the DR. There are a lot of things which bypass DR/magic without +1 or equivalent; I'd rate damage type DR above it.

[MrCharisma]

So to be a bit more specific with what avr said:

Senko wrote:

1) DR/- which provides protection against everything.

2) DR/Epic requires a +6 or equivilent weapon which will be fairly common if your using it at least at higher levels.
4) DR/Alignment requires a specific alignment or +5 /Equivilent weapon to hurt you.
5) DR/Adamantine requires an adamantine weapon or +4 /Equivilent weapon to hurt you.
6) DR/Cold Iron or Silver Requires Cold iron, silver or +3 weapon to hurt you.
7) DR/Magic Requires a +1 or equivilent weapon to hurt you.
8) Dr/Piercing or Slashing or Bludgeoning requires a weapon of the specific type to hurt you.

Also I'm not sure what "+1 or equivilent" means, you can't usually have a +0 weapon with an enchantment (eg. Keen) attached. There are some things (like arcane strike) which count, but they count because they specifically say they overcome DR/Magic.

There are also some abilities (eg. Clustered shot) which let you ignore DR under certain circumstances.

And DR/Good isn't overcome by any character with a good alignment, but it is overcome by a 14th level Paladin, or by someone wielding a Holy weapon.

[Senko]

The equivilent in everything except epic is just copy and paste error since it talks about not needing +6 in the epic one. You can't have a weapon ability without at least +1. I was watching league of extrordinary gentlemen when I posted that so a little distracted my mistkae there.

As I understand it alignment DR is bypassed by any creature with that alignement subtype i.e. devils count but evil humans don't and an appropriately enchanted weapon e.g. holy.

I was thinking damage DR is better than magic DR more weapons are a type of damage for average people but PC's usually just carry their favorite in magic form after about lvl 3/4. I didn't realize there were things that bypassed it though.

I know some things bypass/ignore DR but generally speaking DR/- is useful.

[Cevah]

Alignment needs +5 enhancement or the alignment.
This is granted by a weapon +5, but not by Greater Magic Weapon, since GMW specifically calls out it does not do this. Rags to Riches, however, does not have this clause.

You missed two kinds of DR:
DR/A and B: Both A and B must be part of the weapon to bypass the DR.
DR/A or B: Either A or B must be part of the weapon to bypass the DR.
Commonly this is a combination of alignment with a material.

For example: DR/Silver and Good. This needs a silver weapon that is good aligned. A plain silver weapon is not enough.

For example: DR/Iron or chaotic. An iron weapon is sufficient, a is a chaotic weapon. You don't need both qualities.

DR/magic is bypassed by [Greater] Magic Weapon, while DR/+1 is not.

There are a number of ways that DR is bypassed as a class ability, mythic ability, or some other way. So DR does not guarantee reduced damage. Also, energy does bypass DR.

Hardness is another form of damage reduction, and is harder to ignore (save for Adamantine). Energy may be affected by hardness.

/cevah

[Senko]

I see thanks.

[Lady Asharah]

This seems like an appropriate place to post this question I had not to make a new thread. Not as much as a rules question but it fits the subject.

My character recently came in possession of Invulnerable armor which grants DR 5/magic. This is worth a +3 bonus equivalent on a piece of armor... and can be circumvented by a simple +1 dagger. Am I missing something in thinking that this enhancement is completely not worth a +3 equivalent cost? am I missing something?

I understand many creatures that aren't humanoids tend not to carry magic weapons, and even high level outsiders might not have naturally magical attacks (though they will probably have energy damage riders) so maybe that's why it's priced so high?

[MrCharisma]

Lady Asharah wrote:

My character recently came in possession of Invulnerable armor which grants DR 5/magic. This is worth a +3 bonus equivalent on a piece of armor... and can be circumvented by a simple +1 dagger. Am I missing something in thinking that this enhancement is completely not worth a +3 equivalent cost? am I missing something?

First: most enemies - even humanoids - don't tend to use magic weapons much. PCs are loaded with them, but NPCs tend not to be. Important enemies will be more likely to have them, but DR:5/Bosses isn't a bad form of DR.

Second: Yes I'd say it's overpriced, but it's around the same price as Adamantine Full plate, which gives DR:3/-, so at least it's consistent.

+1 Invulnerable armour = 16,000gp (plus the cost of the armour itself)

Adamantine full Plate = 16,500gp

Of course if you want to upgrade it further than that the whole thing falls apart:

+3 Invulnerable Armour = 36,000gp (plus the actual armour)

+3 Adamantine Full Plate = 25,500gp

Overall I'd say it's more expensive than it's worth, but if you got it for free then great.

[Lady Asharah]

Yes indeed, it came off of a counter "adventuring" party our DM sent on us so they were loaded with magic items. Right now it's useful but I'll likely swap it for celestial armor as soon as I can afford that.