Ring of Inner Fortitude applied after Penalties / Damage / Drain occur

[Stephen Ede]

You take ability Drain, Damage and penalties and then put on said ring.
Do any of the effects get removed?

My thought was ability damage and drain would be unaffected.
My understanding was the damage/Drain gets reduced at the time it's done.
i..e. If you have a Greater Ring and took 5 pts of damage, 8, pts of damage and 4 pts of drain the first dmage would be reduced to 0, the 2nd to 2 pts and the drain to 1 pt if you were wearing the ring when it happened.

But Ability Penalties I wasn't sure on.
Given that penalties are normally been done by an outside effect or condition and when that effect/comdition goes or is suppressed the penalty goes or is suppressed, so is constantly checking.

So if Enlarged you take a -2 penalty to Dex but only so long as the Enlarge is in effect.
Enter an anti-magic field and the -2 Dex penalty goes away.
So if you put a Ring of Inner Fortitude on the Dex Penalty goes away, until you take the ring off again (unless the Enlarge spell has ended).

What do people think?

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Ring of Inner Fortitude

Alternating diamonds and rubies stud this band of white gold.

Minor: A minor ring of inner fortitude reduces ability damage or temporary ability penalties the wearer takes by 2 points and ability drain by 1 point. If an effect targets multiple ability scores (for example, exhaustion, fatigue, or touch of idiocy), the ring reduces the damage, drain, or penalty for all ability scores.
Major: A major ring of inner fortitude reduces ability damage or temporary penalties by 4 points and reduces ability drain by 2 points.
Greater: A greater ring of inner fortitude reduces ability damage or temporary penalties by 6 points and reduces ability drain by 3 points.
Wearing a ring of inner fortitude does not make the wearer immune to conditions such as fatigued or exhausted even if the wearer ignores all ability damage, drain, or penalties from the condition.

If the ring prevents any damage, drain, or penalties that are associated with a beneficial effect, it also negates the beneficial effect.

[avr]

'If the ring prevents any damage, drain, or penalties that are associated with a beneficial effect, it also negates the beneficial effect.' - I wouldn't want to combine this item with enlarge person. It'd de-enlarge you.

I think it does work when an effect is applied because it can work repeatedly. Penalties or conditions going away doesn't affect that argument - a ring of inner fortitude doesn't make fatigued go away after all. It stops some things but it doesn't suppress anything.

[Belafon]

Here's a post by Mark Seifter:

IMPORTANT NOTE: he's posting on an alias. He does that when it's not an official designer clarification; it's his interpretation without running by others and should be treated as an opinion, not a rule. (But since it is a designer's opinion, it's pretty good info.)

His opinion is that the ring is not retroactive: it only prevents things that took effect while wearing the ring. So two possible sequences:

1. You are wearing the ring, and drink a potion of enlarge person. The ring negates the penalties (and therefore the benefits) of enlarge person.

2. You take off your ring, drink a potion of enlarge person, and put the ring back on. You are still enlarged and still have all the benefits and penalties that were in place before you put the ring on.