I was wondering if somebody could explain to me how the damage bonus from Unleash Psyche applies to different sorts of spells. The rules for the bonus damage read:
"When you cast a damaging spell, you gain a status bonus to its damage equal to double the spell's level. This applies only to spells that don't have a duration and that you cast using psychic spellcasting."
My questions primarily concern the following:
* Multiple Damage Types
* Multiple Targets
* Persistent Damage
* Splash Damage
* Sustained Spells
I've chosen a handful of spells below to exemplify my questions:
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IGNITION
(Persistent Damage : Splash Damage)
(Psychic Adjustments)
Does persistent damage count as damage with a duration? If so, does the bonus damage apply outside of a critical failure? If not, is the damage bonus applied to the persistent damage? To the splash damage from amp? If the damage bonus is only applied once, how is it determined where the damage gets added?
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IMPLOSION
(Sustained Spells)
Is a sustained spell considered damage with a duration? If not, does the bonus damage apply only to the initial casting, or also each time you sustain the spell while your psyche is unleashed?
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TELEKINETIC REND
(Multiple Damage Types : Multiple Targets)
The amped version of Telekinetic Rend deals 1d6 bludgeoning and 1d6 slashing damage to multiple targets. Is the bonus damage from Unleash Psyche applied to all targets? Is the bonus damage applied to both the bludgeoning and to the slashing damage independently, or is it only applied once to the final damage amount? If applied once, how is it determined where the damage gets added?
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CORAL ERUPTION
(Immediate Damage nested in duration spells)
This is sort of a bonus question. I couldn't find this kind of example in any spells a psychic might actually take, so I grabbed something from the Arcane list as a stand-in for something that may exist and be applicable to a psychic.
Coral Eruption sort of has two effects: one immediate which would satisfy the condition of damage without a duration (6d6 piercing), and the other with a 1 minute duration (difficult and hazardous terrain). Would the bonus damage from Unleash Psyche apply to the immediate damage of such a spell, or does the fact that the spell lists a duration make it ineligible?
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P.S. If somebody could tell me how to post links, or direct me to a page that lists different code you can use on the website to do things, I would appreciate it.
The bonus damage does not apply to multiple damage types, as it doesn't say damage rolls, nor does it work with persistent damage, which is a specific condition, or sustained effects, which is conveniently listed as a kind of duration.
It does apply to each target affected (such as a fireball), including enemies hit with splash damage, but an initial target taking both the original and splash damage only applies the bonus once.
**EDIT** There is a "How to format your text" drop down window at the bottom of the posting window which gives all the relevant information for linking websites, putting text in quotes, etc.
The easiest one is the last one. At the bottom of the page here there is a "How to format your text" button that opens examples that describe how to do links, italic, bold, strikethrough, ooc (grey out), and size changes. As well as a few other things that are less important normally.
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Some other things can also cause a status bonus to damage. Courageous Anthem and Stoke the Heart are the ones that come to mind to me immediately. Ideally, aside from specific rules in these abilities, the status bonus to damage should work the same for all of them.
That said, Unleash Psyche does have specific rules to it. The bonus damage only applies to spells. And it only applies to spells that don't have a duration.
So I am actually going to try to look at this list for both a generic status bonus to damage, and for the Unleash Psyche bonus to non-duration spell damage.
* Multiple Damage Types
* Multiple Targets
* Persistent Damage
* Splash Damage
* Sustained Spells
Multiple Damage Types: This is a bit up in the air. Most people I have talked to don't want to boost each damage type individually because that causes some spells to be boosted more than others for no apparent drawbacks or other balance considerations. Purifying Icicle is already a better spell than Snowball. It doesn't need rulings that let it get boosted quadratically with a status bonus to damage separately for each damage type that it does. The counterargument to this is usually that Resist All does unfairly penalize spells that do different damage types. But that one is at least listed out explicitly and as an exception to normal damage resistance processes.
Multiple targets: Generally this is going to be rolled once and the damage gets applied to all of the targets. That is how AoE spells would work. But even for spells that make attack rolls against multiple targets or otherwise roll damage separately per target, both a generic status bonus and Unleash Psyche bonus would be adding its bonus damage to each target.
Persistent Damage: This one is more questionable. Persistent Damage is a condition. So it may not actually be considered a spell's damage even if it comes from a spell. That ruling does nerf Blistering Invective though since the Persistent Damage is all that it does. I would expect a lot of GM variation on whether a general status bonus to damage applies to a Persistent Damage effect that the character causes. For Unleash Psyche I expect it to be more consistent that the bonus doesn't apply - either because the damage isn't actually a spell any more, or because it has a duration.
Splash Damage: This is even more uncertain than Persistent Damage. Often Courageous Anthem and Stoke the Heart are excluded from boosting splash damage - most commonly citing that the splash damage is not a 'roll' but is instead a fixed value. The real reason is because it is a guaranteed amount of damage (no attack roll, no save) and so it feels imbalanced to be able to boost that.
Sustained Spells: Sustained is a duration. So it automatically does not qualify for Unleash Psyche because of its special restrictions. General status bonus to damage would apply though.
Thank you all for being so kind and showing me to the "How to" section, and for being so thorough with your analysis.
So the verdict seems to run like this:
Ignition: Bonus damage applies to the spell's primary damage, not to the splash or persistent damage.
Implosion: Bonus damage does not apply, as the spell has a duration.
Coral Eruption: Bonus damage does not apply, as the spell has a duration. (Nobody said so yet but I'm assuming. I just wanted to check if anybody disagreed.)
Most of Telekinetic Rend is also cleared up, but I do have one more question about it.
Say you cast an amped Telekinetic Rend. The damage result is as follows:
Bludgeoning Damage: 6
Slashing Damage: 3
Bonus Damage: 2
The enemy has resist 5 to all damage, for simplicity's sake. How is the bonus damage distributed?
If the damage goes to the highest roll (or to player's choice) the spell will deal 3 damage.
(3 + 0)
If the damage goes to the lowest roll the spell will deal 1 damage.
(1 + 0)
If the damage is distributed evenly between the rolls then the spell will deal 2 damage.
(2 + 0)
Is there any precedent for which way the damage gets distributed?
I would say you choose which damage type gets boosted in this case.
But also take note that Splash damage does get boosted if it is not on the primary target, not unlike if a Fireball is affecting multiple targets.
Say you cast an amped Telekinetic Rend. The damage result is as follows:
Bludgeoning Damage: 6
Slashing Damage: 3
Bonus Damage: 2Is there any precedent for which way the damage gets distributed?
I don't see anything in the rules specifying which type gets boosted (or even forbidding all of them getting boosted). I would let the player that is dealing the damage (whether a PC player or the GM for NPCs) choose which damage type gets the boost. Normally that is going to be the one that rolls the highest or one that isn't being resisted.
Ultimately this is going to be something that you, your GM, and the rest of the players at your table will have to make the final ruling on. Happy to help make that an informed conversation though.