Let's assume that we have a champion player character who wields a flaming sword. The champion has a riding drake animal companion which has the support feature that reads as follows:
>Your drake snorts fire in your foes' faces. Until the start of your next turn, each time you Strike while riding the drake and hit a creature in the drake's reach, the creature takes 1d4 fire damage from the drake.
The champion enters combat with a troll (or any other creature with fire vulnerability). On his turn, he commands his drake to move and support, and then he attacks with his flaming sword. His attack succeeds. Does the troll's vulnerability to fire trigger twice -- once when the flaming sword strikes and again when the drake provides its support fire damage? Or only once as part of a whole attack resolution?
The troll gets one reaction per turn.
So that fire damage from the sword would be the first opportunity for it to trigger.
The troll gets one reaction per turn.
So that fire damage from the sword would be the first opportunity for it to trigger.
I'm sorry, I think I wasn't clear enough. I'm not referring to the troll's opportunity attack. Rather, I'm wondering if its Weakness to fire triggers a second time as the drake's support damage is applied, or if it only applies once per attack by the champion + drake combined.
The support effect is separate damage, not added directly to the Strike's damage, so it should trigger the Weakness too. Same goes for Resist, Shield Block, etc.
Exactly what an instance of damage is not well defined in the rules. Most people though would consider each strike to be separate damage, and therefore might have an implication for weakness. Even if one of them is happening as a reaction.
There are a few special powers like Flurry of Blows that can cause 2 strikes to be combined. But that is not the general case.
However what you are talking about here is a continuous ability. The drakes ability reads:
each time you Strike while riding the drake and hit a creature in the drake's reach, the creature takes 1d4 fire damage from the drake
We don't have clear guidance here.
Sometimes you will see the words additional damage or extra damage used. But these aren't defined either.
However what you are talking about here is a continuous ability. The drakes ability reads:
each time you Strike while riding the drake and hit a creature in the drake's reach, the creature takes 1d4 fire damage from the drake
We don't have clear guidance here.
Sometimes you will see the words additional damage or extra damage used. But these aren't defined either.
I think maybe the only way to take it is exactly as it reads -- the drake is a secondary source of fire damage that would trigger the troll's weakness again. That makes the riding drake dangerously effective in those circumstances and the added damage would really compound against such a foe. I now also suppose that might be why the riding drake is an uncommon companion.