| | Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
|---|
| 171. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Are liches or vampires destroyed or damaged by sunlight or
torchlight? What other undead, if any, are adversely affected by
exposure to sunlight or some other bright light source? | | From the various descriptions of the undead monsters in the
Monster Manual, it appears that only the vampire, the spectre
and the wraith are adversely affected by light — and even then,
the light must be actual sunlight or at least a light source of
daylight-level intensity. The light from a torch or a lantern, or a
Light spell, or a small-scale “fire” spell such as Flame Arrow, is
not bright enough to be harmful.
The status of wights is questionable; wraiths are said to be
“similar in nature to wights,” and wraiths have no power in full
sunlight, but wights are only said to “hate sunlight,” leaving
unanswered the question of whether they are harmed by it. The
sage recommends that wights be treated differently from
wraiths, because the wight is a weaker type of undead with less
of a “link” to the negative material plane than the wraith, and it is
the wraith’s strong connection to the eternal darkness of the
negative material plane that makes the creature so vulnerable to
bright light.
All of the undead prefer to lurk about in darkness. Ghosts and
shadows especially like places where light does not shine, but
daylight doesn’t bother them if they have to put up with it. A
lich’s hidden chambers are “very dark,” says the MM, but obviously
the lich has powers even in an illuminated area; otherwise,
how could anyone flee in fear of something they can’t see?
Same goes for the ghost, whose power to cause aging and panic
can’t be effective unless the victim has at least enough light to
see by. The other types of undead — ghasts, ghouls, skeletons,
mummies, and zombies — are not affected by the presence of
light.
While we’re on the subject, exactly what is “some other bright
light source” — what will produce the effect of daylight when
sunlight is not available? For one thing, a Continual Light spell,
which is said to be “nearly as illuminating as full daylight.” But
does a Continual Light suffice as a replacement for actual sunlight?
The sage’s suggestion here is that Continual Light should
be effective in rendering wraiths and spectres powerless, but
that only actual sunlight (“direct sunlight,” in the words of the
MM, is able to make a vampire helpless. Artificial sunlight, even
if created magically, has no effect upon the creature which the
MM calls “the most dreaded of the chaotic evil undead.”
As with any general guidelines, the ones stated above have
exceptions: For instance, the “sunburst” effect of a Wand of
illumination does “light”damage to any undead within its range.
It’s up to the DM to known when these exceptions should take
precedence.
Are there other light-producing magics that equal or surpass
a Continual Light spell in intensity? Yes, but most of them are
flame-producing (Flame Strike, a Wand of Fire, a Produce fire
spell, a fire Storm, and so forth) as opposed to light-producing,
and thus might be disallowed as a “light source” for the purpose
of immobilizing an undead. Similarly, a Lightning Bolt spell or
the use of a Gem of Brightness produces a flash of light bright
enough to blind, and it is certainly brighter than normal daylight.
But in most cases, the extremely short duration of the “light
blast” makes it unlikely that a DM would allow such things to be
used as light sources. |
| 172. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Will a Defect Evil spell be effective on a demon polymorphed
as a man? | | Yes, the spell will reveal emanations of evil in such a case.
Some demons (Demogorgon, Orcus, Yeenoghu, Types Ill-V)
have ability equivalent to a Polyrnorph Self spell; however, that
spell does not alter the personality and mentality of the creature
which is polymorphed. The evil nature of a demon would be
apparent to the caster of a Detect Evil spell even if the demon
was disguised as a lawful good being. |
| 173. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Does the Rod of Asmodeus only absorb 50 spell levels, like a
regular Rod of Absorption, or is its power greater than that? Is
the Rod an artifact or relic? How about Geryon’s horn? | | Because the Rod of Asmodeus “acts as a rod of absorption,”
we assume that it can absorb up to 50 spell levels in a single use
(or in one encounter). Because the rod belongs to and is controlled
by Asmodeus, we can assume that a powerful, magical
being such as he is capable of recharging it (unlike a normal rod,
which cannot be recharged) after a reasonable interval of time
(perhaps a day) has passed since it was last charged up. This
interpretation makes the Rod of Asmodeus infinitely powerful,
as far as its absorbing ability is concerned, but it also places a
limit on how much of the absorption power can be employed
within a certain time span.
No, neither the Rod of Asmodeus nor Geryon’s horn is an
artifact or relic. Apparently, this question is derived from the fact
that the wand used by Orcus is included on the artifacts and
relics list in the Dungeon Masters Guide. However, the wand is a
special case; as stated in the item’s description, it exists as an
artifact because Orcus sometimes chooses to let it appear on
the prime material plane to further the cause of chaos and evil.
Devils, being lawful evil instead of chaotic evil, do not have such
a “carefree” attitude about their precious items (such as the rod
and the horn) and will not willingly part with them in such a
fashion. Thus, the only way the Rod of Asmodeus or the horn of
Geryon, or any other-devil’s favorite weapon, can be encountered
is when encountering the devil himself. |
| 174. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | If an erinyes (30% magic resistance) is out to get a 27th-level
magic-user, and the character casts an attack spell, would the
erinyes make a magic-resistance roll at a minus? | | No. Rolls for magic resistance are never made “at a minus.” As
defined in the explanation of magic resistance in the front of the
Monster Manual; any spell cast against an erinyes by an 11thlevel
character has a 30% chance of absolutely failing. For each
level of the spell-caster above 11th, the chance of shell failure
decreases by 5%, which means that a 17th-level spell-caster (or
one of any higher level) will automatically be able to negate the
magic resistance of the erinyes. The lowest effective magic
resistance that a creature can ever have is 0%, not a minus
number. |
| 175. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Concerning combat with vampires: I am not certain how the
use of wooden stakes is accomplished; and, is it possible to kill a
vampire permanently by the use of a magic weapon?
Can a cleric create water inside a non-living object? If so, what
would happen if water is created inside a vampire? | | Much of the details in any encounter with a vampire must
necessarily depend on the nature of the particular encounter
-it’s impossible to define the “best” way to combat a vampire,
but some general rules apply. The “use of wooden stakes” is
fairly straightforward: The vampire must be in its corporeal body
and it must be rendered helpless by some means other than
reduction of hit points (because when a vampire reaches zero
hit points, it assumes gaseous form). Exposure to direct sunlight
will kill a vampire after one turn, and during that turn the creature
is helpless. That seems like a good time to hammer home a
stake, or it could be done at any other time when the vampire is
immobilized in its corporeal body.
No, it is not possible to permanently kill a vampire with magic
weapons. As stated above, a vampire will become gaseous when
it is reduced to zero hit points. Magic weapons are fine for
weakening the creature, but some other means must be used to
apply the killing blow.
The question about creating water inside a vampire apparently
comes from the mention in the Monster Manual that a vampire
can be killed by immersion in running water. Unfortunately, the
AD&D rules do not address the question of whether an undead
creature is considered “living” for the purpose of casting Create
Water. The intent of the rules, however, is made clear by the
description in the DMG (p. 43) of the druidic version of the spell:
“It is not possible to cast the spell upon a creature” (presumably
including an undead creature) “and create liquid in any part of
its body.” In any event, creating water inside a vampire would
not have the desired (harmful to the vampire) effect, since the
liquid is not running water, as it would be if it came from a stream
or a spigot. |
| 176. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Do undead breathe, and could they live on an airless world? | | No, they don’t, and yes, they could. This is an instance where
undead can and should be considered different from “living”
creatures. Undead have a “life” of a sort, but they are not “alive.”
Their bodies do not require food, water and air to sustain themselves
like ours do. |
| 177. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Can paladins contract lycanthropy?
Will the rotting caused by Demogorgon have an effect on
monks of fifth level or higher, since they are immune to disease? | | Yes, a paladin can become a lycanthrope. Yes, a high-level
monk can be affected by Demogorgon’s rot-disease attack. The
immunity to disease that is enjoyed by paladins and by monks of
fifth level or higher applies only to “natural” diseases, such as
those listed in the table on page 14 of the DMG, and not to
“unnatural” diseases such as those caused by the attack or
touch of a monster. The same thing goes for the rotting disease
transmitted by a mummy or the “disease” caused by the spread
of green slime, for instance. |
| 178. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | The Monster Manual says that demons and devils are affected
by iron and silver weapons but then it says that magic weapons
are needed to hit certain demons and devils. Do iron and silver
weapons damage these creatures? | | The forms of attacks which affect all demons and devils are
listed in the general descriptions for each type of creature.
Everything in the list applies to every creature of that type; in
other words, a demon which is described as only being vulnerable
to magic weapons is also vulnerable to iron weapons, even
the non-magical type. A demon will take no damage from a silver
weapon, unless the demon is a type which is vulnerable to
non-magical weapons, in which case a silver weapon will have
the same damage potential as a similar weapon made of any
other substance.
The situation is reversed for devils; all devils are vulnerable to
silver weapons, even those who are otherwise only able to be hit
by magic weapons, and no devil can be damaged by an iron
weapon unless that devil is vulnerable to non-magical weapons. |
| 179. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | When a character attacks a skeleton with a piercing weapon, is the character’s strength-damage adjustment added to the
number of points of damage inflicted on the creature? | | Skeletons take half damage from attacks by sharp weapons
-in other words, half of the points of damage that would have
been suffered by a creature which does not have that partial
protection. The result of the attack is computed normally, the
bonus to damage (if any) is added to the full result, and then the
damage points are halved. For example, a character with
strength 18 (+2 to damage) hits a skeleton with his long sword
and does 4 points of damage with the weapon. The skeleton will
take 3 points of damage from that attack (4 + 2 equals 6, divided
by 2 equals 3), as opposed to the 6 points of damage it would
inflict on a creature which is fully vulnerable to edged weapons. |
| 180. | DR054 | Dragon #54 | Are demons and devils immune to Sleep and Charm spells,
just like the undead are? | | Not exactly, although the end result is about the same. Demons
and devils are not by nature immune to Sleep and Charm
spells- except for the manes and lemures, which are specifically
described as being immune to both those types of magic. The
rest of the ranks don’t need to be “made” immune to Sleep spells
— they already are, because the spell only affects creatures of
up to 4+4 hit dice, and none of the demons or devils (except for
manes and lemures) has a hit-dice figure lower than 5+5.
Demons and devils are technically vulnerable to the effects of
a Charm Monster spell, but the percentages aren’t exactly in
favor of the character who tries to use such a spell -and keep it
working after it is cast. Considering the magic resistance of
demons and devils, plus the fact that they get a saving throw
against the spell even if their magic resistance fails, plus the fact
that they can successfully “break” the charm after it is cast, the
odds are definitely against the spell caster. For example, consider
an 11th-level magic-user trying to snare a “lowly” Type I
demon with Charm Monster: The demon has a 50% chance
(magic resistance) of being unaffected, a 35% chance to make a
saving throw vs. the spell even if its magic resistance fails, and a
45% chance per week thereafter of snapping out of it. That all
adds up to less than an 18% chance that the spell will succeed
and be effective for longer than one week. The chance of success
is a lot lower for the most powerful demons and devils, and
it would not be improper for a DM to simply rule that the “big
names” (Demogorgon, Juiblex, Orcus, Yeenoghu, Asmodeus,
Baalzebul, Dispater, Geryon) are effectively immune to the
spell. The idea of being able to bring one of the demon princes
or arch-devils under control by means of a mere 4th-level spell is
hard to accept. |
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