How Does Variable Resistance Work?

[the Jester]

Variable resistance is a free action. Is it an interrupt? Does a demon use variable resistance to adapt to attacks that have hit it after the fact, or does it protect them until you burn through its per-encounter uses?

Is there any official word on this subject?

How do you run it in your game? How should it run?

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

See the back of the Monster Manual, Page 283. It explains it pretty completely. Its a free action to choose a type to resist and the resistance lasts the rest of the encounter. If a demon has 2/encounter resist, then it can change the type of resistance again later (but it only gets one type at time).

Generally speaking a demon is going to simply choose to resist whatever elemental damage type it gets hit with first, unless its a particularly clever demon or has some really good reason to expect that the PCs primarily use some different damage type. Really smart demons might hold off on choosing what to resist until they've scoped out the opposition, but those types are also usually ones that have 2/encounter variable resist, so they can usually afford to resist whatever hits them first and still have a choice to fall back on when they find out that the cleric with his radiant damage isn't quite as nasty a threat as that frostcheesing wizard/fighter combo over there.

 

[keterys]

Although, you can't resist radiant at all... I think that's the most common mistake with variable resistance. It's just the elemental resistances - acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder.

But yeah, you can take a free action at any time, such as after an opponent attacks you before you take the damage. It's a bit rude that way, but works well enough.

 

[lukelightning]

Although, you can't resist radiant at all... I think that's the most common mistake with variable resistance. It's just the elemental resistances - acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder.

Oops, I overlooked that... I had a mezzodemon using it to resist psychic damage. Oh well, it only extended his life a round or so.

 

[the Jester]

But yeah, you can take a free action at any time, such as after an opponent attacks you before you take the damage. It's a bit rude that way, but works well enough.

So your take is that it works like an interrupt?

 

[Skallgrim]

Although, you can't resist radiant at all... I think that's the most common mistake with variable resistance. It's just the elemental resistances - acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder.

But yeah, you can take a free action at any time, such as after an opponent attacks you before you take the damage. It's a bit rude that way, but works well enough.

I don't think that, even as a free action, you can choose to use it as an Interrupt. I don't think using it that way would be necessarily broken, but I would characterize it as 'creative rules revision' rather than rude.

 

[Runestar]

I thought free actions could only be taken during your turn?

 

[Hypersmurf]

I thought free actions could only be taken during your turn?

Not quite.

Free Action: Free actions take almost no time or effort. You can take as many free actions as you want during your or another combatant's turn.

-Hyp.

 

[the Jester]

Not quite.

Hyp, what's your take on this? Do you think free actions can be used like interrupts?

 

[keterys]

I don't think that, even as a free action, you can choose to use it as an Interrupt. I don't think using it that way would be necessarily broken, but I would characterize it as 'creative rules revision' rather than rude.

Elven Precision is a free action that you use in the middle of an action, whenever that action is - including in the middle of an immediate interrupt or opportunity action.

Warden's can free action mark while in the middle of a charge action.

Free actions are up to the DM to decide on limits, but without listed restrictions may literally be used at any time. Including 'as a fire spell is in midair towards me'.

Which is one reason why Dwarven armor is so good and the reason the artificer resistive formula works well.