Damage Types
D&D 5e has 13 damage types. Creatures may have resistances, immunities, or vulnerabilities to specific types.
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Physical Damage Types
Bludgeoning:
- Blunt force: maces, clubs, falling
- Many creatures resist non-magical bludgeoning
Piercing:
- Puncture wounds: arrows, spears, bites
- Often resisted by same creatures as bludgeoning
Slashing:
- Cuts: swords, axes, claws
- The third "physical" damage type
Important Note: Many resistances/immunities specify "from nonmagical attacks." Magic weapons bypass this.
Elemental Damage Types
Fire: Flames and heat. Very common damage type, but many creatures resist it.
Cold: Freezing temperatures. Fewer resistances than fire.
Lightning: Electrical damage. Relatively few resistances.
Thunder: Sonic/concussive force. Often paired with forced movement.
Acid: Corrosive damage. Can destroy objects.
Poison: Toxic damage. MOST resisted/immune damage type. Many creatures immune.
Special Damage Types
Radiant:
- Holy/divine energy
- Effective against undead and fiends
- Very few creatures resist it
Necrotic:
- Life-draining energy
- Undead often immune
- Can reduce max HP (some effects)
Force:
- Pure magical energy (Magic Missile, Eldritch Blast)
- NOTHING is resistant or immune to force damage
- The most reliable damage type
Psychic:
- Mental damage
- Mindless creatures often immune
- Bypasses most physical defenses
Resistances, Immunities, and Vulnerabilities
Resistance:
- Take half damage from that type
- Applied after all other modifiers
- Common: fire resistance on Tieflings
Immunity:
- Take no damage from that type
- Common: poison immunity on undead
Vulnerability:
- Take double damage from that type
- Rare in 5e
- Example: Skeletons vulnerable to bludgeoning
Stacking:
- Multiple resistances don't stack
- Resistance + vulnerability = normal damage
Common Mistakes
Common Mistake
Thinking 'magical' is a damage type (it's not)
Common Mistake
Assuming poison damage is common (actually heavily resisted)
Common Mistake
Forgetting resistance halves damage AFTER modifiers
Common Mistake
Not checking monster stat blocks for resistances
DM Tips
DM Tip
Force damage is king - nothing resists it
DM Tip
Poison damage is often useless against many monster types
DM Tip
Fire is common but widely resisted
DM Tip
Let players learn resistances through trial and error