Does Gaseous Form take non-magic damage?

Question

I want to know if it's possible to damage a person who uses gaseous form with non-magic weapon.

From rules, which says it has resistance, it is possible and the damage is reduced to half.

On the other hand you cannot hurt something that is basically a cloud.

Or am I just misunderstanding what resistance in D&D means?

Sure you can hurt something that is a cloud, if you are working the simulationist angle. You can disperse it with a powerful gust of wind. If it's water vapor, you can freeze it ... etc. Some gases are flammable, so being hit with fire may flash ignite the gas ... — KorvinStarmast, Mar 26 '17 at 18:28
@KorvinStarmast: Yeah, IRL, something that's just a cloud should be trivial to hurt -- just wave a fan at it and watch it disperse. — Ilmari Karonen, Mar 26 '17 at 20:14

score 15 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:23

15

Yes, gaseous form is susceptible to non-magic damage

SRD page 146 has this to say about gaseous form:

The target has resistance to nonmagical damage, and it has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws.

And page 97 of the SRD says, "[i]f a creature…has resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it."

Therefore, any creature under the effect of gaseous form takes half damage from non-magical attacks.

On the other hand you cannot hurt something, that is basically cloud.

This is a dangerous line of thinking. D&D is a game, and thus has rules. The rules specifically say that a gaseous creature still takes some damage from non-magical attacks. The spell says you have resistance to non-magical damage. Therefore, you only have resistance and not immunity.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:23

Community

1

answered Mar 26 '17 at 14:22

Christopher

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"The name and description of the spell are just flavour text to the rules of the spell." There is some debate about this: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/78012/ – A. Foster Mar 26 '17 at 14:53
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A byproduct of all the 4e I played, I guess. But the point stands: the spell grants resistance, not immunity. – Christopher Mar 26 '17 at 14:54
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The word vulnerable might not be the best choice, given that it has a mechanical definition in 5e – inthemanual Mar 26 '17 at 16:29
This sounds like a case where Rule 0 is prominently in play. – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Mar 27 '17 at 02:07

Does Gaseous Form take non-magic damage?

1 Answers1

Yes, gaseous form is susceptible to non-magic damage