Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-26-2018, 07:37 PM   #1
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

The Protection from Evil spell (Spells, p. 64), provides +1 DR and +2 MR per energy point versus "direct attacks and spells from creatures of pure Evil." The Eye of Death (Monsters, p. 27) is truly evil. It's gaze attack cannot be defended against, but can be resisted by HT-5.

Should Protection from Evil have any effect on this attack? If so, would you provide the DR (calling the gaze a "direct attack) or add the MR to the resistance roll (treating the gaze like a spell, despite the fact that the Eye can't cast spells).

I lean toward saying yes, the spell can work, and going with the first interpretation (DR). This would be the only DR that would count against the attack.

Thoughts?
Dalin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-26-2018, 10:12 PM   #2
Tom H.
 
Tom H.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Central Texas, north of Austin
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Interesting dilemma.

Versus the Eye of Death I would not allow the +2 Magic Resistance from the Protection from Evil spell.

The DR protection from the spell is questionable, but I would probably allow it in lieu of an official response.

Basis for some of my reasoning:

I would consider Death Gaze a direct attack (as required by Protection from Evil).

I would not view Death Gaze as having any magical basis.
The Eye of Death is an Elder Thing and that monster type is explicitly not magical.
The Eye of Death has Magic Resistance (10) precluding it from any spell casting.

The DR dilemma.

Death Gaze explicitly ignores all DR. However, Protection from Evil is decidedly for use against Truly evil creatures of which the Eye of Death is labeled.

However, just researching, Protection from Evil "protects as Armor [spell]," and the Armor spell provides DR "treated like armor DR for all purposes."
Tom H. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-26-2018, 11:08 PM   #3
evileeyore
Banned
 
evileeyore's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

I'd go with the + Resistance option, but that's me. As the Eye already allows for resistance and the Spell already has a resistance boost option, that seems the shortest and quickest manner.
evileeyore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-2018, 05:42 AM   #4
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

I mostly agree with the evileeyore - if there is already a standard way to resist it and the spell boosts one of those, go that way.

Regarding Elder Things not being magical, I think DFRPG plays a little fast and loose with the words "magic" and "evil," so you need to have some flexibility.
martinl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-2018, 02:32 PM   #5
evileeyore
Banned
 
evileeyore's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Hmmm.

I've gone back and read the Eye of Death. It has MR, so it's attack is clearly not Magic. However, it's attack also ignores all DR, so clearly DR cannot stop it.

So on reflection, no, I'd say your Wizards are screwed Protection From Evil won't work here.

However, if I were to allow the Eye of Death's Death Gaze to be affected by Protection from Evil, I'd still go with the MR adding. My reasoning? Rolling HT means the Wizards is still likely to die and we can't kill enough Wizards can we and that's just for the best right? and it just makes for better game play.


Quote:
Originally Posted by martinl View Post
Regarding Elder Things not being magical, I think DFRPG plays a little fast and loose with the words "magic" and "evil," so you need to have some flexibility.
Outside of DFRPG (say back in DF land where I play) the Eye would be "Elder" in nature (rather than 'Evil') so I'd have anti-Psi measure work against.

Here however... I'd be fine with the Good God(s) being able to block (or at least interfere with) the machinations of the Elder Things.
evileeyore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-2018, 02:44 PM   #6
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

+DR would be expected to have no effect on attacks that ignore DR (but see the thread on DR vs magic; Kromm has added confusion here). +MR is not mentioned as working against an eye of death, and given that eyes of death have magic resistance and do not have magic dependency, its probable that their attacks aren't classed as magical and MR has no effect.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-2018, 03:11 PM   #7
martinl
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Digging out the more detailed description from DF, the EoD does Cosmic damage, so yes, spells should not generally interfere.

On the other hand, the HT resistance roll would presumably be buffed by any HT buffing spell, so maybe use that instead.

Eesh, they're nasty Things regardless.
martinl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-2018, 03:38 PM   #8
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Thanks, all, for your thoughts.



My group is small, non-optimized, and new to GURPS, so I tend to be generous when they apply logical ideas ("This thing detects as really evil; let's use the spell that's sounds like it is meant to protect us from it."). I concur, however, that RAW suggests that PoE would only provide extra DR for slam attacks from the eye (now that's a goofy image!).
Dalin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2018, 12:10 AM   #9
evileeyore
Banned
 
evileeyore's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Quote:
Originally Posted by martinl View Post
Eesh, they're nasty Things regardless.
A small group of them is what my last gaming group would have called a Four Tear Threat.

'Tear' as in how many character sheets are getting torn up after the battle.
evileeyore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2018, 08:24 PM   #10
Tom H.
 
Tom H.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Central Texas, north of Austin
Default Re: Protection from Evil vs. Eye of Death

Quote:
Originally Posted by martinl View Post
Digging out the more detailed description from DF, the EoD does Cosmic damage, so yes, spells should not generally interfere.
Oh cool, I was looking for just such a "cosmic" reference, but didn't think to go back to the DF line source.

It started to dawn on me that the truly evil label on the Eye of Death may be a bit irrelevant with its special features.

Would that label even be able to come into play at all? I haven't researched all the ways.

Turning seems to require undeath in addition to evil.

Even the Holy Warrior's Resist Evil ability (Adventurers, p. 27) may not apply if you deem the Death Gaze's cosmic nature as eluding the requirement that said innate attack be supernatural.
Tom H. is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
eye of death, protection from evil

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:05 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.