Resistances

Damage Types

Different attacks, damaging spells, and other harmful effects deal different types of damage. Damage types have no rules of their own, but other rules, such as damage resistance, rely on the types.

The damage types follow, with examples to help a GM assign a damage type to a new effect.

Acid. The corrosive spray of a black dragon’s breath and the dissolving enzymes secreted by a black pudding deal acid damage.

Bludgeoning. Blunt force attacks—hammers, falling, constriction, and the like—deal bludgeoning damage.

Cold. The infernal chill radiating from an ice devil’s spear and the frigid blast of a white dragon’s breath deal cold damage.

Fire. Red dragons breathe fire, and many spells conjure flames to deal fire damage.

Force. Force is pure magical energy focused into a damaging form. Most effects that deal force damage are spells, including magic missile and spiritual weapon.

Lightning. A lightning bolt spell and a blue dragon’s breath deal lightning damage.

Necrotic. Necrotic damage, dealt by certain undead and a spell such as chill touch, withers matter and even the soul.

Piercing. Puncturing and impaling attacks, including spears and monsters’ bites, deal piercing damage.

Poison. Venomous stings and the toxic gas of a green dragon’s breath deal poison damage.

Psychic. Mental abilities such as a mind flayer’s psionic blast deal psychic damage.

Radiant. Radiant damage, dealt by a flame strike spell or an angel’s smiting weapon, sears the flesh like fire and overloads the spirit with power.

Slashing. Swords, axes, and monsters’ claws deal slashing damage.

Thunder. A concussive burst of sound, such as the effect of the thunderwave spell, deals thunder damage.

Damage Type	Damage Category
Bludgeoning	Physical
Slashing	Physical
Piercing	Physical
Vitality	Physical
Acid	Magical
Cold	Magical
Fire	Magical
Force	Magical
Lightning	Magical
Necrotic	Magical
Poison	Magical
Psychic	Magical
Radiant	Magical
Thunder	Magical

Damage Resistance and Vulnerability

Some creatures and objects are exceedingly difficult or unusually easy to hurt with certain types of damage.

If a creature or an object has resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it. If a creature or an object has vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against it.

Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage.

Multiple instances of resistance or vulnerability that affect the same damage type count as only one instance. For example, if a creature has resistance to fire damage as well as resistance to all nonmagical damage, the damage of a nonmagical fire is reduced by half against the creature, not reduced by three-quarters.

Resistance Level	Effect
Vulnerable	You take double damage or have disadvantage on checks to resist effects of this type.
Resistant	You take half damage (rounded down) or have advantage on checks to resist effects of this type.
Immune	You take no damage or automatically succeed on checks to resist effects of this type.
Absorbant	You take no damage or automatically succeed on checks to resist effects of this type. Instead, you gain temporary hit points equal to half of any damage taken (rounded down). Does not apply to Condition nor Saving Throw Resistances. more

Resistances

Resistance	Resistance Type	Resistance Sub-Type	Resistance Level
Vulnerable to Falling Damage	Damage	Falling	Vulnerable
Resistant to Falling Damage	Damage	Falling	Resistant
Immune to Falling Damage	Damage	Falling	Immune
Vulnerable to Non-Magical Damage	Damage	Non-Magical	Vulnerable
Resistant to Non-Magical Damage	Damage	Non-Magical	Resistant
Immune to Non-Magical Damage	Damage	Non-Magical	Immune
Vulnerable to Magical Damage	Damage	Magical	Vulnerable
Resistant to Magical Damage	Damage	Magical	Resistant
Immune to Magical Damage	Damage	Magical	Immune
Vulnerable to Bludgeoning Damage	Damage	Bludgeoning	Vulnerable
Resistant to Bludgeoning Damage	Damage	Bludgeoning	Resistant
Immune to Bludgeoning Damage	Damage	Bludgeoning	Immune
Absorbant to Bludgeoning Damage	Damage	Bludgeoning	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Slashing Damage	Damage	Slashing	Vulnerable
Resistant to Slashing Damage	Damage	Slashing	Resistant
Immune to Slashing Damage	Damage	Slashing	Immune
Absorbant to Slashing Damage	Damage	Slashing	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Piercing Damage	Damage	Piercing	Vulnerable
Resistant to Piercing Damage	Damage	Piercing	Resistant
Immune to Piercing Damage	Damage	Piercing	Immune
Absorbant to Piercing Damage	Damage	Piercing	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Acid Damage	Damage	Acid	Vulnerable
Resistant to Acid Damage	Damage	Acid	Resistant
Immune to Acid Damage	Damage	Acid	Immune
Absorbant to Acid Damage	Damage	Acid	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Poison Damage	Damage	Poison	Vulnerable
Resistant to Poison Damage	Damage	Poison	Resistant
Immune to Poison Damage	Damage	Poison	Immune
Absorbant to Poison Damage	Damage	Poison	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Fire Damage	Damage	Fire	Vulnerable
Resistant to Fire Damage	Damage	Fire	Resistant
Immune to Fire Damage	Damage	Fire	Immune
Absorbant to Fire Damage	Damage	Fire	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Cold Damage	Damage	Cold	Vulnerable
Resistant to Cold Damage	Damage	Cold	Resistant
Immune to Cold Damage	Damage	Cold	Immune
Absorbant to Cold Damage	Damage	Cold	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Radiant Damage	Damage	Radiant	Vulnerable
Resistant to Radiant Damage	Damage	Radiant	Resistant
Immune to Radiant Damage	Damage	Radiant	Immune
Absorbant to Radiant Damage	Damage	Radiant	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Necrotic Damage	Damage	Necrotic	Vulnerable
Resistant to Necrotic Damage	Damage	Necrotic	Resistant
Immune to Necrotic Damage	Damage	Necrotic	Immune
Absorbant to Necrotic Damage	Damage	Necrotic	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Lightning Damage	Damage	Lightning	Vulnerable
Resistant to Lightning Damage	Damage	Lightning	Resistant
Immune to Lightning Damage	Damage	Lightning	Immune
Absorbant to Lightning Damage	Damage	Lightning	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Thunder Damage	Damage	Thunder	Vulnerable
Resistant to Thunder Damage	Damage	Thunder	Resistant
Immune to Thunder Damage	Damage	Thunder	Immune
Absorbant to Thunder Damage	Damage	Thunder	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Force Damage	Damage	Force	Vulnerable
Resistant to Force Damage	Damage	Force	Resistant
Immune to Force Damage	Damage	Force	Immune
Absorbant to Force Damage	Damage	Force	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Psychic Damage	Damage	Psychic	Vulnerable
Resistant to Psychic Damage	Damage	Psychic	Resistant
Immune to Psychic Damage	Damage	Psychic	Immune
Absorbant to Psychic Damage	Damage	Psychic	Absorbant
Vulnerable to Blinded Condition	Condition	Blinded	Vulnerable
Resistant to Blinded Condition	Condition	Blinded	Resistant
Immune to Blinded Condition	Condition	Blinded	Immune
Vulnerable to Charmed Condition	Condition	Charmed	Vulnerable
Resistant to Charmed Condition	Condition	Charmed	Resistant
Immune to Charmed Condition	Condition	Charmed	Immune
Vulnerable to Deafened Condition	Condition	Deafened	Vulnerable
Resistant to Deafened Condition	Condition	Deafened	Resistant
Immune to Deafened Condition	Condition	Deafened	Immune
Vulnerable to Frightened Condition	Condition	Frightened	Vulnerable
Resistant to Frightened Condition	Condition	Frightened	Resistant
Immune to Frightened Condition	Condition	Frightened	Immune
Vulnerable to Grappled Condition	Condition	Grappled	Vulnerable
Resistant to Grappled Condition	Condition	Grappled	Resistant
Immune to Grappled Condition	Condition	Grappled	Immune
Vulnerable to Incapacitated Condition	Condition	Incapacitated	Vulnerable
Resistant to Incapacitated Condition	Condition	Incapacitated	Resistant
Immune to Incapacitated Condition	Condition	Incapacitated	Immune
Vulnerable to Invisible Condition	Condition	Invisible	Vulnerable
Resistant to Invisible Condition	Condition	Invisible	Resistant
Immune to Invisible Condition	Condition	Invisible	Immune
Vulnerable to Paralyzed Condition	Condition	Paralyzed	Vulnerable
Resistant to Paralyzed Condition	Condition	Paralyzed	Resistant
Immune to Paralyzed Condition	Condition	Paralyzed	Immune
Vulnerable to Petrified Condition	Condition	Petrified	Vulnerable
Resistant to Petrified Condition	Condition	Petrified	Resistant
Immune to Petrified Condition	Condition	Petrified	Immune
Vulnerable to Poisoned Condition	Condition	Poisoned	Vulnerable
Resistant to Poisoned Condition	Condition	Poisoned	Resistant
Immune to Poisoned Condition	Condition	Poisoned	Immune
Vulnerable to Prone Condition	Condition	Prone	Vulnerable
Resistant to Prone Condition	Condition	Prone	Resistant
Immune to Prone Condition	Condition	Prone	Immune
Vulnerable to Restrained Condition	Condition	Restrained	Vulnerable
Resistant to Restrained Condition	Condition	Restrained	Resistant
Immune to Restrained Condition	Condition	Restrained	Immune
Vulnerable to Stunned Condition	Condition	Stunned	Vulnerable
Resistant to Stunned Condition	Condition	Stunned	Resistant
Immune to Stunned Condition	Condition	Stunned	Immune
Vulnerable to Unconscious Condition	Condition	Unconscious	Vulnerable
Resistant to Unconscious Condition	Condition	Unconscious	Resistant
Immune to Unconscious Condition	Condition	Unconscious	Immune
Vulnerable to Exhaustion Condition	Condition	Exhaustion	Vulnerable
Resistant to Exhaustion Condition	Condition	Exhaustion	Resistant
Immune to Exhaustion Condition	Condition	Exhaustion	Immune
Vulnerable to Strength Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Strength	Vulnerable
Resistant to Strength Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Strength	Resistant
Immune to Strength Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Strength	Immune
Vulnerable to Dexterity Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Dexterity	Vulnerable
Resistant to Dexterity Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Dexterity	Resistant
Immune to Dexterity Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Dexterity	Immune
Vulnerable to Constitution Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Constitution	Vulnerable
Resistant to Constitution Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Constitution	Resistant
Immune to Constitution Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Constitution	Immune
Vulnerable to Intelligence Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Intelligence	Vulnerable
Resistant to Intelligence Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Intelligence	Resistant
Immune to Intelligence Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Intelligence	Immune
Vulnerable to Wisdom Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Wisdom	Vulnerable
Resistant to Wisdom Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Wisdom	Resistant
Immune to Wisdom Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Wisdom	Immune
Vulnerable to Charisma Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Charisma	Vulnerable
Resistant to Charisma Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Charisma	Resistant
Immune to Charisma Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Charisma	Immune
Vulnerable to Death Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Death	Vulnerable
Resistant to Death Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Death	Resistant
Immune to Death Saving Throw	Saving Throw	Death	Immune
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This page includes text from the System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed underCC BY 4.0, adapted for Geminaea where it names D&D classes or other settings. Where it differs from Geminaea’s own rules and tables, those take precedence. SeeLegal.