Saving Throws and Magic Resistance

The Saving Throw

The saving throw is a die roll that gives a chance, however slim, that the character or creature finds some way to save himself from certain destruction (or at least lessen the damage of a successful attack).

More often than not, the saving throw represents an instinctive act on the part of the character--diving to the ground just as a fireball scorches the group, blanking the mind just as a mental battle begins, blocking the worst of an acid spray with a shield. The exact action is not important--DMs and players can think of lively and colorful explanations of why a saving throw succeeded or failed. Explanations tailored to the events of the moment enhance the excitement of the game.

Rolling Saving Throws

To make a saving throw, a player rolls a 20-sided die (1d20). The result must be equal to or greater than the character's saving throw number. The number a character needs to roll varies depending upon the character's group, his level, and what the character is trying to save himself from. A character's saving throw numbers can be found in Table 60.

Saving throws are made in a variety of situations: For attacks involving paralyzation, poison, or death magic; petrification or polymorph; rod, staff, or wand; breath weapon; and spells. The type of saving throw a character must roll is determined by the specific spell, monster, magical item, or situation involved.

Monsters also use Table 60. The DM has specific information about monster saving throws.

Saving Throw Priority

Sometimes the type of saving throw required by a situation or item isn't clear, or more than one category of saving throw may seem appropriate. For this reason, the saving throw categories in Table 60 are listed in order of importance, beginning with paralyzation, poison, and death magic, and ending with spells.

Imagine that Rath is struck by the ray from a wand of polymorphing. Both a saving throw vs. wands and a saving throw vs. polymorph would be appropriate. But Rath must roll a saving throw vs. wands because that category has a higher priority than polymorph.

The categories of saving throws are as follows:

• Save vs. Paralyzation, Poison, and Death Magic: This is used whenever a character is affected by a paralyzing attack (regardless of source), poison (of any strength), or certain spells and magical items that otherwise kill the character outright (as listed in their descriptions). This saving throw can also be used in situations in which exceptional force of will or physical fortitude are needed.
• Save vs. Rod, Staff, or Wand: As its name implies, this is used whenever a character is affected by the powers of a rod, staff, or wand, provided another save of higher priority isn't called for. This saving throw is sometimes specified for situations in which a character faces a magical attack from an unusual source.
• Save vs. Petrification or Polymorph: This is used any time a character is turned to stone (petrified) or polymorphed by a monster, spell, or magical item (other than a wand). It can also be used when the character must withstand some massive physical alteration of his entire body.
• Save vs. Breath Weapon: A character uses this save when facing monsters with breath weapons, particularly the powerful blast of a dragon. This save can also be used in situations where a combination of physical stamina and Dexterity are critical factors in survival.
• Save vs. Spell: This is used whenever a character attempts to resist the effects of a magical attack, either by a spellcaster or from a magical item, provided no other type of saving throw is specified. This save can also be used to resist an attack that defies any other classification.

Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws

No save is made if the target voluntarily chooses not to resist the effect of a spell or special attack. This is the case even if the character was duped as to the exact nature of the spell. When a character announces that he is not resisting the spell's power, that spell (or whatever) has its full effect.

The intention not to resist must be clearly stated or set up through trickery, however. If a character is attacked by surprise or caught unawares, he is normally allowed a saving throw. The DM can modify this saving throw, making the chance of success worse, if the situation warrants it. Only in extreme cases of trickery and deception should an unwitting character be denied a saving throw.

Ability Checks as Saving Throws

When a character attempts to avoid danger through the use of one of his abilities, an ability check can be used in lieu of a saving throw.

For example, Ragnar the thief has broken into someone's home when he hears a grating noise from the ceiling above him. He looks up to find a five-ton block of the ceiling headed straight for him! He is going to need speedy reactions to get out of the way, so a Dexterity ability check should be rolled to see if he avoids the trap.

Modifying Saving Throws

Saving throws can be modified by magical items, specific rules, and special situations. These modifiers can increase or decrease the chance of a successful saving throw.

Modifiers that increase the chance are given as a number preceded by a plus sign. Modifiers that make success more difficult are given as a number preceded by a minus sign (-1, -2, etc.).

Saving throw modifiers affect a character's die roll, not the saving throw number needed. Thus, if Delsenora needed an 11 for a successful saving throw vs. petrification and had a +1 bonus to her save, she would still need to roll an 11 or higher after all adjustments were made (but the +1 bonus would be added to her die roll, so that effectively she needs to roll only a 10 on the die to reach her saving throw number of 11).

High ability scores in Dexterity and Wisdom sometimes give saving throw bonuses. A high Wisdom protects against illusions, charms, and other mental attacks. Dexterity, if high enough, can give a character a slightly higher chance of avoiding the effects of fireballs, lightning bolts, crushing boulders, and other attacks where nimbleness may be a help. (See Tables 2 and 5.)

Magical items like cloaks and rings of protection give bonuses to a character's saving throw (these are listed in the item descriptions in the DMG).

Magical armor allows a saving throw bonus only when the save is made necessary by something physical, whether normal or magical; magical armor never gives a saving throw bonus against gas (which it cannot block), poison (which operates internally), and spells that are mental in nature or that cause no physical damage.

For example, magical armor would not help a character's saving throw against the sting of a giant scorpion, the choking effects of a stinking cloud spell, or the transformation effect of a polymorph others spell. Magical armor does extend its protective power to saving throws against acid sprays or splashes, disintegration, magical and normal fires, spells that cause damage, and falls (if any saving throw is allowed in this case). Other situations must be handled on a case-by-case basis by the DM.

Specific spells and magical items have effects, both good and ill, on a character's saving throws. Often, spells force the victim to save with a penalty, which makes even the most innocuous spell quite dangerous. (Specific information can be found in the spell descriptions, for spells, or in the DMG's Magical Items section, for magical items.)

Minor poisons of verminous creatures such as giant centipedes, while dangerous, are weak and unlikely to bring about death in a healthy man. To recreate this effect in the game, a saving throw bonus is allowed for anyone affected by these poisons. The DM has this information.

Unpredictable situations are sure to crop up. When this happens, the DM must determine whether saving throw modifiers are appropriate. As a guideline, modifiers for situations should range from -4 to +4. An evil cleric attacked in his shrine could very well have a +3 bonus to all his saving throws and a -3 penalty applied to those of his enemies. The powerful evil of the place could warrant the modifier.

Magic Resistance

Some creatures or items strongly resist the effects of magic (or impart such resistance to others). This makes them more difficult to affect with magical energy than ordinary creatures or items.

A rare few creatures are extremely anti-magical--magic rolls off them like water off a duck's back. More common are creatures, especially from the Outer Planes of existence, that live in enchanted or sorcerous lands and are filled with powerful magical energies. These creatures eat and breathe the vapors of wizardry, and they have a high tolerance against arcane power.

Magic resistance is an innate ability--that is, the possessor does not have to do anything special to use it. The creature need not even be aware of the threat for his magic resistance to operate. Such resistance is part of the creature or item and cannot be separated from it. (Creatures, however, can voluntarily lower their magic resistance at will.)

Magic resistance is also an individual ability. A creature with magic resistance cannot impart this power to others by holding their hands or standing in their midst. Only the rarest of creatures and magical items have the ability to bestow magic resistance upon another.

Magic resistance is given as a percentile number. For a magical effect to have any chance of success, the magic resistance must be overcome. The target (the one with the magic resistance) rolls percentile dice. If the roll is higher than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has a normal effect. If the roll is equal to or less than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has absolutely no effect on the creature.

Effects of Magic Resistance

Magic resistance enables a creature to ignore the effects of spells and spell-like powers. It does not protect the creature from magical weapon attacks or from natural forces that may be a direct or accidental result of a spell. Nor does it prevent the protected creature from using his own abilities or from casting spells and using magical items. It can be effective against both individually targeted spells and, within limits, area-effect spells.

If a magic resistance roll fails, and the spell has normal effect, the target can make all saving throws normally allowed against the spell.

When Magic Resistance Applies

Magic resistance applies only if the successful casting of a spell would directly affect the resistant creature or item. Thus, magic resistance is effective against magic missile (targeted at a creature or item) or fireball (damaging the area the creature or item is in) spells.

Magic resistance is not effective against an earthquake caused by a spell. While the creature may suffer injury or death falling into a chasm the spell opens under its feet, the magical energy of the spell was directed at the ground, not the creature. Magic resistant creatures are not immune to events that occur as the consequence of spells, only to the direct energy created or released by a spell.

Player characters do not normally have magic resistance (though they still get saving throws vs. magical spells and such this ability is reserved mainly for special monsters.

Successful Magic Resistance Rolls

A successful magic resistance check can have four different results, depending on the nature of the spell being resisted:

• Individually Targeted Spells: By definition, these spells affect just one creature, and only the targeted creature rolls for magic resistance (if it has any). If a spell of this type is directed at several targets, each rolls independently of the others. (An example of this would be a hold person spell aimed at four creatures, with each creature getting a magic resistance roll, if they have magic resistance.) If the magic resistance roll is successful, the spell has no effect on that creature. If the spell is targeted only at the creature, the spell fails completely and disappears. If several targets are involved, the spell may still affect others who fail their magic resistance roll.
• Area-Effect Spells: These spells are not targeted on a single creature, but on a point. The spell's effect encompasses everything within a set distance of that point. A successful magic resistance check enables the creature to ignore the effect of the spell. However, the spell is not negated and still applies to all others in the area of effect.
• In-Place Spells: These spells operate continuously in a particular place or on a particular creature, character, or item. Protection from evil is one example of this kind of spell. Magic resistance comes to play only if a creature or item finds himself (or itself) in the place where the spell is in operation. Even then, magic resistance may not come into play--nothing happens if the spell isn't of a type that affects the character. Thus, a part water spell would not collapse simply because a magic resistant creature walked through the area. A protection from evil spell, which could affect the creature, would be susceptible to magic resistance. If the DM determines that a magic resistance roll is appropriate, and the roll succeeds, the in-place spell collapses (usually with a dramatic thunderclap and puff of smoke).
• Permanent Spells: Magic resistance is insufficient to destroy a permanent spell. Instead, the spell is negated (within the same guidelines given for in-place spells) for as long as the magic resistant creature is in the area of effect. Thus, a magic-resistant creature might be able to step through a permanent wall of force as if it weren't there. However, the wall would spring back into existence as soon as the creature passed through (i.e., no one else can pass through).