Assuming you are the author of the homebrew and you are seeking advice, I’d suggest a combination of fire and poison damage. Radiation typically causes burns. Unless you want regular radiation like a lump of uranium to hurt undead, I would not make it radiant.
Sunbeam, Sickening Radiance and other light/sun-based class features like Searing Sunburst or Radiance of the Dawn all use radiant damage. Light is a form of radiation.
I think poison or necrotic damage would be the best analogs for the effects of radiation. For example, I wouldn't think you'd want undead to be particularly vulnerable to radiation.
Sunbeam, Sickening Radiance and other light/sun-based class features like Searing Sunburst or Radiance of the Dawn all use radiant damage. Light is a form of radiation.
I agree with InquisitiveCoder and in an interview with the above spells the designers stated they meant for Radiant damage to be radiation. The text in damage types literally states "Radiant. Radiant damage, dealt by a cleric's flame strike spell or an angel's smiting weapon, sears the flesh like fire and overloads the spirit with power."
Poison is supposed to be venoms and toxins while necrotic is withering matter and the soul. Radiation is pure energy, it's why vampires can't stand the sun. I don't understand why it negatively impacting undead is a particular concern. Only 2 Undead and 1 Fiend in the entire monster manual have Radiant vulnerability. In addition only 19 Undead are even immune to Necrotic.
Yep, another vote for Radiant. If you find that too clean for the dirty, toxic radiation flavor of this particular creature, then add a secondary effect like that in Sickening Radiance. Perhaps a Con save to avoid the Poisoned condition. A "poisoning radiance" seems like a near perfect description of nuclear afterglow.
In John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky the characters use radiation as a partial solution for the zombies. So at least in one author's vision, radiation works on undead.
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"real life is a super high CR."
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Maybe I'm late to the party, but I feel considering how radiant damage is used in 5e, and how radiation affects the body in real life, I would say radiation damage should be radiant damage, followed by necrotic damage. Radiant damage in 5e is used not only in holy spells but also in laser weapons, laser weapons being plasma, radiant damage when broken down is less of "holy fire" and more of intense positive energy, and what is radiation but unstable particles with intense amounts of energy? In real life, when one is exposed to high amounts of radiation, the DNA of their cells is damaged and the cells slowly destroy themselves to avoid becoming cancerous, essentially causing you to rot from the inside out, ergo necrotic damage seems the most fitting.
Personally I would say radiation damage would most realistically be radiation damage followed later by a proportional amount of necrotic damage to signify cell death. (This is all based on my understanding of how radiation affects the body and I might have some details wrong considering I'm not a scientist, so take this with a grain of salt)
I would agree with others due to spells like Sickening Radiance that the damage should be radiant, though to give it more the flavor of being toxic debilitating radioactive damage you could add in the poisoned condition or also make it so that the radiant damage from a radiation source ignores resistance to radiant damage.
I've also had the idea of a construct homebrew that can expose its nuclear core and have the equivalent effects of a a slow spell and/or sickening radiance with a con save to avoid effects for that turn.
On reflection, I think I'd have a problem as a player with a 'radiation monster', in terms of verisimilitude. If a monster sheds gamma radiation, I'd immediately wonder about critical mass, could you cause a thermonuclear explosion with an Implosion spell (which I guess isn't part of 5e?), do I get cancer, does it glow in the dark, if its radioactive, is it metal then?
So many questions. I'm just not sure it's worth it.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
The only mechanic damage types have is the resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities and weaknesses of monsters. As a result that is what you should consider when selecting a damage type and remember that you can modify sources of damage to have special qualities to better fit the desired effect. For example the paladin divine smite doing extra damage to undead and fiends.
For radiation our candidate damage types based on intuition are
Fire - ends regeneration on some monsters, does extra damage to some plant and ice monsters. Does reduced damage to metal, fiendish, water and some ice monsters.
Necrotic- non living, undead and fiends are often resistant or immune
Radiant - Some undead have a weakness. most celestials and holy creatures are resistant
Force - Resistances, vulnerabilities and weaknesses are rare.
If your goal is a damage type that is more effective against living than dead things and constructs then necrotic damage is probably your best bet.
The final secret option is to do no damage at all and instead have radiation sickness as a disease. sickening radiance does this with exhaustion but you could also use things like
Lowering maximum hit points like mummy rot from rotting fist.
Lowering hitpoints with out damage
applying death point thats after a certain amount are accumulated they die.
Radiant is really VISIBLE light damage, perhaps because x tending a bit into the UV and IR.radiation as a damage is x rays and gamma rays. So a radiation damage would be mostly necrotic with a bit of radiant.
Radiant is really VISIBLE light damage, perhaps because x tending a bit into the UV and IR.radiation as a damage is x rays and gamma rays. So a radiation damage would be mostly necrotic with a bit of radiant.
Actually, it's invisible light damage: harmful ionizing radiation is UV at its longest frequency up through gamma rays at its shortest frequency. Once you reach the visible wavelength, any damage it causes is a result of heat.
The other thing to remember about actual radiation is that it doesn't kill you instantly: at Chernobyl, for example, the workers who were exposed to the worst radiation died over a period of about three months. The kind of radiation burst that kills you instantly comes with a free mushroom cloud.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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If a creature (homebrew) dealt radiation damage, would that be force damage or radiant damage?
Since radiation damage does not exist (officially) in 5e, this question must be answered by the author of the homebrew.
Assuming you are the author of the homebrew and you are seeking advice, I’d suggest a combination of fire and poison damage. Radiation typically causes burns. Unless you want regular radiation like a lump of uranium to hurt undead, I would not make it radiant.
I would go with Acid or Necrotic.
Laser guns do radiant. I’m sticking with radiant.
The holy aspect was what was tripping me up, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
Sunbeam, Sickening Radiance and other light/sun-based class features like Searing Sunburst or Radiance of the Dawn all use radiant damage. Light is a form of radiation.
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I think poison or necrotic damage would be the best analogs for the effects of radiation. For example, I wouldn't think you'd want undead to be particularly vulnerable to radiation.
I agree with InquisitiveCoder and in an interview with the above spells the designers stated they meant for Radiant damage to be radiation. The text in damage types literally states "Radiant. Radiant damage, dealt by a cleric's flame strike spell or an angel's smiting weapon, sears the flesh like fire and overloads the spirit with power."
Poison is supposed to be venoms and toxins while necrotic is withering matter and the soul. Radiation is pure energy, it's why vampires can't stand the sun. I don't understand why it negatively impacting undead is a particular concern. Only 2 Undead and 1 Fiend in the entire monster manual have Radiant vulnerability. In addition only 19 Undead are even immune to Necrotic.
Yep, another vote for Radiant. If you find that too clean for the dirty, toxic radiation flavor of this particular creature, then add a secondary effect like that in Sickening Radiance. Perhaps a Con save to avoid the Poisoned condition. A "poisoning radiance" seems like a near perfect description of nuclear afterglow.
In John Ringo's Under a Graveyard Sky the characters use radiation as a partial solution for the zombies. So at least in one author's vision, radiation works on undead.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
radiant and necrotic because of solar dragons
I think radiation damage would be its own damage type
Maybe I'm late to the party, but I feel considering how radiant damage is used in 5e, and how radiation affects the body in real life, I would say radiation damage should be radiant damage, followed by necrotic damage. Radiant damage in 5e is used not only in holy spells but also in laser weapons, laser weapons being plasma, radiant damage when broken down is less of "holy fire" and more of intense positive energy, and what is radiation but unstable particles with intense amounts of energy? In real life, when one is exposed to high amounts of radiation, the DNA of their cells is damaged and the cells slowly destroy themselves to avoid becoming cancerous, essentially causing you to rot from the inside out, ergo necrotic damage seems the most fitting.
Personally I would say radiation damage would most realistically be radiation damage followed later by a proportional amount of necrotic damage to signify cell death. (This is all based on my understanding of how radiation affects the body and I might have some details wrong considering I'm not a scientist, so take this with a grain of salt)
I would agree with others due to spells like Sickening Radiance that the damage should be radiant, though to give it more the flavor of being toxic debilitating radioactive damage you could add in the poisoned condition or also make it so that the radiant damage from a radiation source ignores resistance to radiant damage.
I've also had the idea of a construct homebrew that can expose its nuclear core and have the equivalent effects of a a slow spell and/or sickening radiance with a con save to avoid effects for that turn.
On reflection, I think I'd have a problem as a player with a 'radiation monster', in terms of verisimilitude. If a monster sheds gamma radiation, I'd immediately wonder about critical mass, could you cause a thermonuclear explosion with an Implosion spell (which I guess isn't part of 5e?), do I get cancer, does it glow in the dark, if its radioactive, is it metal then?
So many questions. I'm just not sure it's worth it.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I would go for force damage.
The only mechanic damage types have is the resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities and weaknesses of monsters. As a result that is what you should consider when selecting a damage type and remember that you can modify sources of damage to have special qualities to better fit the desired effect. For example the paladin divine smite doing extra damage to undead and fiends.
For radiation our candidate damage types based on intuition are
If your goal is a damage type that is more effective against living than dead things and constructs then necrotic damage is probably your best bet.
The final secret option is to do no damage at all and instead have radiation sickness as a disease. sickening radiance does this with exhaustion but you could also use things like
Radiant is really VISIBLE light damage, perhaps because x tending a bit into the UV and IR.radiation as a damage is x rays and gamma rays. So a radiation damage would be mostly necrotic with a bit of radiant.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Actually, it's invisible light damage: harmful ionizing radiation is UV at its longest frequency up through gamma rays at its shortest frequency. Once you reach the visible wavelength, any damage it causes is a result of heat.
The other thing to remember about actual radiation is that it doesn't kill you instantly: at Chernobyl, for example, the workers who were exposed to the worst radiation died over a period of about three months. The kind of radiation burst that kills you instantly comes with a free mushroom cloud.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.