Shinng! 3/12/18

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qTzal
Mutters to Themself
Posts: 26

Re: Shinng! 3/12/18

Post by qTzal » Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:43 pm

Jochi wrote:Speaking AS a physicist I have to point out that speculating based on real world physics is pointless. Electricity is an elemental damage effect with a line-shaped area of effect, and being grounded or insulated or sheathed in a Faraday Cage doesn't matter a whit.
Players inside the game universe call it "Lightning Bolt" but it is magical energy that follows magical rules ... if magic can be said to "follow" rules anything like scientific reality.
We assume that it is pure electrical energy but no D&D lightning bolt spell ever has correctly behaved as a real science based lightning that can contain millions of volts and 100's of thousands of amps. Magical lightning is much more directable and containable. One can only assume that the best defense against magically directed electricity is to magically deflect it.

Besides, dumping a few megawatts of electrical energy into Kore's metal armor should cook him past well done ... before it vaporizes him and irradiates everyone nearby with an x-ray flash.

Don't play with ultra-high power electricity boys and girls: it ends badly.

MinesData
Mumbles Incoherently
Posts: 20

Re: Shinng! 3/12/18

Post by MinesData » Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:05 pm

qTzal wrote:
Jochi wrote:Speaking AS a physicist I have to point out that speculating based on real world physics is pointless. Electricity is an elemental damage effect with a line-shaped area of effect, and being grounded or insulated or sheathed in a Faraday Cage doesn't matter a whit.
Players inside the game universe call it "Lightning Bolt" but it is magical energy that follows magical rules ... if magic can be said to "follow" rules anything like scientific reality.
We assume that it is pure electrical energy but no D&D lightning bolt spell ever has correctly behaved as a real science based lightning that can contain millions of volts and 100's of thousands of amps. Magical lightning is much more directable and containable. One can only assume that the best defense against magically directed electricity is to magically deflect it.

Besides, dumping a few megawatts of electrical energy into Kore's metal armor should cook him past well done ... before it vaporizes him and irradiates everyone nearby with an x-ray flash.

Don't play with ultra-high power electricity boys and girls: it ends badly.
Actually, the best defence against a lightning bolt is a reflex save for half damage :lol: (and being a rogue with evasion). D&D clearly doesn't follow the laws of physics.


As a physicist, I'm very curious about the source of these X-rays. While there would be certainly a lot of heating, it's not about to heat his entire body to the point where it would turn into a plasma and radiate X-rays. People survive lighting strikes, they don't tend to survive been turned into a plasma1. You'd get a lot of burns but those are a chemical reaction. At the temperatures you'd need to start emitting x-rays, chemistry simply doesn't exist. All forms of bonding disappear once you strip electrons away from the nucleii and end up with a subatomic particle soup. There's nothing in D&D rules involving x-rays either, the only people taking damage are those within a 120' line.

High level characters can survive falling from outer space, you'd think their chances against a lightning strike would be pretty good.

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