User:NtCarlson/Sandbox

Damage Mechanics

Overview

Under the hood, superficially similar damage bonuses can be implemented in very different ways. For example, the Callous Glow Ring and the Caustic Band are both rings that give 2 bonus damage. However, their damage bonuses are implemented using two different functions and wind up behaving quite differently. Understanding how these different functions work will help explain the oftentimes unintuitive damage mechanics in Baldur's Gate 3.

Below is a breakdown of the different functions used to apply damage bonus effects.

Function	Term	Comment	Example
WeaponDamage()	Weapon rider	The basic, well-behaved damage bonuses are implemented with this function. The bonus will apply to only the triggering attack and nothing else.	2Acid from Caustic Band
CharacterWeaponDamage()
CharacterUnarmedDamage()
DamageBonus()	Damage rider	Damage bonuses using this function will add their damage to each independent damage instance. When combined with effects that use DealDamage(), a single attack can create numerous independent damage instances so DamageBonus() effects can potentially apply their damage many times per attack.	2Radiant from Callous Glow Ring
DealDamage()	Damage rider source (DRS)	This function is used by all damaging attacks, spells, and conditions to deal their damage, but some damage bonuses also use it. DealDamage() creates a separate damage instance that can be independently boosted by applicable DamageBonus() sources. In certain scenarios, DRS effects can trigger each other, creating far more damage instances than might be expected.	1d8Physical from  Colossus Slayer

The interaction between the different types of damage bonuses can be summarized as follows:

• Weapon rider bonuses do exactly what they say -- nothing more, nothing less.
• The effect of damage riders is multiplicative with the number of independent damage instances. An attack with 2 extra damage instances from damage rider source effects will apply any damage riders 3 times.
• The number of damage instances can grow exponentially with the number of damage rider sources. For example, if you  Sneak Attack a  Burning target with the Firestoker, you will create 4 independent damage instances: the base attack, the sneak attack, Burned Alive triggered by the base attack, and Burned Alive triggered by the sneak attack. If you add  Phalar Aluve: Shriek, this will increase to 8 DRS instances since Shriek will be triggered by each of the 4 preceding instances.

Weapon riders

This category of damage increasing abilities applies only to your weapon (or unarmed) attack damage and nothing else. One weapon attack will apply each weapon rider exactly once. Unlike the two other classes of damage boosts, they are very well-behaved and won't interact with other damage boosts to produce unexpected results.

Weapon riders are far too numerous it exhaustively list. Instead, here is a small sample of damage boosts of this category:

• +10 damage from Great Weapon Master
• Bonus damage from  Arcane Synergy
• 1d4Fire damage from a fire-dipped weapon

If a damage boost is not listed in one of the sections below, assume that it is a weapon rider by default.

Damage riders

Unlike weapon riders, damage riders can "ride" on damage sources other than weapon or unarmed damage. This makes them more flexible and potentially abusable than basic weapon riders. In particular, when combined with one or more damage rider source effects, a damage rider can potentially apply multiple times to a single attack, effectively multiplying their provided damage bonus.

This is a comprehensive list of all the damage riders in the game which can be acquired by the player. There are other damage riders exclusive to certain enemies or attached to items not available in the game (outside of cheats). These effects are excluded from the list below.

If a damage type is not specified, the damage bonus will inherit the type from whatever damage source it is applied to.

Damage riders

Source	Damage Bonus	Conditions
Rhapsody	1, 2, or 3	Kill 3 creatures with the weapon to unlock the max bonus; resets each Long Rest
Arcane Charge	Proficiency Bonus	Target is threatened
Callous Glow Ring	2Radiant	Target is illuminated (i.e. not Obscured)
Lightning Charges	1Lightning	Have at least 1 Lightning Charge
Vampire Ascendant	1d10Necrotic	Available only to Astarion after ascending at the end of The Pale Elf
Spellmight Gloves	1d8	Spell with an attack roll
Agonising Blast	Charisma modifier Force	Eldritch Blast
Empowered Evocation	Intelligence modifier	Evocation spell
Potent Spellcasting	Wisdom modifier	Cleric cantrip
Potent Robe	Charisma modifier	Any cantrip
Necklace of Elemental Augmentation	Spellcasting Ability Modifier	Elemental cantrip
Elemental Affinity: Damage	Charisma modifier	Spell/cantrip whose elemental type corresponds to the chosen draconic ancestry
Ring of Absolute Force	1Thunder	Applies only to Thunder damage
Mourning Frost	1Cold	Applies only to Cold damage
Armour of the Sporekeeper	1Necrotic	Applies only to Necrotic damage
Poisoner's Robe	1d4Poison	Poison spell
Heat Convergence	Number of Heat charges	Requires and consumes Heat charges, applies only to Fire damage
Markoheshkir	Proficiency Bonus	Elemental spell damage with the corresponding variant of Kereska's Favour active
Bestow Curse: Additional Damage	1d8Necrotic	Spellcaster attacks Curse target
Hex	1d6Necrotic	Spellcaster attacks Hex target
Psionic Overload	1d4Psychic	Attack while Overloaded With Synaptic Power is active
Boots of Psionic Movement	1d4Psychic	Next melee attack after  flying as a Githyanki
Ring of Elemental Infusion	1d4 elemental	Next weapon attack after using an elemental spell/cantrip
Cloak of Elemental Absorption	1d4 elemental	Next weapon attack after using Absorb Elements
Shadow-Cloaked Ring	1d4	Unarmed attack
Dolor Amarus	7	Critical Hit
Vicious Battleaxe	7	Critical Hit
Harmonic Dueller	Charisma modifier	Melee attack while Mellow Harmony is active
Titanstring Bow	Strength modifier	Ranged weapon attack
Scabby Pugilist Circlet	2	Unarmed or weapon attack with 2+ enemies within 3m
The Undead Bane	1d6Slashing	Melee attack against a Fiend or Undead
Hammer of the Just	1d6Bludgeoning	Melee attack against a Fiend or Undead

The top 5 damage riders in the above list are universal. They will apply to any damage instance, even ones detached from a spell or attack. All the other damage riders involve conditions like IsSpell() or IsMeleeAttack() so any damage instance that is not a part of a spell or weapon attack cannot be boosted by these non-universal damage riders. Status effect damage like  Simple Toxin is an example of damage detached from any attack or spell that can only be boosted by universal damage riders. See below for a more detailed discussion of detached damage instances.

Damage rider sources

Damage bonus implemented with DealDamage() (i.e. Damage rider sources) are the underlying cause for much of the unintuitive damage mechanics in Baldur's Gate 3.

All attacks or damaging spells are implemented using DealDamage(), so any damage bonus implemented using that same function will behave somewhat like an independent attack or spell. Importantly, this means that damage rider sources can potentially trigger each other causing an exponential explosion in the number of damage instances (with the right combination of DRS effects). As previously stated, adding DRS effects to an attack will also multiple the effectiveness of damage riders.

Attached vs detached instances

There are two sub-categories of DRS effects that determine how they interact with damage riders: attached and detached.

• A DRS effect attached to an attack or spell will be grouped and indented under a heading like "X used Main Hand Attack" or "X cast Fire Ball". Most DRS effects will be attached to the triggering attack.
• A detached instance will appear separately in the damage log, not grouped with the triggering attack. DRS effects wind up detached because they call DealDamage() indirectly. For example:
  • When standing in a Burning surface, the Amulet of Elemental Torment will effectively add a 1d4Fire DRS. The amulet's effect doesn't call DealDamage() directly, but instead calls ApplyStatus(BURNING). On application, the  Burning status effect calls DealDamage() immediately.
  • To apply its 1d4Thunder damage, the Punch-Drunk Bastard calls CreateExplosion() which then calls DealDamage().

The practical difference between attached and detached DRS sources is that some damage rider effects will not apply to detached sources. For example, the 1d4Fire damage instance from the Amulet of Elemental Torment is detached from the spell cast and thus will not get boosted by damage riders like the Potent Robe or Elemental Affinity: Damage which explicitly apply only to spell/cantrip attacks. It will, however, be boosted by more universal damage riders like Arcane Charge.

DRS effects from class features

This is a list of class features that provide additional damage rider sources to attacks or spells.

Extra damage rider sources from class features

Feature	Class	Damage Bonus	Limitation	Notes
Sneak Attack	Level 1 Rogue	1d6 to 6d6	Once per turn	Sneak Attack will only create a separate damage instance when triggered as an automatic reaction. The damage type is inherited from the weapon.
Divine Smite	Level 2 Paladin	2d8 to 5d8	Consumes spell slots	Also applies to all other Smite variants.
Combat Inspiration	Level 3 College of Valour	1d6, 1d8, or 1d10	Consumes Bardic Inspiration Charge	Bard must apply the buff to another character. The damage type is inherited from the weapon.
Colossus Slayer	Level 3 Hunter	1d8	Once per turn	Target must already be damaged. The damage type is inherited from the weapon.
Heart of the Storm	Level 6 Storm Sorcery	(Sorcerer level)/2 or (Sorcerer level)/2	Leveled spells only	Applies in a  Range: 6 m / 20 ft radius around you when you cast a leveled Lightning or Thunder damage spell. This damage instance is detached from the spell. Recastable spells like  Call Lightning do not count as leveled spells when recasted for free.
Divine Strike	Level 8 Cleric	1d8	Once per turn	Damage type depends on the Cleric domain. The 1d8Physical variant from War Domain must be triggered as a reaction to deal a separate damage instance. All other variants create a separate instance no matter how they are triggered.
Shadow Strike	Level 11 Way of Shadow	3d8	Consumes 3Ki Points	Must be  Invisible or  Hiding.
Lifedrinker	Level 12 Warlock	Charisma modifier	None	Applies to all melee weapon attacks.

DRS effects from weapons

This is a list of weapons that can get bonus attached damage rider sources with ordinary attacks. Since these damage instances are attached to a weapon attack, they will be boosted by applicable damage riders.

Extra attached damage rider sources on ordinary weapon attacks

Source	Damage Bonus	Conditions
Assassin's Touch	1d4Necrotic	Target is  Knocked Out or  Sleeping
Deep Delver	1d4Piercing	Target is Shattered. Deep Delver inflicts Shattered on hit.
Dragon's Grasp	1d4Slashing	Target is  Burning
Exterminator's Axe	1d6Fire	Target is a plant, Myconid, or is size small or less
Firestoker	1d4Piercing	Target is  Burning
Shortsword of First Blood	1d8Piercing	Target must have 100% hit points
Blooded Greataxe	1d4Slashing	Wielder has 50% hit points or less
Rat Bat	1d6Piercing	Unlisted effect; always applies
Render of Mind and Body	1d8Psychic	Attack with Advantage
Sword of Life Stealing	10Necrotic	Attack is a Critical hit
Crimson Mischief	7Piercing damage.	Attack with Advantage while equipped in the main hand
Duellist's Prerogative	Proficiency Bonus Necrotic	Requires and consumes a reaction; only applies while equipped in the main hand

This is a list of weapons that can trigger bonus detached damage rider sources with ordinary attacks. Weapon attack related damage riders will not apply to these extra damage instances since they are not directly attached to a weapon attack. Only the universal damage riders will apply.

Extra detached damage rider sources from ordinary weapon attacks

Source	Damage Bonus	Notes
Loviatar's Scourge: Willing Whip	1d6Necrotic	Hits everything in a 2m radius including the wielder
Punch-Drunk Bastard	1d4Thunder	Must be  drunk. Hits everything in a 3m radius excluding the wielder.
Nyrulna: Zephyr Connection	3d4Thunder	Must be thrown. Hits everything in a 6m radius including the wielder.

DRS effects from weapon actions

This is a list of damage rider sources from special Weapon actions. These sources are inherently more limited by nature of being once-per-short-rest actions.

Extra damage rider sources from once-per-short-rest Weapon Actions

Source	Damage Bonus	Notes
Prepared (Condition)	Strength modifier Slashing	Bonus applies to all melee attacks for the rest of the turn, including melee spells
Hoppy: Revitalising Strike	Proficiency Bonus Necrotic	Also heals you 1d6hit points
Very Heavy Greataxe: Gargantuan Cleave	1d6Slashing	Hits up to 3 targets like a normal cleave but inflicts  Off Balance on the wielder
Soulbreaker Greatsword: Soulbreaker	4Psychic	Can also  Stun the target (Constitution saving throw)
Silver Sword of the Astral Plane: Soulbreaker	4Psychic	Can also  Stun the target (Constitution saving throw)
Moonlight Glaive: Moonlight Butterflies
Justiciar's Scimitar: Shadowsoaked Blow
The Undead Bane: Profane Scourge
Hellfire Greataxe: Hellflame Cleave
The Sacred Star: Dawnburst Strike	Proficiency Bonus Radiant
Balduran's Giantslayer: Topple the Big Folk	2d6Slashing	Target must have size Large or greater. Also adds your Proficiency Bonus to the base attack damage

DRS effects for spells

There are a limited number of DRS effects that work with spells or cantrips, particularly attached effects. However, many spells have built in ways of dealing multiple damage instances. For example:

• Multi-hit spells like  Magic Missile or  Scorching Ray deal separate damage instances for each projectile.
• Spells with multiple damage types like  Ice Knife or  Flame Strike deal separate damage instances for each damage type.

Below is a list of attached DRS effects that work with spells.

Extra attached damage rider sources that work with spells

Source	Damage Bonus	Notes
Phalar Aluve: Shriek	1d4Thunder	As mentioned previously, Shriek damage activates universally on any damage instance.
Prepare	Strength modifier Slashing	This works with all melee attacks, which includes melee attack roll spells like  Shocking Grasp. The Daredevil Gloves can turn any ranged attack roll spell into a melee one.
Craterflesh Gloves	1d6Force	Requires landing a critical hit, so it only works with attack roll spells.
The Blast Pendant	Lightning damage equal to  Lightning Charges	Once per long rest, consume  Lightning Charges to add an additional Lightning damage instance to a Lightning spell.
Ilmater's Aid	1d4Force	Applies to any leveled spell. Wearer has less than 50% HP. This item hasn't be available in-game since Early Access.

In Patch 3,  Sneak Attack could apply to attack roll spells, but this was changed in Patch 4.

Below is a list of DRS effects that work with spells, but create detached damage instances. Again, the only way to boost these damage instances is with the universal damage riders.

Extra detached damage rider sources that work with spells

Source	Damage Bonus	Notes
Amulet of Elemental Torment	1d4Fire or 1d4Acid	The wearer must be standing in a Fire Surface or in Caustic Brine. Spell damage will inflict  Burning or  Caustic Brine respectively which will immediately apply the first tick of 1d4 damage.
Gaping Wounds	2Piercing	Does not work with spells or abilities that use a Saving throw rather than an Attack roll.

Glossary

There is not necessarily any community consensus regarding the following terms and they may only make sense within the context of this article.

• Attached: A damage instance attached to an attack or spell in the damage log.
• Damage rider: A damage bonus implemented with DamageBonus(). These bonuses can potentially apply many times in a single attack since they boost each independent damage instance.
• Damage rider source: A damage bonus implemented with DealDamage(). These bonuses create an independent damage instance instead of adding damage to an existing instance.
• Detached: A damage instance not grouped with the triggering attack or spell in the damage log.
• DRS: See damage rider source
• Universal damage rider: A damage rider that doesn't have conditions like IsSpell() and can boost even detached damage instances.
• Weapon rider: A damage bonus implemented with WeaponDamage() or similar functions. These bonuses are well-behaved and will only ever apply once per attack.