| Here's another one... Big ass dragon gets hit by several Rays of Enfeeblement, reducing its strength to 1... That's a -5 on attack, damage, strength related skills and checks, and a max carrying capacity of about 10lb... Surely it would barely be able to stand, or have its movement impeded in some way... 0 strength = helpless, 1 strength can't be much better...? Anyone got any ideas how to handle this in game...? |
You could probably rule something like being at less than 3 STR restricts you to a single move or standard action (a la zombies), simply because you're that weak. Just make sure any rules apply equally to players as well as monsters.
Multiple uses of ray of enfeeblement don't stack; the largest penalty simply takes precedence. Sources of bonuses or penalties don't stack with themselves unless stated otherwise.
Even if neither of those are officially the case I'd be tempted to allow that sort of thing with attack spells; otherwise it seems like the same should (not rules wise but for fairness) apply to fireball:>
Kind of like a bandaid on a bullet wound.
The two don't state that they counter one another, as I recall.
Kind of like...a temporary solution until you get get Restoration.
"Lesser restoration dispels any magical effects reducing one of the subject's ability scores (such as ray of enfeeblement)..." =)
That's my reading, anyway.
Unnamed bonuses and penalties do stack, but not usually from the same source. This is in the stacking rules in the spellcasting chapter of the PHB.
And a Strength penalty is something very different in D&D than Strength damage. Damage stacks (be it ability damage or normal hit point damage); penalties sometimes don't. That's why fireball stacks with itself; it's just doing damage, it's not imposing a temporary penalty.
IMHO, anyway.
NB you can get a dragon down to STR 1 with Chill Touch (good luck!) as it does do strength damage wheras, like Mouseferatu says, Ray of Enfeeblement gives a negative STR enhancement (and is used as the example of overlapping spells in the Magic Overview chapter).