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D&D Ideas — Acid

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is acid, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of acid in Balance an innocent sprite’s existence literally hangs in the balance from a sadistic trap. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

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Delving Dave’s Dungeon

I feel like I’m supposed to drop the obligatory hippie joke here but nothing comes to mind. This leads my mind to wander to Alice in Wonderland for the above reasons. There is also an Acid Fantasy genre that is the fantasy equivalent to the Acid Western genre. All of these could be fun to explore but today I am focusing on acid as a damage type in 5E D&D.

In previous editions of D&D acid was the damage type associated with the elemental plane of earth oddly enough. In 5E D&D acid is one of the least used damage types when it comes to spells. Only 16 spells and 2 cantrips lay claim to acid damage. There isn’t even a single spell that does acid damage for 5th or 6th level.

It’s also mostly referred to as a liquid in the game. I recall there being more acid damage spells that were gases instead of liquids in previous editions of D&D.

When it comes to monsters 71 of them are resistant to acid damage and 33 are immune to acid damage. Those monsters — especially the ones immune to acid damage — would be great to use in conjunction with hazards created by acid.

Not all acid hazards need be liquid in nature. Gases that deal acid damage could create different challenges to adventurers. Caustic smelling green and yellow clouds or mists can obscure vision but also cause acid damage as well. What about pseudo-science? Labs with pipes and vents that jet geysers of toxic steam could cause poison, fire or acid damage. Perhaps the damage is random from round to round.

Acid hazards might have lasting effects like clinging to their victims for more than one round, until a successful save ends the damage or might even need to be washed off. Perhaps being doused in water before being hit by acid gas or liquids gives resistance for a single round and nullifies lingering effects per dousing of water. Character’s with proficiency in alchemist’s supplies might even know this information. A character with alchemist’s supplies might even have the know how and materials to whip up something to neutralize the acid. We do love when we can find ways for players to make use of those tool proficiencies.

From Ted’s Head

I took a while deciding what to do with the topic of acid in 5E D&D. Regular readers know I love making magic items and in the past I have made a bunch of monsters. I debated even going into a subclass. But a trip in the real world gave me an idea that can be a real pain in the butt — potentially quite literally.

Acid typically does not come up in 5E D&D as much the other elements. It’s got an association with the earth and since the earth is where things grow I considered a hazard incorporating acid and coming from the earth. Allow me to gift you with the Bitter Burrs!

Bitter Burr

Bitter Burrs are offshoots of some of the nastier plants of the deep forest. Normal burrs are small, spiky and designed to cling to flesh and clothing alike. Travelers typically pick them up by just walking by and they can hurt a little if a deep spike gets into soft flesh. Later picked off and discarded these plants get to travel.

Bitter Burrs are like these mundane burrs but deadlier. Bitter Burrs sprout on the vines of a bush that likes to travel and has amazingly beautiful and fragrant flowers. Once detached from its core plant the timeclock begins ticking before flesh melting acid pumps out of the burr. This acid serves to kill its prey and use the rotting body to stimulate new plant growth.

Spotting the Bitter Burr on a body can be easy by a creature who succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check. However, to notice they are not normal burrs but something more deadly requires a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check. If this plant is not native to the creature’s region this check is made at disadvantage.

The deadly part of this Bitter Burr plant comes 1d4 hours after a burr detaches from the main plant when it swells and begins emitting acid from its pores. This cause 2d4 acid damage per Bitter Burr attached.

An easy way to foreshadow this nasty and acidic Bitter Burr plant incorporating puddles or pools of acid in and around the forest. Animals killed recently by acid damage might be found as well. A discarded piece of clothing burned through with acid holes might be found lying on the ground or hanging on a plant as a further clue.

Using this plant in a 5E D&D game could be as simple (and effective) as a natural hazard. A character might also be interested in questing for such a rare and exotic plant. Alchemists or herbalists might want Bitter Burrs before they emit the acid so a time crunch could be a factor. They might also want the whole flower, just the petals or the pistil (center) for reagents, perfumes or an exotic garden.

From the Nerditor’s Desk

Who would have thought out of all the damage types in 5E D&D acid would be the big stumper? After my live chat with Nerdarchist Ted on the topic I’d count myself as one such person. Considering acid as anything other than a source of damage proves pretty challenging. Without diving too deep into chemistry an acid generally breaks down other substances but it also derives from a Latin root meaning sour.

To contrast what Dave shared as far as monsters with resistance or immunity to acid damage it’s worth noting there’s but a single creature with vulnerability to acid damage. Looking into this further reveals this creature is found in Isle of the Abbey, one of the adventures within Ghosts of Saltmarsh. The living iron statue functions as a guardian of the treasure room (the real treasure room…) and scattered throughout the abbey ruins there’s several acid pits disguised by illusion magic.

This got me thinking. Rather than pairing monsters for whom acid represents a diminished danger along with hazards to cause acid damage to adventurers engaged in combat with them why not ramp things up and use the environment against a monster instead?

The living iron statue’s challenge rating makes it appropriate for the adventure where it’s found imagine facing such a challenge at a much lower level. A construct like this created solely to fend off anything seeking to loot a treasure room without regard for personal safety would very likely lay waste to a party of 2nd level characters in a straight up combat. Faced with these odds a clever party could use what they’ve discovered to their advantage.

Now the encounter becomes more about drawing the living iron statue into devastating traps and using the dungeon against its own guardians. Even with the massive damage caused by the acid pits and the construct’s vulnerability it would still take three rounds of standing in the corrosive liquid to take down the living iron statue with average damage. And that’s not even considering the creature climbs out to continue the pursuit!

Scenarios like this are reminiscent of the approach we got into when with the idea of folklore monsters. The concept here are monsters with specialized defenses making them functionally impossible to defeat without first discovering their weakness and exploiting it. This could even inform an entire adventure all on its own as characters learn about the dangerous monster, confront it and learn to their horror they’re basically ineffective.

From this point the heroes can attempt to learn more about the monster, questing to discover its weakness to acid. Next they’ll need to acquire powerful acid to break the monster’s defenses. This involves further investigation and perhaps the quest leads to a copper dragon or even a black dragon. The party can parley with them to acquire a supply of dragon acid or engage in combat to take what they need by force.

With such strong acid in their possession now the adventurers can track down the acid vulnerable monster and stand a fighting chance. Whenever the creature takes acid damage from the special acid the characters acquired I’d consider an additional effect as well like one of it’s other resistances or immunities is removed for a round or it causes the creature to become afflicted by a condition like blinded, frightened or even something really impactful like paralyzed.

*Featured image — A precarious puzzle involving item-destroying acid and a mysterious flask inviting heroes to look closer create tension and drama for adventurers whose choice means saving a potential ally or acquiring a powerful magic item along with 54 other dynamic encounters ready to drop right into your Fifth Edition games in Out of the Box. Find out more about it here. [Art by Kim Van Deun]

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