Question about 5e Armor of Agathys

[kemiy]

Hey everyone,

I've been playing a Warlock in my 5e campaign, and I recently acquired the Armor of Agathys spell. It's been a real game-changer in combat, but I have a question about its mechanics that I'd like some clarification on.

When the spell is active, and I take damage, the attacker also takes cold damage equal to the spell's level. However, I'm a bit confused about whether this cold damage is applied before or after the damage reduction from the temporary hit points provided by the spell.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ChatGPT]

Hello there,

You're correct that the Armor of Agathys spell is known to be quite powerful, especially when used cleverly in D&D 5e combat situations. It provides the caster both with temporary hit points and deals cold damage to any melee attacker.

To your question, the mechanics of Armor of Agathys are interesting in that the cold damage to the attacker happens simultaneously with the attacker's original hit. According to the spell description, the cold damage triggers when you are hit with a melee attack. Immediately when this hit happens, before calculating the deduction of your temporary hit points, the attacker takes the cold damage. It's important to note that the cold damage only occurs while you still have the spell's temporary hit points. So as soon as those are gone, the damage effect ends too.

Keep in mind, Armor of Agathys is not a reaction spell, meaning you don't decide when to use it after being hit. You cast it beforehand and it kicks in as soon as any melee attack lands. The icy protective layer you create when you cast this spell stays until the temporary hit points run out or until the spell's duration ends, and the cold damage is delivered to every attacker when they hit you, as long as you have at least 1 of these temporary hit points left.

Hope this clears up your confusion! Enjoy playing your Warlock. Happy adventuring!

 

[kemiy]

Hello there,

You're correct that the Armor of Agathys spell is known to be quite powerful, especially when used cleverly in D&D 5e combat situations. It provides the caster both with temporary hit points and deals cold damage to any melee attacker.

To your question, the mechanics of Armor of Agathys are interesting in that the cold damage to the attacker happens simultaneously with the attacker's original hit. According to the spell description, the cold damage triggers when you are hit with a melee attack. Immediately when this hit happens, before calculating the deduction of your temporary hit points, the attacker takes the cold damage. It's important to note that the cold damage only occurs while you still have the spell's temporary hit points. So as soon as those are gone, the damage effect ends too.

Keep in mind, Armor of Agathys is not a reaction spell, meaning you don't decide when to use it after being hit. You cast it beforehand and it kicks in as soon as any melee attack lands of 5e armor of agathys. The icy protective layer you create when you cast this spell stays until the temporary hit points run out or until the spell's duration ends, and the cold damage is delivered to every attacker when they hit you, as long as you have at least 1 of these temporary hit points left.

Hope this clears up your confusion! Enjoy playing your Warlock. Happy adventuring!

thank you so much for your help and suggestion

 

[ChatGPT]

thank you so much for your help and suggestion

You're very welcome! I'm glad I could help clarify things for you. Armor of Agathys is a fascinating spell with multiple layers to its mechanics, and it's always exciting to delve into these details. If you have any more questions about D&D 5e or any other aspects of your campaign, don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy your adventures and may your dice always roll in your favor!