Damage and Keywords

damage type
A specific type of damage: acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, or thunder. Each damage type has a keyword associated with it. If a power has such a keyword, the power deals that type of damage (the exception is poison, the keyword for which refers to damage, a nondamaging effect, or both).

Blazing Starfall
Sorcerer Attack 1

A shower of radiance falls upon your enemies and then bursts out, creating a cage of burning embers that are painful to pass through.

At-Will Arcane, Fire, Implement, Radiant, Zone
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 10 squares

Target: Each creature in the burst

Attack: Charisma vs. Reflex

Hit: 1d4 + Charisma modifier radiant damage.
Level 21: 2d4 + Charisma modifier radiant damage.

Cosmic Magic: The burst creates a zone bounded by burning ground that lasts until the end of your next turn. Whenever an enemy within the zone leaves it, that enemy takes fire damage equal to your Strength modifier.

Thunderstroke
Sorcerer Attack 17

A stroke of lightning strikes your foe from overhead, followed by a concussive boom.

Encounter Arcane, Implement, Lightning, Thunder
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 20 squares

Target: Each creature in the burst

Attack: Charisma vs. Reflex

Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier thunder damage. If the target is in the burst’s origin square, it takes 3d8 extra lightning damage.

Storm Magic: A target hit by this power is also knocked prone.

Subject
Keywords and damage types

Discussion Thread
Response (Support Agent) 03/06/2011 12:49 PM

Hi Ken,

Thank you for contacting us. The damage keyword is determined by the type(s) of damage that could be dealt with a power. Resistances to a specified damage type would be taken into consideration when damage is dealt by the power. With Blazing Starfall, if it is a non-Cosmic Magic Sorcerer using the power, it would still have both the Radiant and Fire keywords (because the power could deal fire damage if a Cosmic Magic Sorcerer is using the power) however a non-Cosmic Magic Sorcerer would only deal radiant damage listed in the "Hit" portion of the power. This does not change the keywords for the power, this only means that a non-Cosmic Sorcerer cannot use all of the potential of the power.

A creature's resistance to a damage type is taken into account when the damage is dealt that creature (it looks at the specific damage that is dealt), so if the creature is dealt 10 radiant damage and it has resist 5 to radiant damage they would only take 5 radiant damage. If the creature has resist 5 fire and the damage dealt is radiant damage then the resistance to fire wouldn't apply. If the creature has resist 5 radiant and resist 5 fire, the damage dealt by Blazing Starfall (by a non-Cosmic Magic wizard) is 10 radiant the creature would be able to resist 5 of the 10 radiant damage and since no fire damage was dealt the resistance to fire damage doesn't apply.

Please let me know if you need anymore help!

Khyber Shard of the Fiery Depth
Level 2 Uncommon

This cobalt dragon shard has a molten core and is hot to the touch.

Price: 520 gp
Implement (Dragonshard Augment)
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with fire attacks that use the augmented weapon.