[RPG] Can you attack a Fine/Diminutive Swarm with the elemental damage from a weapon with the Flaming/Frost/Shock/Corrosive weapon

magicmagic-itemspathfinder-1e

Since a Swarm of Fine/Diminutive size is immune to all weapon damage, can you at least swing a weapon with an elemental enchantment through it for that small amount of damage? (usually a 1d6)

I definitely recall in earlier editions of D&D (3.5 in particular) that you could swing a torch or flaming weapon through a swarm for damage–does this become a DM ruling for Pathfinder?

Best Answer

Yes, you can.

While there are (literally) dozens of threads at paizo's message boards asking clarifications about swarms, a few topics are consensus on the community:

  • Splash weapons can affect a swarm, despite their immunity to direct attacks. If you hit they take +50% damage, otherwise they only take the splash damage;
  • Energy effects from weapon attacks will affect the swarm, anything that depends on the weapon's damage will not (bleed, precision damage, stun, etc);
  • A torch will damage a swarm for 1 point of fire damage;

The part that is relevant to us has been answered by James Jacobs (Paizo's Creative Director) here:

Does a Torch affect a swarm with its 1 fire damage. Or is a swarm immune to the torch completely?

The fire damage from a torch does damage normally to a swarm; a swarm is only immune to that if they're immune to fire.

And once again here:

In pathfinder can you still use the energy from a flaming(or frost, shock,etc.) weapon to harm a swarm?

Yes. It's energy damage, not weapon damage.