WOB: Damage Interceptor

Bring layered defense into your 5E Fantasy Grounds game.

WOB: Damage Interceptor adds a new defensive effect system called Defense Points (DP) that intercepts damage before it reaches hit points and before normal 5E reductions like resistance, rage, and similar effects are applied. This makes armor, shields, magical wards, barriers, and other protections feel like real layers of defense instead of just flavor text.

Whether you want a knight’s chain mail to wear down over time, a shield to catch the first part of a blow, or a magical barrier to block most damage except poison, this extension gives you a flexible and easy-to-read way to do it.

What This Extension Does

Damage Interceptor introduces a new effect tag:

DP

DP effects reduce incoming damage before the rest of the normal 5E damage pipeline finishes. That means armor can absorb damage first, magical barriers can intercept damage first, shields can block small amounts before armor takes over, layered defense can wear down over time, and remaining damage then continues through normal 5E handling.

Key Features

Defense Point effects
Create armor-like or barrier-like protection using simple effect text.

Layered protection
Multiple DP effects can stack. Lower values are used first, which is perfect for things like shields over armor.

Decay over time
Protection can weaken after each hit, allowing armor or wards to slowly break down.

Damage type control
Use specific damage types, all damage, or all except certain damage types.

Works on PCs and NPCs
Use DP on player characters, monsters, bosses, summons, or anything else that can take effects and damage in the 5E combat tracker.

Runs before normal 5E reduction
DP applies before resistance, vulnerability, and similar later-stage effects.

How It Works

A DP effect absorbs incoming damage up to its current value.

After it absorbs damage, the remaining damage continues through normal 5E processing. If the DP has a decay value, its protection is reduced for future hits. This creates the feel of armor getting worn down, shields taking the first part of a strike, magical wards weakening with use, and layered defenses working in order.

DP Syntax

Flat defense that does not decay

DP: 6

This always absorbs up to 6 matching damage.

Defense that weakens after use

DP1: 6

This absorbs up to 6 damage, then drops to 5 after it is used.

Defense with faster decay

DP2: 10

This absorbs up to 10 damage, then drops by 2 each time it absorbs damage.

Absorb-pool style defense

DP0: 10

This decays by the exact amount of damage it absorbs, making it work more like a separate protective pool. This is especially useful for magical wards, barriers, and shield-style effects while still remaining distinct from normal temporary hit points.

Damage Type Examples

Specific damage types

Chain Mail; DP1: 6 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning

Absorbs physical weapon damage only.

All damage

Mage Armor; DP: 3 all

Absorbs 3 from any damage type.

All except one type

Mage Armor; DP: 3 !poison

Absorbs 3 from all damage except poison.

All except multiple types

Ward Shield; DP1: 8 all, !fire, !lightning

Absorbs all damage except fire and lightning.

Inclusion plus exclusion

Element Ward; DP1: 6 fire, cold, !fire

This effectively only reduces cold, since exclusions override inclusions.

Stacking Examples

Armor and shield together

Chain Mail; DP1: 16 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning
Shield; DP1: 2 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning

The shield is used first because it has the lower value. After that, Chain Mail absorbs what remains.

Magic barrier over armor

Mage Armor; DP: 3 !poison
Chain Mail; DP1: 16 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning

Mage Armor can intercept most damage first, while Chain Mail still protects against physical hits.

Order of Operations

Damage Interceptor is designed so DP happens before later damage adjustments.

The order is:

Incoming damage is rolled.
DP effects intercept damage first.
Remaining damage continues into normal 5E handling.
Resistance, vulnerability, and other later effects apply.
Final damage is applied to hit points.

This makes layered defense feel correct and gives armor or barriers their own role in the damage process.

WOBWARD

WOBWARD is a reactive resistance effect that grants temporary resistance based on the damage type that just hit the actor.

When the actor is hit by damage, WOBWARD checks the incoming damage roll and looks at the damage types actually present in that hit. If the effect has uses remaining, it offers the actor a choice to gain resistance to one of those allowed damage types for a short duration.

Supported Syntax

Type Filter Behavior

Important Behavior Note

If none of the incoming damage types match the TYPES: filter, WOBWARD does not prompt, and the damage continues normally.

WOBWARD Examples

WOBWARD (S); USES: 1
On a qualifying hit, offers one of the incoming damage types and grants resistance until the start of your next turn.

WOBWARD (E); USES: 1
Same, but the resistance lasts until the end of your next turn.

WOBWARD (S); TYPES: fire, cold; USES: 1
Only offers fire or cold if either appears in the incoming hit.

WOBWARD (S); TYPES: !poison; USES: 1
Offers any incoming damage type except poison.

WOBWARD (E); TYPES: lightning; USES: 3
Only offers lightning, lasts until end of turn, and can be used 3 times.

Good Uses for DP

Armor durability.
Magic barriers.
Boss design.
Monster hide.
Objects and structures.

Small How To Use

Open the effect on the target in the 5E Combat Tracker and add a DP effect like one of these:

Chain Mail; DP1: 16 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning
Shield; DP1: 2 slashing, piercing, bludgeoning
Mage Armor; DP: 3 !poison
Ward Shield; DP1: 8 all, !fire

When the target is hit, the DP effect checks whether the damage type matches, absorbs damage up to its current value, lowers if it has decay, and then lets the rest continue through normal 5E processing.

Videos and Support

Watch (Long) Video: Here
Watch (Short) Video: Here
If there is an issue: End User Support: Here

WOB: Damage Interceptor

Built for FGU 5E
By Universal Battles Books, RPG

Compatibility Notice
We cannot guarantee this extension will play nice with every other extension. We test against a number of popular extensions, but conflicts can still happen. If you run into issues, try disabling other extensions to identify the conflict.