Draco, I'd be careful about the terms used when describing what DR stops. It stops damage from physical sources; namely those that can be classified as slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning/crushing. It does NOT prevent damage from energy types, like a non-magial fire, nor does it stop raw damage that doesn't have a type (note that most non-magical damage has some kind of type although you may need to do some looking to find it.)
Now despite the terms used even low levels of DR can make a difference over time. As draco mentions it is used against every attack so if you're facing a lot of low damage attacks it will make a huge difference. I'd also say that if a PC has DR I may include situations where a group is subject to constant, low level damage which having DR could negate.
I figure I've lurked long enough, and it's time to finally contribute...
We ran into some DR questions in our last battle, so it's still pretty fresh on my mind. The only things that bypass DR: X/- are "spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire)". This is per the DMG, page 292.
This really is useful against lots of low damage attacks, as StevenO pointed out. Being barraged by a bunch of kobolds with slings won't bother the guy with DR: 3/- much at all, unless they pull out some special ammunition. Being barraged by kobolds throwing flasks of oil might just ruin his day, though...
Different question but on the topic of damage reduction so I didn't want to start a new thread.
My Dread Necro has his DR 2/magic & bludgeoning Now, that means that if he gets hit by a non-magical mace then his DR still applies, correct?
And my other question is, does getting constricted count as bludgeoning damage? Obviously, its crushing, but seeing as "crushing" doesn't have its own specific category, would it come under bludgeoning?
A creature with this special attack can crush an opponent, dealing bludgeoning damage, after making a successful grapple check. The amount of damage is given in the creature’s entry. If the creature also has the improved grab ability it deals constriction damage in addition to damage dealt by the weapon used to grab.
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If you are exactly perfect about your typing, and it is "/magic & bludgeoning" as opposed to "/magic or bludgeoning", You are correct. That simple &/or is the very exacting operative syntax.
A few creatures are harmed by more than one kind of weapon. A weapon of either type overcomes this damage reduction. (This is "or")
A few other creatures require combinations of different types of attacks to overcome their damage reduction. A weapon must be both types to overcome this damage reduction. A weapon that is only one type is still subject to damage reduction. (This is "&")
A creature with this special attack can crush an opponent, dealing bludgeoning damage, after making a successful grapple check. The amount of damage is given in the creature’s entry. If the creature also has the improved grab ability it deals constriction damage in addition to damage dealt by the weapon used to grab.
Actual examples of Neue's &/or answer: The Rakshasa has DR /good AND piercing. This is a legacy of only being killed by blessed crossbow bolts in 2E. A good-aligned piercing weapon will always bypass this DR, whether it's a "combination" damage type weapon like the morningstar, melee piercing only like a pick, or ranged like an arrow. The other example is the armor enhancement "Axeblock" in the MIC. It offers DR /piercing or bludgeoning (since it's meant to block slashing weapons, like axes). This can be overcome by any weapon that is either one, so a non-magical club would be unaffected, while a paladin's Holy Avenger would.
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Isn't it nice when we can actually all agree on how things work?
I will mention that using 3.5 DR you almost always need the specified property to overcome the listed DR. In 3.0 something with DR/silver could also be overcome by a magic weapon (maybe in needed be more the +1 for some materials but still) but in 3.5 that was no longer true. The "exception" is that an "epic" weapon overcomes "magic" DR but that should be obvious as DR/epic normally takes a +6 enhancment bonus to overcome while DR/magic just takes a +1 enhancement bonus.
If you see a DRX/bludegoning AND piercing in 3.5 it takes both of those to overcome it (which limits weapons to a morningstar as most do "or" with damage although I believe a creature's bite attack actually counts as all three damage types at the same time.) If you see DRX/bludegoning OR piercing it will only protect against slashing weapon. For an extreme something with DR/slashing and bludgeoning and piercing almost always has DR apply (I think a bite gets overcomes it) but something with DR/slashing or bludgeoning or piercing is worthless for protection as everything will get through.
Well, this all looks sorted out before I could get to it.
What I can add is that if you want something that stops absolutely everything (unless the effect specifically bypasses it), you need Hardness, which is harder to get than simple DR. (The easiest way I know of to make use of hardness regularly is the Share Pain + Psicrystal trick: although the damage from Share Pain is untyped and magical, it is still blocked by hardness. There's probably a spell or two that give hardness as well, although I can't think of any offhand.) It's not unbeatable - psionic sonic attacks and several Tome of Battle strikes expressly ignore hardness, and if you can't get hardness up to 20 or higher, so will adamantine weapons - but it is a much better protection than DR.
(Note that the stuff on energy types doing fractional damage to objects won't matter if you've got hardness some other way - the fractions are a property of blasting an object, not a property of the hardness itself.)
Another alternative, although somewhat trickier in how it works, is temporary HP. These can hypothetically block big hits as well as little ones, but once they're used they get depleted. Functionally, though, it reduces the amount of damage being applied to your real HP. However, they cannot be bypassed by any means I know: if you've got temp HP remaining after an attack hits you, you're not losing normal HP, and there's no spells that ignore temporary HP the way there are effects that bypass DR. If you can't get DR but can get temporary HP, in several circumstanfces, temp HP will do in a pinch.
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Quick question on damage reduction if you have damage reduction 1/- from a barbarian and you get a damage reduction 2/- from say the anointed knight or something like that do the add together or no and if not the question is why I understand that if they came from the same source they get over lapped like if you continue in barbarian and get the 2/- but from different sources I would think they stack ? except the ones that come from armor like adamantine
you use your better DR for each attack but only one.
as example a creature with DR 1/- and DR 5/ Magic
Take the DR 1/- while the DR 5 fail but he only can use one at time, again a non magical weapon you can use your DR 5/magic but not your DR 1/-.
in this case because both have the same based then not stack :s and you going to use always the DR 2/-
Other class of DR exist like Magic and Silver, Magic and Cold Iron, ect. this work like the others but you need the both condition to overcome it. Limited exceptionsexist butmust be defined inthe abilityit givestheDR
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