Resistance to Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison, etc

[Immaculate]

Are the resistance bonuses form several sources cumulative or do you simply get the best one.

Lets say a thug use a fire brand and cast that nature spell (don't remember the name) that gives 50% elemental resistance across the board, does said thug get 100% fire resistance or 50%.

What about a firebrand and a burning pearl (both 50% right?) so is that gonna add up to 50% or 100% (or something wonky in between?)

What about the same item twice (like two fire brands)?

Thanks,
i.

[thejeff]

Resistances from different sources stack. Resistances from the same item do not.

So all your examples, except for the two firebrands, would get the thug to 100%.

[AreaOfEffect]

Resistance bonuses all stack. So a fire brand and elemental fortitude (that nature spell you couldn't remember) will grant 100% fire resist.

You can go over 100% fire resist, but it won't have any real affect. Yet you might want to keep that in mind if you want to cast a spell like stoneskin or ironskin which grants a resistance penalty.

The bonuses from any two of the same item will never stack. There are very limited cases where equipping the same item twice has any benefit. Mostly just equipping weapons and shields for their extra attacks or increased parry bonus. There is a rare case where equipping two bracers while under the effect of a full earth bless or legions of steel will grant more of armor, but only from the enchantments.

[lch]

There are different types of sources for boni in the game. One might come from a binary attribute which I would call "flags", apparently from Dom:PPP. Those are usually set by spells. Another source for a bonus comes from a bless. Then there are "abilities" which have some numeric value, this is usually what units have set and what magic items grant.

Those three things stack. The last source, "abilities" with a numeric value, stack on other such things that raise the ability. The first source is a binary flag and thus doesn't stack with other binary flags. That way different spells with the same effect don't give the same bonus twice. This is true for all kinds of boni in the game, not just elemental resistances.

[Calahan]

Resistances from different sources mostly always stack, although there are some things to bear in mind when you consider the effects from spells and items.

For example, a mage with a Ring of Frost won't cast Cold Resistance (CR hereafter) on himself, as he is already getting that effect from the Ring of Frost. And it doesn't matter if the Ring of Frost is giving him 100% cold immunity or not (as other items, like Marble Armour, may be bringing the CR down). But he will cast Breath of Winter to boost his CR regardless of what his current CR is. Although of course he won't cast it if he is wearing a Rime Hauberk, as that grants the wearer the Breath of Winter effect.

So the key thing to remember when it comes to item/spell stacking for resistances, is that the exact same effect from two or more different sources do not stack. Above is just two examples, but there are several more.