can you kill skeletons by using arrows ?

[cire87]

from a game play aspect it makes since but logically seems super silly

[cire87]

i forgot are explosive arrows a thing in this game ?

[WastingSanity]

Logically you should be able to kill a skeleton with an arrow as arrows can break bones. Also logically, you should be able to kill a skeleton faster with a blunt weapon like a club or mace.

[[Heretic]Rivga]

Originally posted by cire87:

from a game play aspect it makes since but logically seems super silly

Nope, arrows can shatter bones

[Viper]

Seems dumb that you can. Arrows and slashing weapons should do less damage logically.

[EruWan]

you need to use osteoporosis arrows my dude

[cire87]

how about spirits and ghost or whatever ?

[NeeLot]

Originally posted by cire87:

how about spirits and ghost or whatever ?

If it's not at the very least silvered, +1 or magic then it will probably pass through them without causing any harm. I don't know if it's actually going to be possible to get your weapons silvered in BG3.

[Ghost]

Originally posted by Viper:

Seems dumb that you can. Arrows and slashing weapons should do less damage logically.

Sure, but is it breaking the bones that's important, or is there something painted/carved, whatever, on those bones as part of their animation and getting disrupted from any damage?

[Muppethero]

Originally posted by Metallicus:

Yes, you can. Also, you can’t always apply logic to a fantasy setting / game.

In 3.5 they had dmg reduction 5/bludgeoning. they dont do that in 5e

[Penguin_of_Doom]

Yes but they take twice as much damage from bludgeoning attacks.

[Stubbieoz]

Originally posted by WastingSanity:

Logically you should be able to kill a skeleton with an arrow as arrows can break bones. Also logically, you should be able to kill a skeleton faster with a blunt weapon like a club or mace.

Logically skeletons are already dead.

[Zangetsu]

You can in 5e ttrpg too. Though skeletons have resistance to piercing damage. 5e doesnt use immunities to damage types a lot. More often then not they go with resistance.

[BigAlzBub]

No explanation is given for why arrow work normally, but then again there is no explanation as to how they are able to move without muscles, or carry out tasks without a brain, or where they get their energy from to actually move. Now you could just say magic, but animate dead is an instantaneous spell, so there should be some finite limit to how long they last before the magic runs out, but it doesn't (you do have to keep casting animate dead daily if you want to maintain control). So just try not to think about it, and if it is too immersion breaking, don't play I guess?

[Panic Fire]

Originally posted by Zangetsu:

You can in 5e ttrpg too. Though skeletons have resistance to piercing damage. 5e doesnt use immunities to damage types a lot. More often then not they go with resistance.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/17015-skeleton

Skeletons don't have piercing resistance in 5e.

To answer the OP. Skeletons are held together by necromancy magic. It binds the joints together and infuses the bones. If you deal enough dmg of any kind to the skeleton you break the "vessel" that holds the necromatic energy thus it falls back into the dead heap it was before.

[WastingSanity]

Originally posted by Stubbieoz:

Logically skeletons are already dead.

Technically speaking, in the realm of fantasy living creatures are considered to be animated. That is why when a necromancer summons skeletons or zombies they are re-animated. So yes, you would be killing them again.