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Well, with Protection from Elements, it gains the descriptor of the specific element type you specify. I'd say that qualifies it for being a 'different spell'. So you could have Protection from Fire and Protection from Water with two castings, and they'd both be functional. Obviously, you couldn't get Protection from Fire twice... or more correctly, you could, but it would be a waste since it wouldn't be giving you anything more.

However, I don't have the Spell Treasury so I don't know how it works. Can't help you there. If it gains a descriptor, then I would say the resistances would stack but the armor would not.

Okay, you made me dive back into the actual rules rather than making a guestimate.

It doesn't say you can't have the same spell cast on you twice, just that you gain no benefit from doing so. Pg 153 of the PHB: Combining Magical Effects says two Bless spells don't give you double the effect, but both Bless spells are still active... if one should be dispelled but not the other, you'd still get the benefit of a Bless spell. It of course mentions the bonuses that do and do not stack. It also mentions spells with the same effect but different strengths (example given, 2 Bull's Strength, one giving 3 Strength, one giving 5) which overlap and do not stack (so you would get 5 Strength). This is what I would use as my guide. I'd say PfE and Dragonskin overlap and do not stack... but if you're choosing different energy or elemental resistances, overlapping is not necessarily a bad thing.

HOWEVER, next page over: Same Effect with Differing Results, says the last spell trumps the others. The other spells are not dispelled, but have no effect. Using this as your guide, then only the latest energy you chose would provide a benefit. The example spell used is Polymorph.

PfE more closely resembles, to me, a spell providing a bonus than, say, changing a kobold into a tree. "In cases where two or more identical spells are operating in the same area, but with different strengths, only the best one applies." It seems to me that PfE: fire would be the 'best' when hit with a fire spell, and PfE: Water would be the best when hit with a water spell.

I'd suggest reading it and deciding which one you think suits the situation best. IMO, the Bull's Strength example is closer than the Polymorph example.




So now that I've read the rules, my guess is that line in Ability Boost is telling you the "Same Effect with Differing Results" rule applies. Hmmm, maybe with that as our standard, perhaps the Polymorph example *is* the best guide. It doesn't make sense to me, though. You could cast Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace and Owl's Wisdom with no penalty in 3.0. Perhaps Monte just felt this was overpowered, but then again, maybe he was tired that day and added "as with most spells" because he forgot the various permutations of stacking and overlapping.

The AE book mentions all this too on page 208. However, it is much more succinct and without a lot of clarifying detail. In this case: "Same Effects. In cases where two or more identical spells are operating in the same area, but at different strengths, only the strongest effect applies. The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. In this case, none of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts."

Looks like Monte is *definitely* using the Same Effect, Differing Results rule. This seems to be pretty solidly against PfE being cast multiple times for multiple protections. However, it is vague enough that you could say 'different strengths of resistances' to have the first part qualify and not the second part. If we decide that having a numerical value means we can compare 'strengths' of a spell, that's good enough for me. Of course, 'tree' or 'kobold' can't be different strengths and so they added the second part of the rule for spells such as Polymorph.

Because the "Same Effects, Different Results" rule specifically says the earlier versions of the spell are invalid, only the latest casting counts, even though the previous spells are not dispelled or cancelled. This is where it requires interpretation as to what kind of spell this is: one that can overlap, or one that is replaced. AE rules and Monte's little blurb in Ability Boost seems to indicate that only the latest PfE is supposed to count. Supposing you had cast, in sequents, earth, air, fire and water PfE spells. This would seem to be a case of "the same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once" in which case, only the Water PfE is active. If it is dispelled, then Fire becomes active, and if that is dispelled, Air. And so on. Rather like using a polymorph spell to turn a kobold into a tree, then an ant, then an ogre. Only the last one functions... and if it is dispelled, the kobold is now an ant.

However, it is in *no* way clear, and so I personally would lean towards the first part of AE's "same effects" rule, which is the same as the PHB's Different Strengths rule (the different resistances granted by the various PfE spells count as 'different strengths', of which you choose the 'best' which clearly would be whichever element is hurting you this round), rather than the second part of AE's Same Effects rule (which corresponds to the PHB's Same Effects, Different Results" rule).

It's a matter of interpretation. IMO, the interpretation in AE tends to lean towards the second rule, but it's not certain, and so I choose to interpret it as following the first rule because it makes more sense to me, and since either way it follows the rules, I am content.