Sometimes items, not just characters, take damage from an effect, attack, or spell. Depending on the severity of the damage, items can become damaged or even destroyed.
Items can be either normal, broken, or destroyed conditions.
These items function as intendedwith no adverse effects.
Broken items are in disrepair, and while they still function, their efficacy is less than standard. Broken items with the following attributes have the following effects.
Broken items can be repaired with a Craft check or by magical means, restoring them to Normal condition.
Destroyed items are no longer usable. Weapons and armor are in such horrible condition they are now useless. Magic items lose their magic and either become mundane items, or are consumed by their own arcane energy turning them to dust. Potions and alchemical mixtures are cracked and the contents spilled and wasted. Other items are similarly destroyed or unusable.
Items can be damaged in the following ways.
Players may directly attack an item in the possession of another creature. See Combat.
Items in a player's possession usually don't take damage, even if he does. However, if that player fails a saving throw to avoid damage from a spell with a natural 1 (critical fail), then 1d4 of his items take damage. Magic Items are entitled to their own saving throw to avoid this damage (using the same DC and their owner's saving throw modifier).
Items that aren't in someone possession may take damage as well. Mundane items caught in area effects automatically take damage. Unattended magical items are entitled to a saving throw against the effect (Saving Throw Bonus = 2+ highest spell level) to avoid damage. Unattended items may also be targeted by an attack, in which case their AC is 5 + size modifier, though a full-round attack directed at the target automatically hits. Magic items that are targeted directly don't receive an additional saving throw.
Items submerged in a source of energy damage (lava pools, acid, etc.) also take damage, even if in their owner's possession. This still entitles magic items to a saving throw using their owner's bonuses.
If an item is in your possession, you may also attempt to break it through sheer strength alone. This requires a Strength check against the item's Break DC. On success, items are Broken; previously Broken items become destroyed.
An item's health is measured in integrity points. All items have four integrity points when in new condition. Items reduced to two integrity points are considered broken. Those reduced to 0 points are destroyed. Each time an item sustains damage, it may lose one or more integrity points.
Each item has a hardness increment. This represents how many hit points of damage it takes for the item to lose one point of integrity. If the item sustains less damage than its hardness, then the damage has no effect. If it sustains twice the hardness in damage, then it loses two integrity points, and so forth. When calculating damage, any hit points in excess of the item's hardness are irrelevant. Damage to items is calculated per attack, just like a creature's damage resistance.
| Blades | Hardness |
|---|---|
| Steel | 12 |
| Silver / Cold Iron | 12 |
| Mithral | 17 |
| Adamantine | 22 |
| Hafted Weapons | Hardness |
| Wood | 8 |
| Steel | 15 |
| Armor | Hardness |
| Light | 10 |
| Medium | 15 |
| Heavy | 20 |
| Adamantine | +5 |
| Mithril | +2 |
| Shields | Hardness |
| Light / Medium | 8 |
| Heavy | 10 |
| Other | Hardness |
| Projectile Weapons | 5 |
| Masterwork Quality | +3 per bonus |
| Magic Items | Hardness |
| Wand | 6 |
| Potion | 1 |
| Scroll | None* |
| Staff / Rod / Ring | 12 |
| Wondrous Items | Varies |
In general, a target's Hardness can be calculated using the chart below.
| Substance | Base | Hardness |
|---|---|---|
| Glass | 1 | Base + 1/2 per in. of thickness |
| Paper or cloth | 0 | Base + 1 per in. of thickness |
| Rope | 0 | Base + 1 per in. of thickness |
| Ice | 0 | Base + 1 per in. of thickness |
| Leather or hide | 2 | Base + 2 per in. of thickness |
| Wood | 5 | Base + 3 per in. of thickness |
| Stone | 8 | Base + 4 per in. of thickness |
| Iron or steel | 10 | Base + 8 per in. of thickness |
| Mithral | 15 | Base + 8 per in. of thickness |
| Adamantine | 20 | Base + 10 per in. of thickness |
Some items are particularly vulnerable to certain types of damage (paper and fire, for instance). Others are resistant (metal and fire). Some are even unaffected (bludgeoning a rope, for instance). The GM will make the final call about resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities. The following are two general rules:
If an object is resistant to damage, that damage is halved before applying the hardness. If an object is vulnerable, it is doubled before hardness is applied.