Interacting With Objects
A character’s interaction with objects in an environment is often simple to resolve in the game. The player tells the GM that their character is doing something, such a moving a lever, and the GM describes what, if anything happens.
For example, a character might decide to pull a lever, which might, in turn, raise a portcullis, cause a room to flood with water, or open a secret door in a nearby wall. If the lever is rusted in position, though, a character might need to force it. In such a situation, the GM might call for a Strength check to see whether the character can wrench the lever into place. The GM sets the DC for any such check based on the difficulty of the task.
Characters can also damage objects with their weapons and spells. Objects are immune to poison and psychic damage, but otherwise they can be affected by physical and magical attacks much like creatures can. The GM determines an object’s damage reduction and integrity, and might decide that certain objects have resistance or immunity to certain kinds of attacks. (It’s hard to cut a rope with a club, for example.) Objects are always hit by attacks vs their Strength and Dexterity defences and they are immune to effects that target other defences.
When an object drops to half its integrity or less, it breaks. When an an object drops to 0 integrity, it is destroyed. A character can also attempt a Strength check to break or destroy an object. The GM sets the DC for any such check.
Breaking an Object
When attempting to break an object, you have two choices: smash it with a weapon or break it with sheer strength.
Smashing an Object
Smashing a weapon or shield with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon is accomplished with the sunder combat action. Smashing an object is like sundering a weapon or shield. Generally, you can smash an object only with a bludgeoning or slashing weapon.
Dexterity Defence
Objects are easier to hit than creatures because they don’t usually move, but many are tough enough to shrug off some damage from each blow. An object’s Dexterity defence is equal to 10 + its size modifier + its Dexterity modifier. Not only does an inanimate object have a Dexterity of 0 (–5 penalty to Dexterity defence), but you also have advantage to hit it with a melee weapon. If you take an action to line up a shot, then melee attacks automatically hit and attack rolls with a ranged weapon have advantage.
Damage Reduction
Each object has damage reduction. This is a number that represents how well it resists damage. When an object is damaged, subtract its DR from the damage. Only damage in excess of its DR is deducted from the object’s integrity.
Integrity
Instead of stamina, objects have integrity. An object’s integrity total depends on what it is made of and how big it is. Objects that take damage equal to or greater than half their total integrity gain the broken condition. When an object’s integrity reaches 0, it is destroyed. Very large objects have separate integrity totals for different sections.
Energy Attacks
Most objects have resistance to energy attacks. Divide the damage by 2 before applying the object’s DR. Some energy types might be particularly effective against certain objects, subject to GM discretion. For example, fire might do full damage against parchment, cloth, and other objects that burn easily. Sonic might do full damage against glass and crystal objects.
Ranged Weapon Damage
Objects have resistance to ranged weapons (unless the weapon is a siege engine or something similar. Divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the object’s DR.
Ineffective Weapons
Certain weapons just can’t effectively deal damage to certain objects. For example, a bludgeoning weapon cannot be used to damage a rope. Likewise, most melee weapons have little effect on stone walls and doors, unless they are designed for breaking up stone, such as a pick or hammer.
Magic Armour, Shields, and Weapons
Each rarity category adds 2 to the DR of armour, a weapon, or a shield, and +10 to the item’s integrity.
Vulnerability to Certain Attacks
Certain attacks are especially successful against some objects. In such cases, attacks deal double their normal damage and may ignore the object’s hardness.
Damaged Objects
A damaged object remains functional with the broken condition until the item’s integrity is reduced to 0, at which point it is destroyed. Damaged (but not destroyed) objects can be repaired with the appropriate tool and a number of spells.
Defences
Nonmagical, unattended items never defend themselves. They are considered to have be hit, so they are always fully affected by spells and other attacks. An item attended by a character (being grasped, touched, or worn) defends as the character (that is, using the character’s defences).
Magic items always defend. A magic item’s defences are equal to 13 + 1 per rarity category. An attended magic item either defends as its owner or uses its own defence, whichever is better.
Animated Objects
Animated objects count as creatures for purposes of determining their Dexterity defence (do not treat them as inanimate objects).
Raising a Shield
When you have raised a shield, it takes the damage that melee and ranged attacks would deal to you (see Breaking an Object.
Substance DR and Integrity
| Substance | DR | Integrity |
|---|---|---|
| Glass | 1 | 1/inch of thickness |
| Paper or Cloth | 0 | 2/inch of thickness |
| Rope | 0 | 2/inch of thickness |
| Ice | 0 | 3/inch of thickness |
| Leather or Hide | 2 | 5/inch of thickness |
| Wood | 5 | 10/inch of thickness |
| Stone | 8 | 15/inch of thickness |
| Iron or steel | 10 | 30/inch of thickness |
| Mithril | 15 | 30/inch of thickness |
| Adamantine | 20 | 40/inch of thickness |
Object DR and Integrity
| Object | DR | Integrity | Break DC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rope (1 in. diameter) | 0 | 2 | 23 |
| Simple Wooden Door | 5 | 10 | 13 |
| Small chest | 5 | 1 | 17 |
| Good wooden door | 5 | 15 | 18 |
| Treasure chest | 5 | 15 | 23 |
| Strong wooden door | 5 | 20 | 23 |
| Masonry wall (1 ft. thick) | 8 | 90 | 35 |
| Hewn stone (3 ft. thick) | 8 | 540 | 50 |
| Chain | 10 | 5 | 26 |
| Manacles | 10 | 10 | 26 |
| Masterwork manacles | 10 | 10 | 28 |
| Iron door (2 in. thick) | 10 | 60 | 28 |
Magic Item DR and Integrity
| Magic Item Rarity | DR | Integrity |
|---|---|---|
| Common | +2 | +10 |
| Uncommon | +4 | +20 |
| Rare | +6 | +30 |
| Very Rare | +8 | +40 |
| Legendary | +10 | +50 |
| Artifact | +12 | +60 |
Size and Dexterity Defence of Objects
| Size | Dexterity Defence Modifier |
|---|---|
| Colossal | -8 |
| Gargantuan | -4 |
| Huge | -2 |
| Large | -1 |
| Medium | 0 |
| Small | +1 |
| Tiny | +2 |
| Diminutive | +4 |
| Fine | +8 |
Breaking Items
When a character tries to break or burst something with sudden force rather than by dealing damage, use a Strength (Athletics) check (rather than an attack roll and damage roll, as with the sunder special attack) to determine whether he succeeds. Since DR doesn’t affect an object’s Break DC, this value depends more on the construction of the item than on the material the item is made of.
If an item has lost half or more of its integrity, the item gains the broken condition and the DC to break it drops by 2.
Larger and smaller creatures get size bonuses and size penalties on Strength checks to break open doors as follows: Fine –16, Diminutive –12, Tiny –8, Small –4, Large +4, Huge +8, Gargantuan +12, Colossal +16.
A crowbar or portable ram improves a character’s chance of breaking open a door (see Equipment).
DCs to Break or Burst Items
| Strength Check to: | DC |
|---|---|
| Break down simple door | 13 |
| Break down good door | 18 |
| Break down strong door | 23 |
| Burst rope bonds | 23 |
| Bend iron bars | 24 |
| Break down barred door | 25 |
| Burst chain bonds | 26 |
| Break down iron door | 28 |