Breaking Items
When a character tries to break something with sudden force
rather than by dealing damage, use a Strength check (rather than an
attack roll and damage
roll, as with the sunder
special attack) to see whether he or she succeeds. The DC depends
more on the construction of the item than on the material.
If an item has lost half or more of its hit points, 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.
| Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness
and Hit Points |
| Weapon or Shield |
Hardness |
HP1 |
| Light blade |
10 |
2 |
| One-handed blade |
10 |
5 |
| Two-handed blade |
10 |
10 |
| Light metal-hafted weapon |
10 |
10 |
| One-handed metal-hafted weapon |
10 |
20 |
| Light hafted weapon |
5 |
2 |
| One-handed hafted weapon |
5 |
5 |
| Two-handed hafted weapon |
5 |
10 |
| Projectile weapon |
5 |
5 |
| Armor |
special2 |
armor bonus x 5 |
| Buckler |
10 |
5 |
| Light wooden shield |
5 |
7 |
| Heavy wooden shield |
5 |
15 |
| Light steel shield |
10 |
10 |
| Heavy steel shield |
10 |
20 |
| Tower shield |
5 |
20 |
| 1 The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons,
and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller
than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than
Medium. |
| 2 Varies by material; see
Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points. |
| Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points |
| Substance |
Hardness |
Hit Points |
| Paper or cloth |
0 |
2/inch of thickness |
| Rope |
0 |
2/inch of thickness |
| Glass |
1 |
1/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 |
| Mithral |
15 |
30/inch of thickness |
| Adamantine |
20 |
40/inch of thickness |
| Table: Size and Armor Class of Objects |
| Size |
AC Modifier |
| Colossal |
–8 |
| Gargantuan |
–4 |
| Huge |
–2 |
| Large |
–1 |
| Medium |
+0 |
| Small |
+1 |
| Tiny |
+2 |
| Diminutive |
+4 |
| Fine |
+8 |
| Table: Object Hardness and Hit Points |
| Object |
Hardness |
Hit Points |
Break DC |
| Rope (1 inch diam.) |
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 |
| Table: 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 |
| Condition |
DC Adjustment1 |
| Hold portal
|
+5 |
| Arcane lock
|
+10 |
| 1 If both apply, use the larger number. |
This material is Open Game Content, and
is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License
v1.0a.