D&D 5E Shatterspike in 5E: breaking an enemy's weapon

[Tony Vargas]

I really meant "what are the rules for trying to break an opponent's weapon?" Is this specifically defined in the PHB?

No, nothing like that. There's a disarm rule hidden somwhere, though you could use that, and roll the crit damage vs the weapon instead of disarming.

As long as it ends up looking like the dojo scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, should be fun...

 

[thethain]

No, nothing like that. There's a disarm rule hidden somwhere, though you could use that, and roll the crit damage vs the weapon instead of disarming.

As long as it ends up looking like the dojo scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, should be fun...

There's actually 2 disarms. The Battle-master Fighter version and the DMG Variant version.

 

[jgsugden]

I'd keep it simple. On a crit, Shatterspike breaks an opponent's non-magical wielded weapon. A broken weapon becomes an improvised weapon. Magical weapons are exempt. It can also be used to attack objects and automatically deals max crit damage on a hit versus an unwielded object.

 

[Tony Vargas]

There's actually 2 disarms. The Battle-master Fighter version and the DMG Variant version.

The latter, obviously, since anyone might pick up Shatterspike.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I'd keep it simple. On a crit, Shatterspike breaks an opponent's non-magical wielded weapon. A broken weapon becomes an improvised weapon. Magical weapons are exempt. It can also be used to attack objects and automatically deals max crit damage on a hit versus an unwielded object.

That's simple and clean, but it's also entirely a passive bonus at that point. I like giving players interesting decisions, and forgoing a damaging attack to break a weapon is an interesting trade-off to make.

I think I'll go with the AC 19, 10 points of damage (for regular 1H weapons; increasing HP for larger ones). I do wish there were something "official" though, even if only in Shatterspike's description.

EDIT:

It did just occur to me that the player who will most likely get it (assuming they survive....mwuhahahahaha...) is a Fighter planning to go Battlemaster. So I can either use Sunder or invent a maneuver for this.

 

[pukunui]

I've ended up turning Shatterspike into a sword of sharpness without the limb-chopping bit. The light is a bonus because I'm running the adventure in FR, so Sir Braford is a paladin of Lathander.

 

[David Warburton]

I do wish there were something "official" though, even if only in Shatterspike's description..

sorry for the lateness but for posterity I'll say that these *are* the official rules, but they come from the DMG not the PHB. Look in chapter 8, page 246 for a section called "Objects". That's where the earlier poster got 19 AC and 10 HP.

 

[David Roshon]

sorry for the lateness but for posterity I'll say that these *are* the official rules, but they come from the DMG not the PHB. Look in chapter 8, page 246 for a section called "Objects". That's where the earlier poster got 19 AC and 10 HP.

While the object rules from the DMG are a good reference it is specifically for unattended/inanimate objects. I would suggest something halfway between that and the disarm variant. Such as, make an attack roll against the target's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check then deal damage to the item using the object chart for it's hit points. The DM can then determine that the broken weapon might be usable as an improvised weapon of a reduced die type. A longsword for example could become an improvised shortsword which could then be broken again into a dagger.

 

[24Fanatic365]

I just received this weapon last night in my regular local game shop game. As a level 3 barbarian, I don’t see myself using it to break any objects other than the occasional stubborn door the party may come across. Any other time I use this weapon, it’s gonna be to do as much damage as possible to whatever creatures we’re fighting at the moment. It makes a great replacement to my greataxe that was broken earlier in the encounter that I received the sword in. Just my $.02, whatever that’s worth!


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[Sword of Spirit]

The DMG has rules for breaking objects. The AC in those rules assume you easily strike and instead determine whether you do significant damage rather (it says so), kind of like heavy armor. However, with an attended object it ought to be harder to pull off. 3e would have you make multiple rolls to handle that mess, but 5e doesn’t do that. If you want to feel like 5e, you need a ruling that doesn’t add rolls. Since the AC number actually matters (it’s what separates adamantine from wood, for example) you shouldn’t ignore it.

5e would probably suggest attacking an object according to the DMG rules, but applying disadvantage when the object is worn or carried.

It’s also worth noting that adamantine weapons now have the same property as Shatterspike according to Xanathar’s.