Adamantine and DR

[karooba]

Sorry I know this has been answered before ... but I've forgotten.

Can an adamantine sword +2 natural enhancement cut through DR 20/+2?

 

[dcollins]

No. Bypassing DR requires a magical enhancement, and natural enhancement does not cut it.

 

[Kraedin]

It depends on whom you ask. A (very) strict reading of the core rules says that any enhancement bonus works for bypassing DR. The Sage and the MM2 say that it requires a magical enhancement bonus. Of course, the only Sage ruling I've seen about it was rather odd, also ruling that a natural enhancement bonus was sufficient to sunder magical weapons, and the MM2 entry contains obvious and amateurish rules errors, such as indicating that masterwork weapons have an enhancement bonus.

BTW, an adamantine greatsword has a natural +2 enhancement bonus, not a +2 natural enhancement bonus. There's no such thing as a bonus of the type "natural enhancement."

 

[gtJormungand]

by the Kraedin
MM2 entry contains obvious and ameturish rules errors, such as indicating that masterwork weapons have an enhancement bonus.

Actually, the masterwork weapons do have an enhancement bonus, only that it is for the attack bonus:

from the SRD
Weapon, Masterwork: These well-made weapons add a +1 bonus to attack rolls. A masterwork weapon's bonus to attack does not stack with an enhancement bonus to attack.

 

[kreynolds]

<-- plays his "what d-COL-lins said" song on his trumpet -->

 

[kreynolds]

BTW, an adamantine greatsword has a natural +2 enhancement bonus, not a +2 natural enhancement bonus.

I'm gonna show you a trick. I'll make the red text disappear, and watch what happens.

...an adamantine greatsword has a natural +2 enhancement bonus

...an adamantine greatsword has a natural enhancement bonus

 

[Kraedin]

No, a masterwork weapon has an unnamed bonus to attack rolls that does not stack with enhancement bonuses. Read it again.

Kreynolds: So, a natural +3 armor bonus would be the same thing as a +3 natural armor bonus? I don't think so.

 

[kreynolds]

So, a natural +3 armor bonus would be the same thing as a +3 natural armor bonus?

Yes. It's natural armor. Moving the words around doesn't change anything, primarily because there's no such thing as a "natural +? armor bonus". Either you have armor or you don't. Either you have natural armor or you don't.

I don't think so.

I do.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

I think a weapon fashioned from adamant would penetrate a creatures DR because it is stated as an enhancement bonus and it doesn't stack with the magical ones you can place on a weapon as well. If it isn't the same why doesn't it stack?!? It doesn't stack because it's the same and so you can penetrate DR. And if my DM would say it doesn't work against DR, I would claim that if I place a magical +3 enhancement on my adamantine greatsword that I would get +5 to hit and damage rolls and that i can penetrate a DR of up to ?/+3. Wouldn't that sound fair?!?

 

[kreynolds]

If it isn't the same why doesn't it stack?!?

Because it specifically states that it does not stack. It also states that it is not the same as a magical enhancement bonus. How? If it was the same, it would go away in an antimagic field, but it doesn't, thus its not a magical enhancement bonus, and it doesn't stack because it specifically states so.

Wouldn't that sound fair?!?

Nope. A magical enhancement bonus counts towards DR, but it goes away in an antimagic field. The natural enhancement bonus of adamantine does not go away in an antimagic field, and to offset that, it doesn't bypass DR. Why? Because its not a magical enhancement bonus. Why? Because if it was magical, it would go away in an antimagic field.

Makes sense to me, but YMMV.