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<blockquote data-quote="OnlineDM" data-source="post: 5424306" data-attributes="member: 90804">Attacking objects has come up three times so far in my current online campaign.&nbsp; The first time, the party wanted to blast open a locked sewer grate, and I ruled that casting Magic Missile over and over could do it in about a minute.&nbsp; Pew pew, grate is open.The second time, the party was trying to bash a door to get into a stronghold.&nbsp; This one is covered pretty well by the DMG and I used the rules pretty much as written.The third time, a warlock wanted to blast the hinges off a locked chest.&nbsp; She was using more powerful attacks than Magic Missile that required attack rolls (and she was trying to do it quietly, so I required stealth checks with the attack rolls).&nbsp; I decided for myself how many hit points and what defenses the wood around the hinges would have, and off we went.The only time I really used rules as written was for attacking the door.&nbsp; In the other cases, I went with what felt reasonable to me.&nbsp; That's what I recommend other DMs do, too - go with what seems reasonable to you.&nbsp; No one questioned me on it.&nbsp; No one complained.If my party wanted to shoot arrows or stab spears at the side of a ship, I would rule that they could deal the ship a little bit of damage if they kept hitting in the same spot again and again, because that feels reasonable to me.&nbsp; If you're a mighty archer or spearman, I think you could probably damage a ship's hull given enough time.&nbsp; But it would take quite a while and would attract attention.&nbsp; If they really wanted to go through each attack roll, I would allow it, but it would probably be boring.&nbsp; I'd probably have the party get attacked after a couple of rounds, mainly to avoid the monotony!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="OnlineDM, post: 5424306, member: 90804"] Attacking objects has come up three times so far in my current online campaign. The first time, the party wanted to blast open a locked sewer grate, and I ruled that casting Magic Missile over and over could do it in about a minute. Pew pew, grate is open. The second time, the party was trying to bash a door to get into a stronghold. This one is covered pretty well by the DMG and I used the rules pretty much as written. The third time, a warlock wanted to blast the hinges off a locked chest. She was using more powerful attacks than Magic Missile that required attack rolls (and she was trying to do it quietly, so I required stealth checks with the attack rolls). I decided for myself how many hit points and what defenses the wood around the hinges would have, and off we went. The only time I really used rules as written was for attacking the door. In the other cases, I went with what felt reasonable to me. That's what I recommend other DMs do, too - go with what seems reasonable to you. No one questioned me on it. No one complained. If my party wanted to shoot arrows or stab spears at the side of a ship, I would rule that they could deal the ship a little bit of damage if they kept hitting in the same spot again and again, because that feels reasonable to me. If you're a mighty archer or spearman, I think you could probably damage a ship's hull given enough time. But it would take quite a while and would attract attention. If they really wanted to go through each attack roll, I would allow it, but it would probably be boring. I'd probably have the party get attacked after a couple of rounds, mainly to avoid the monotony! [/QUOTE]

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