Sundering Magical Weapons

[prodawg]

You can only use a magical weapon of equal or greater value to break another magical weapon. So can a +2 longsword break a +2 longsword with frost damage? Or would it take a +3 weapon to do so?
I have always thought that only the +numeric value counted for this purpose.

 

[MythandLore]

So can a +2 longsword break a +2 longsword with frost damage?
I have always thought that only the +numeric value counted for this purpose.

Yes.
You thought right.

 

[durath]

Yep, you could have a thundering, shocking, flaming longsword +1 and if some joker with a simple +2 longsword steps up on you he can sunder it.

Cruel yes, but just the look on the players faces when stuff like that happens would be priceless.

 

[prodawg]

I've already used a steel predator in lord of the iron fortress to break a players +4 frost damage bow. He was not pleased.

 

[UofMDude]

Yep, you could have a thundering, shocking, flaming longsword +1 and if some joker with a simple +2 longsword steps up on you he can sunder it.

Cruel yes, but just the look on the players faces when stuff like that happens would be priceless.

Of course such a +1 weapon should also have greater magic weapon cast on it, making it harder to sunder


UofMDude

 

[hong]

Yep, you could have a thundering, shocking, flaming longsword +1 and if some joker with a simple +2 longsword steps up on you he can sunder it.

Cruel yes, but just the look on the players faces when stuff like that happens would be priceless.

Boring.

 

[durath]

Hong, do you mean to say sundering weapons is boring? Personally I enjoy trying to do more ina combat than just the standard "I swing, I hit" routine.

Options like sunder, disarm, and grappling make for a much more intense and noteworthy combat. Just my opinion, YMMV

 

[hong]

Hong, do you mean to say sundering weapons is boring? Personally I enjoy trying to do more ina combat than just the standard "I swing, I hit" routine.

Options like sunder, disarm, and grappling make for a much more intense and noteworthy combat. Just my opinion, YMMV

Attempting to screw over players by targeting their characters' items is boring.

 

[durath]

Having an NPC who is smart enough to actually use his abilities in a fight is not boring, nor is it "screwing over your players".

Put yourself in an NPC's shoes. You are fighting this guy who is roughly equal to you in skill but he is kicking your heiny because he has a weapon which produces more damage than yours. Would you continue to allow him that advantage or would you try to level the playing field? It is the responsibility of the DM to have NPC's act as much like "real" people as possible. Otherwise you end up with campy-goofy unbelievable NPC's.

If you want to play in a game where all your precious toys are forever protected and the DM promises from the bottom of his heart to never mess with your stuff, well, that sounds boring to me.

Personally, one of my most favorite gaming memories was when my DM had a very powerful battleaxe that my PC was intensely attached to get eaten by a rust monster. WE had a whole adventure around getting that axe back(time travel and such) at later levels.

 

[hong]

Having an NPC who is smart enough to actually use his abilities in a fight is not boring, nor is it "screwing over your players".

There are plenty of ways to have smart characters. Some of these ways are more interesting and result in deeper interaction with the party than others.

Put yourself in an NPC's shoes. You are fighting this guy who is roughly equal to you in skill but he is kicking your heiny because he has a weapon which produces more damage than yours. Would you continue to allow him that advantage or would you try to level the playing field? It is the responsibility of the DM to have NPC's act as much like "real" people as possible. Otherwise you end up with campy-goofy unbelievable NPC's.

So?

If you want to play in a game where all your precious toys are forever protected and the DM promises from the bottom of his heart to never mess with your stuff, well, that sounds boring to me.

There are also plenty of ways to mess around with PCs without touching their items. Smashing toys is a cheap and easy way of doing it.

Personally, one of my most favorite gaming memories was when my DM had a very powerful battleaxe that my PC was intensely attached to get eaten by a rust monster. WE had a whole adventure around getting that axe back(time travel and such) at later levels.

Of course, if that happened on a regular basis, your opinions would probably change.

The point is that magic items can form a deep part of a character's identity, and this is something resulting from centuries of myth and legend. Arthur's status as king of the Britons was confirmed by the fact that he wielded Excalibur, which served as a visible symbol of his right to rule. Samurai have their whole "cult of the sword", with the katana and wakizashi being accorded near-divine status. In more modern times, wizards like Gandalf, Saruman and Raistlin had their staffs, which symbolised their ability as masters of magic. While not all magic items have such iconic status, you don't mess with those items that do, unless you have a good reason.