System	
  Reference	
   Document	
  5.1 	
   203	
  
Objects 
When	
  characters	
  need	
  to	
  saw	
  through	
  ropes,	
  shatter	
  
a	
  window,	
  or	
  smash	
  a	
  vampire’s	
  coffin,	
  the	
   only	
  hard	
  
and	
  fast	
  rule	
  is	
  this:	
  given	
  enough	
  time	
  and	
  the	
  right	
  
tools,	
  characters	
  can	
  destroy	
  any	
  destructible	
  object.	
  
Use	
  common	
  sense	
  when	
  determining	
  a	
  character’s	
  
success	
  at	
  damaging	
  an	
  object.	
  Can	
  a	
  fighter	
  cut	
  
through	
  a	
  section	
  of	
  a	
  stone	
  wall	
  with	
   a	
  sword?	
  No,	
  
the	
  sword	
  is	
  likely	
  to	
  break	
  before	
  the	
  wall	
  does. 	
  
	
   For	
  the	
  purpose	
  of	
  these	
  rules,	
  an	
  object	
  is	
  a	
  
discrete,	
  inanimate	
  item	
  like	
  a	
  window,	
  door,	
  sword,	
  
book,	
  table,	
  chair,	
  or	
  stone,	
  not	
  a	
  building	
  or	
  a	
  
vehicle	
  that	
  is	
  composed	
  of	
  many	
  other	
  ob jects.	
  
Statistics for Objects 
When	
  time	
  is	
  a	
  factor,	
  you	
  can	
  assign	
  an	
  Armor	
  Class	
  
and	
  hit	
  points	
  to	
  a	
  destructible	
  object.	
  You	
  can	
  also	
  
give	
  it	
  immunities,	
  resistances,	
  and	
  vulnerabilities	
  to	
  
specific	
  types	
  of	
  damage. 	
  
	
   Armor	
  Class.	
  An	
  object’s	
  Armor	
  Class	
  is	
  a	
  measure	
  
of	
  how	
  difficult	
  it	
  is	
  to	
  deal	
  damage	
  to	
  the	
  object	
  
when	
  striking	
  it	
  (because	
  the	
  object	
  has	
  no	
  chance	
  of	
  
dodging	
  out	
  of	
  the	
  way).	
  The	
  Object	
  Armor	
  Class	
  
table	
  provides	
  suggested	
  AC	
  values	
  for	
  various	
  
substances.	
  
Object	
  Armor	
  Class	
  
Substance	
   AC	
  
Cloth,	
  paper,	
  rope	
   11	
  
Crystal,	
  glass,	
  ice	
   13	
  
Wood,	
  bone	
   15	
  
Stone	
   17	
  
Iron,	
  steel	
   19	
  
Mithral	
   21	
  
Adamantine	
   23	
  
	
   Hit	
  Points.	
  An	
  object’s	
  hit	
  points	
  measure	
  how	
  
much	
  damage	
  it	
  can	
  take	
  before	
  losing	
  its	
  structural	
  
integrity.	
  Resilient	
  objects	
  have	
  more	
  hit	
  points	
  than	
  
fragile	
  ones.	
  Large	
  objects	
  also	
  tend	
  to	
  have	
  more	
  hit	
  
points	
  than	
  small	
  ones,	
  unless	
  breaking	
  a	
  small	
  part	
  
of	
  the	
  object	
  is	
  just	
  as	
  effective	
  as	
  breaking	
  the	
  whole	
  
thing.	
  The	
  Object	
  Hit	
  Points	
  table	
  provides	
  suggested	
  
hit	
  points	
  for	
  fragile	
  and	
  resilient	
  objects	
  that	
  are	
  
Large	
  or	
  smaller. 	
  
Object	
  Hit	
  Points	
  
Size	
   Fragile	
   Resilient	
  
Tiny	
  (bottle,	
  lock)	
   2	
  (1d4)	
   5	
  (2d4)	
  
Small	
  (chest,	
  lute)	
   3	
  (1d6)	
   10	
  (3d6)	
  
Medium	
  (barrel,	
  chandelier) 	
   4	
  (1d8)	
   18	
  (4d8)	
  
Large	
  (cart,	
  10-­‐ft.-­‐by-­‐10-­‐ft.	
  window)	
   5	
  (1d10)	
   27	
  (5d10)	
  
	
   Huge	
  and	
  Gargantuan	
  Objects.	
   Normal	
  weapons	
  
are	
  of	
  little	
  use	
  against	
  many	
  Huge	
  and	
  Gargantuan	
  
objects,	
  such	
  as	
  a	
  colossal	
  statue,	
  towering	
  column	
  of	
  
stone,	
  or	
  massive	
  boulder.	
  That	
  said,	
  one	
  torch	
  can	
  
burn	
  a	
  Huge	
  tapestry,	
  and	
  an	
   earthquake	
  spell	
  can	
  
reduce	
  a	
  colossus	
  to	
  rubble.	
  You	
  can	
  track	
  a	
  Huge	
  or	
  
Gargantuan	
  object’s	
  hit	
  points	
  if	
  you	
  like,	
  or	
  you	
  can	
  
simply	
  decide	
  how	
  long	
  the	
  object	
  can	
  withstand	
  
whatever	
  weapon	
  or	
  force	
  is	
  acting	
  against	
  it.	
  If	
  you	
  
track	
  hit	
  points	
  for	
  the	
  object,	
  divide	
  it	
  into	
  Large	
  or	
  
smaller	
  sections,	
  and	
  track	
  each	
  section’s	
  hit	
  points	
  
separately.	
  Destroying	
  one	
  of	
  those	
  section s	
  could	
  
ruin	
  the	
  entire	
  object.	
  For	
  example,	
  a	
  Gargantuan	
  
statue	
  of	
  a	
  human	
  might	
  topple	
  over	
  when	
  one	
  of	
  its	
  
Large	
  legs	
  is	
  reduced	
  to	
  0	
  hit	
  points. 	
  
	
   Objects	
  and	
  Damage	
  Types. 	
  Objects	
  are	
  immune	
  
to	
  poison	
  and	
  psychic	
  damage.	
  You	
  might	
  decide	
  that	
  
some	
  damage	
  types	
  are	
  more	
  effective	
  against	
  a	
  
particular	
  object	
  or	
  substance	
  than	
  others.	
  For	
  
example,	
  bludgeoning	
  damage	
  works	
  well	
  for	
  
smashing	
  things	
  but	
  not	
  for	
  cutting	
  through	
  rope	
  or	
  
leather.	
  Paper	
  or	
  cloth	
  objects	
  might	
  be	
  vulnerable	
  
to	
  fire	
  and	
  lightning	
  d amage.	
  A	
  pick	
  can	
  chip	
  away	
  
stone	
  but	
  can’t	
  effectively	
  cut	
  down	
  a	
  tree.	
  As	
  always,	
  
use	
  your	
  best	
  judgment. 	
  
	
   Damage	
  Threshold.	
   Big	
  objects	
  such	
  as	
  castle	
  
walls	
  often	
  have	
  extra	
  resilience	
  represented	
  by	
  a	
  
damage	
  threshold.	
  An	
  object	
  with	
  a	
  damage	
  
threshold	
  has	
  immunity	
  to	
  all	
  damage	
  unless	
  it	
  takes	
  
an	
  amount	
  of	
  damage	
  from	
  a	
  single	
  attack	
  or	
  effect	
  
equal	
  to	
  or	
  greater	
  than	
  its	
  damage	
  threshold,	
  in	
  
which	
  case	
  it	
  takes	
  damage	
  as	
  normal.	
  Any	
  damage	
  
that	
  fails	
  to	
  meet	
  or	
  exceed	
  the	
  object’s	
  damage	
  
threshold	
  is	
  considered	
  superficial	
  and	
  doesn’t	
  
reduce	
  the	
  object’s	
  hit	
  points. 	
  