Breaking In and Entering

In a man’ **s life, there eventually comes a day when, to go where he must go, if there are no doors or windows, he has to break through the wall. (Bernard Malamud)

The crime of theft will be punished with the branding of thieves, right on the chest. In case of repetition of the crime, first the ears and then two fingers of the hands will be cut off. (Twoslad, Citizens’ ** Rights and Duties)

When trying to break an object, there are two choices: hit it with an object (weapon?) or break it with brute force.

Size Matters…

Depending on the size of the object, it can be more or less easy to hit.

Table: Size and Defense of Objects - Hitting an Object

Size	Def. Mod.	Dimensions
Colossal	-8	18m+
Gargantuan	-6	9-18m
Huge	-4	4-9m
Large	-2	2.4-4m
Medium	+0	1.2-2.4m
Small	+2	60-120cm
Tiny	+4	30-60cm
Diminutive	+6	15-30cm
Fine	+8	5-20cm

Defense Modifier

Objects are easier to hit than creatures because they usually don’ **t move, but many are durable enough to ignore some damage with each hit. An object’ **s Defense is equal to 10 + its size modifier (see Table: Hitting an Object) + its Dexterity modifier (if it has one).

If you use 3 Actions to aim, you automatically hit with a melee weapon.

Breaking

The following Table lists materials and objects with their relative Hardness, Hit Points, and DC to break or smash

When trying to break or smash something with brute force rather than inflicting damage, you must make a Fortitude Saving Throw with Strength to see if you succeed. Since Hardness does not affect the DC to break the object, this value depends more on how the object is built than on the material. The DC indicated is for common objects; 20 cm thick glass will not have a DC of 6 to break.

Material	Hard.	HP	DC	Example Objects
Paper, Glass, Cloth	0	1	3	Sheets of paper, window glass, light cloth
Glass	1	4	6	Glass block, glass table, heavy vase
Heavy cloth	1	4	12	Cloth armor, heavy jacket, sack, tent
Thin wood	3	12	14	Chair
Wood	5	20	18	Chest, table
Rope, Leather	2	4	19	Hemp rope
Thin stone	4	16	20	Slate, tiles, light chest
Wooden structure	10	40	20	Wooden wall, strongbox
Reinforced leather	4	16	22	Leather armor, saddle, thick hemp rope
Thin steel or iron	5	20	23	Silk rope, steel shield, short sword
Steel or iron	9	36	26	Chain, Metal armor, reinforced strongbox
Stone structure	14	56	35	Stone wall, longsword
Stone	7	28	35	Paving stone, statue
Steel or iron structure	18	90	45	Iron plate wall, two-handed greatsword

Damaging Objects

Hardness: represents the object’ **s resistance to being scratched or damaged. When calculating damage to an object, subtract the Hardness of the material before applying the damage.

Energy Attacks: almost all objects have Resistance to damage from energy attacks (fire, electricity..); divide the damage by 2 before applying Hardness, while other objects might be particularly vulnerable.

For example, fire might deal double damage to scrolls, cloth, and other objects that burn easily. Crystal or ceramic objects and creatures might take double damage (vulnerability) from a sonic attack.

Negative or Positive Energy do not damage objects, only living or non-living creatures.

Ineffective Weapons: Certain weapons simply cannot inflict damage on certain objects. For example, a bludgeoning weapon cannot cut a rope. Similarly, it is decidedly difficult to break down a door or stone wall with most melee weapons unless they are specifically designed to do so, like picks and hammers.

Immunity: Inanimate objects are immune to Nonlethal Damage and Critical Damage (but not to damage explosion). Even animated objects, if not considered as creatures, have these immunities.

Damaged Objects: A damaged object remains fully functional until its Hit Points reach 0, at which point it is considered destroyed. Damaged objects (but not destroyed ones) can be repaired by a Craftsman Profession and some Spells.

Saving Throw: Unattended non-magical objects never make Saving Throws. They are considered to have failed their Saving Throws if available.

An object attended by a character (who holds it, touches it, or wears it) succeeds in the Saving Throw if the character succeeds in the same.

Magic Items always have Saving Throws. The bonus to Fortitude, Reflex, or Will Saving Throws of a Magic Item is equal to 2 + level x2 of the most powerful spell it contains. If the item does not have a spell, it is considered to have a +4 bonus for each +1 bonus it possesses. Attended Magic Items make Saving Throws only if their possessor fails their own. If an effect specifically affects the magic item and not the wearer, then only the magic item makes the Saving Throw.

An enchanted object such as a weapon or armor has Hardness, Hit Points, and DC to break it increased by half compared to the non-magical equivalent.

Animated objects: Animated objects count as creatures to determine their Defense and Hit Points (they are not considered inanimate objects).

Size Matters for Breaking…

Creatures of Size larger or smaller than Medium have bonuses or penalties given by size on the Strength check (Fortitude ST with Strength) to break a door:

Table: Strength check modifiers based on your size

Size	Mod.	Size	Mod.
Fine	-16	Large	+4
Diminutive	-12	Huge	+8
Tiny	-8	Gargantuan	+12
Small	-4	Colossal	+16
Medium	+0		A crowbar or a portable battering ram increases the character’ **s chance of breaking down a door by +1d6.