Sunder
A Sunder attempt targets an item the opponent is wearing or carrying rather than the opponent themselves. A successful Sunder deals your weapon's normal damage directly to the item. Reduce the item's hit points to 0 and it gains the broken condition; reduce them below 0 and the item is destroyed.
Performing a Sunder
| Action | Standard action, or in place of a melee attack during a full-attack sequence |
|---|---|
| Provokes AoO | Yes, from the target — unless you have Improved Sunder |
| Target | Any item worn or carried by the target — weapon, shield, armor, or equipment |
| Check | d20 + CMB vs. target creature's CMD |
| On success | Deal your weapon's normal damage to the item (not the creature) |
Item Hardness and Hit Points
All items have hardness (damage reduction against most damage types) and hit points. Damage that penetrates hardness reduces the item's HP.
| Material | Hardness | HP (by thickness / size) |
|---|---|---|
| Paper or cloth | 0 | 2 / inch of thickness |
| Rope | 0 | 2 / inch of thickness |
| Glass | 1 | 1 / inch of thickness |
| Ice | 0 | 3 / inch of thickness |
| Leather or hide | 2 | 5 / inch of thickness |
| Wood | 5 | 10 / inch of thickness |
| Stone | 8 | 15 / inch of thickness |
| Iron or steel | 10 | 30 / inch of thickness |
| Mithral | 15 | 30 / inch of thickness |
| Adamantine | 20 | 40 / inch of thickness |
Magical items have hardness 2 per +1 enhancement bonus in addition to the base material hardness. A +2 longsword (steel hardness 10) has hardness 14 and gains 10 bonus HP. Artifacts are typically immune to damage.
Broken Condition (HP ≤ 0)
- Weapons: –2 penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls; natural 1 on attack roll destroys item.
- Armor: halved armor bonus; ACP doubles.
- Shields: halved shield bonus; ACP doubles.
- Wands/staves: 50% chance the item is destroyed on activation.
Greater Sunder (exceed CMD by 5+)
- With Greater Sunder, excess damage that reduces the item below 0 HP carries over to the wielder.
- Example: item has 3 HP remaining; you deal 10 damage — 7 points of overflow deal damage to the target creature.
Key Feats
| Feat | Benefit | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|
| Improved Sunder | Does not provoke AoO when sundering; +2 CMB and CMD for Sunder | STR 13, Power Attack |
| Greater Sunder | Excess damage when destroying an item carries over to the wielder | Improved Sunder, BAB +6 |
| Sundering Strike | On a critical hit with a melee weapon, attempt a free Sunder against the target's held weapon | Improved Sunder, BAB +9 |
Related Conditions
- Broken — the condition applied to an item whose HP is reduced to 0 or below by a Sunder.