Weapon Breakage House Rules - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Weapon Breakage House Rules

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
KlingonJedi
Sep 06, 2012 0:40:51
Weapon Breakage (Optional 1): You break a mundane (nonmetal and not magical) weapon on a critical miss. If you break a nonmetal weapon in an encounter, I won't let you break another in the same encounter. You can also use a broken weapon, but the weapon's damage (and only the weapon’s damage) is halved (after damage is rolled and rounded up). Weapon damage on critical hits is also halved, it loses its brutal and reach properties if applicable (can only attack adjacent enemies). It can be broken again (at which point it is termed destroyed) and thereafter provides no benefit over an unarmed strike.

Weapon Breakage (Option 2): You can opt (must declare which opponent you are attacking before making the attack roll as per usual) to attack & break an opponent’s weapon (if they are holding a mundane [nonmetal & not magical] weapon and you are wielding a melee weapon) on a critical hit. Doing so has the same effects on the weapon as detail in option 1. Also, mundane (nonmetal & not magical) weapons cannot make critical hits, even on a natural roll of 20. This makes metal weapons more valuable since they can make critical hits and break mundane weapons.

The above are some house rules I've been working on. I'm favoring Option 2 over 1 and don't like the rules in Dark Sun's campaign setting book.
#2
Agonar
Sep 07, 2012 23:02:19 I didn't care for the rules presented in the 4e guide either, so I went back to the AD&D rules for my game. Whenever max damage is rolled (rolled, so not on a crit) a non-metal weapon may break. Another d20 is rolled, and on a 1, the weapon breaks. Also, I use reckless breakage. So, on a natural 1, the player can choose to keep the miss, or reroll the attack and break it as per the rules in 4e DS guide
#3
zippy-zippy-no
Sep 07, 2012 23:46:45 I've been using the reckless breakage rules & so far the party has really been enjoying it. The only trouble in character is for orb/totem users who somehow break their stick. We hand-waved it away due the excess energy (etc) being channelled through it shatters the item.
#4
waxwingslain
Sep 08, 2012 13:52:47 We use a variant of reckless breakage. If you are using a metal weapon, and you roll a 1 and choose to re-roll, on a miss the weapon does NOT shatter but rather drops to the ground in your square (you can pick it up and wield it again with proper action usage, of course). I wanted to make metal weapons meaningfully better than non-metal, which doesn't really happen in the rules in 4E the way it did in 2E.

We've been doing it for a year and it hasn't caused any problems. The rogue likes using his steel dagger over a magical bone or stone one because he basically gets a free reroll on a 1-roll, but that happens infrequently enough it hasn't caused a power problem. Other players are happy using magical bone weapons and pretty much never use the reroll (it's only happened once...and he did not shatter the weapon).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 KlingonJedi Sep 06, 2012 0:40:51	Weapon Breakage (Optional 1): You break a mundane (nonmetal and not magical) weapon on a critical miss. If you break a nonmetal weapon in an encounter, I won't let you break another in the same encounter. You can also use a broken weapon, but the weapon's damage (and only the weapon’s damage) is halved (after damage is rolled and rounded up). Weapon damage on critical hits is also halved, it loses its brutal and reach properties if applicable (can only attack adjacent enemies). It can be broken again (at which point it is termed destroyed) and thereafter provides no benefit over an unarmed strike. Weapon Breakage (Option 2): You can opt (must declare which opponent you are attacking before making the attack roll as per usual) to attack & break an opponent’s weapon (if they are holding a mundane [nonmetal & not magical] weapon and you are wielding a melee weapon) on a critical hit. Doing so has the same effects on the weapon as detail in option 1. Also, mundane (nonmetal & not magical) weapons cannot make critical hits, even on a natural roll of 20. This makes metal weapons more valuable since they can make critical hits and break mundane weapons. The above are some house rules I've been working on. I'm favoring Option 2 over 1 and don't like the rules in Dark Sun's campaign setting book.
#2 Agonar Sep 07, 2012 23:02:19	I didn't care for the rules presented in the 4e guide either, so I went back to the AD&D rules for my game. Whenever max damage is rolled (rolled, so not on a crit) a non-metal weapon may break. Another d20 is rolled, and on a 1, the weapon breaks. Also, I use reckless breakage. So, on a natural 1, the player can choose to keep the miss, or reroll the attack and break it as per the rules in 4e DS guide
#3 zippy-zippy-no Sep 07, 2012 23:46:45	I've been using the reckless breakage rules & so far the party has really been enjoying it. The only trouble in character is for orb/totem users who somehow break their stick. We hand-waved it away due the excess energy (etc) being channelled through it shatters the item.
#4 waxwingslain Sep 08, 2012 13:52:47	We use a variant of reckless breakage. If you are using a metal weapon, and you roll a 1 and choose to re-roll, on a miss the weapon does NOT shatter but rather drops to the ground in your square (you can pick it up and wield it again with proper action usage, of course). I wanted to make metal weapons meaningfully better than non-metal, which doesn't really happen in the rules in 4E the way it did in 2E. We've been doing it for a year and it hasn't caused any problems. The rogue likes using his steel dagger over a magical bone or stone one because he basically gets a free reroll on a 1-roll, but that happens infrequently enough it hasn't caused a power problem. Other players are happy using magical bone weapons and pretty much never use the reroll (it's only happened once...and he did not shatter the weapon).