Sunder (Combat Maneuver)

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Sunder

Type of Action: An attack action in place of a melee attack. If you make a Sunder attempt at less than your full BAB, you still use your full Maneuver Defense for the Sunder attempt.

The Sunder combat maneuver can be used for two purposes: to attempt to sunder an item held or worn by an opponent, or to attempt to break or destroy an unattended object, fortification or structure.

A successful Sunder attempt inflicts 1 point of Siege Damage which is subtracted from an objects Durability score. Most wielded and common objects have a Durability score of 1, so a successful Sunder inflicts the Broken status immediately. Vehicles, fortifications, and very durable items such as armor and shields may have a higher Durability score.

To attempt to sunder an item held or worn by your opponent:

  • A Sunder must be made within the reach of the weapon used for the Sunder attempt. Note that unarmed attacks may sometimes also be used, and the reach requirement is the same.
  • If you do not have Sunder, Improved (Feat) or a similar ability, attempting to sunder an item provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If that attack of opportunity hits, you take damage as normal, but otherwise suffer no penalty on your Maneuver Offense for the sunder attempt.
  • If your attack is successful, and removes all of the Durability of the item, the item you are sundering gains the Broken condition. Broken weapons inflict a -2 penalty to attack and damage rolls on the wielder until repaired, and broken armor inflicts a -2 penalty to the wearer's armor class. Wands and Staves which are broken require twice as many charges to activate their abilities. Any other item which is broken stops providing any benefit until repaired.
  • Only the actual items, armor, or weapons of creatures can be sundered. Natural armor, natural weapons and special abilities are not subject to Sunder attacks.
  • Where normally all items worn or wielded have a Durability of 1 (meaning they require only a single successful Sunder attempt to inflict the Broken condition), armor and shields are exceptions to this. Armor and shields have durability scores depending on the the type of armor and shields in question. Refer to the Sunders Against Armor and Sunders Against Shields entries for details.
  • A creature wielding a shield who is targeted with a Sunder combat maneuver may always elect to have its shield be the target of the sunder attempt, instead of the object being targeted, as long as the shield is not already Broken.
  • Sunder order: If you are subject to an un-aimed Sunder attempt, such as from a spray of acid or being scraped across jagged diamond shards, then your items are sorted for damage in the following order:
  • Shield
  • Armor
  • Weapon/Item held in main hand
  • Weapon/Item held in off-hand
  • Boots
  • Helmet
  • Belt
  • Bracers
If none of the above items are present, or all of them are broken, such an untargeted Sunder maneuver has no effect.


To attempt to sunder an unattended object, fortification or structure:

  • The sunder attempt is typically performed outside of combat, or as an attack by a Vehicle, Bogey, or Siege Weapon, though it can be done as part of an attack action in place of a melee attack, just like a Sunder against a worn or wielded item.
  • If the weapon you are wielding to perform the Sunder combat maneuver does not have the Sunder weapon quality, it cannot be used to sunder an object, structure or fortification made from, or reinforced with, metal or stone. Any weapon (even fists) can be used to make sunder attempts against softer objects, such as un-reinforced wood or glass, however.
  • The DC of the Sunder combat maneuver for most objects, structures and fortifications can be found on the Breaking Objects page.
  • Most unattended objects can be sundered with a single successful Sunder combat maneuver, but most structures and fortifications require multiple successful Sunder checks (this is denoted as the object's "Durability", listed on the Breaking Objects page).
  • For every 5 by which you beat the Sunder DC for the listed object, the amount of Siege Damage you inflict is increased by 1. For example, if a Reinforced Chest requires a Sunder DC of 22, and has a Durability of 4 points, and your Maneuver Offense check to sunder it is 37 or more, you break it with that one Sunder attempt (1 success for equaling the DC of 22, and another 3 successes for being 15 over the DC adds 3 points of Siege damage).
  • Once the Siege Damage inflicted equals or exceeds the object's listed Durability, the object becomes Broken.
  • Broken objects cease doing what they were designed to do. In the case of a broken chest, it is destroyed enough to allow its contents to be removed.
  • Broken structures, such as doors and gates, are broken enough to allow a character to pass through its shattered remains.
  • Broken fortifications, like walls or the ground, have been penetrated 5 feet in depth, such that a character may enter the square that was broken. In some cases, such as the ground, there's often more material behind that first 5 feet. This is how acts like tunneling under a wall (or smashing through a wall) can be performed.

Objects are rarely so destroyed that they cannot be repaired with magic or by the appropriate craftsman. Magic items can only be permanently destroyed via spells such as Mage's Disjunction (Spell), while mundane objects must be pretty thoroughly obliterated (as with Disintegrate (Spell)) before they are too destroyed to be repaired by Mending (Spell) (for non-magical items), or Make Whole (Spell) (for magical items). No amount of Sundering something can render it into a worse condition than Broken.

Sunders Against Armor

Armor is more difficult to Sunder than most worn or wielded objects, since its primary purpose is to protect the wearer. Armor has a durability score akin to unattended objects, meaning it has a number of points of Siege Points equal to its Durability score. As a result, it often requires more than one successful Sunder attempt to inflict the Broken condition upon the armor, and it is possible for extremely durable armors to even withstand hits from some smaller siege weapons.
  • Light armor has a durability of 2 (requires 2 points of Siege damage to inflict Broken)
  • Medium armor has a durability of 3 (requires 3 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • Heavy armor has a durability of 4 (requires 4 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • The durability of armor is increased by 1 if the armor is made entirely of metal.

Sunders Against Shields

Shields, like armor, are designed to protect the wearer, and are therefore more difficult to Sunder. Shields have a durability akin to unattended objects, requiring more than one successful Sunder attempt to inflict the Broken condition upon the shield. In addition, if an enemy attempts to sunder any of your worn or wielded items, and you are proficiently wielding a shield, you may ALWAYS elect to have that sunder check apply to your shield instead, as long as your shield does not already have the Broken condition.

  • Bucklers have a durability of 1 (requires only 1 point of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • Light Shields have a durability of 2 (requires 2 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • Heavy Shields have a durability of 3 (requires 3 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • War Shields have a durability of 4 (requires 4 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • Tower Shields have a durability of 5 (requires 5 points of Siege Damage to inflict Broken)
  • The durability of shields is increased by 1 if the shield is made of steel

In addition, some dweomermetals, and some magic properties can alter the durability of a shield.

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