Damage to Objects
Damage to Objects
For the purpose of these rules, any nonliving, fabricated object – including a character with the Machine meta-trait – is an "artifact." Handle attacks on artifacts just like attacks on living beings (see Damage and Injury), with the following exceptions:
Rolling to Hit: Roll to hit normally, applying the object's Size Modifier. If an object's SM is not given, find it from the Size and Speed/Range Table. Inanimate objects are often motionless and don’t hit back; this makes them good targets for an All-Out Attack. No artifact gets a defense roll unless it is under sentient control (e.g., a robot, a weapon in hand, or a vehicle with a driver).
Damage Resistance (DR): An artifact has a DR that represents its innate "toughness." Wooden or plastic tools, gadgets, furniture, etc. usually have DR 2. Small metal, metal-wood, or composite objects, like guns and axes, typically have DR 4. Solid-metal melee weapons have DR 6. Some artifacts may be armored; for instance, a quarter-inch of mild steel is DR 14.
Injury Tolerance: Most artifacts have some level of Injury Tolerance. Complex machines are Unliving. Solid objects, like furniture or weapons, are Homogenous. Things like nets and mattresses are Diffuse. See Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, and Diffuse Targets for the effects on damage.
Health (HT): This rates the likelihood the object will break under stress or abuse. Most machines and similar artifacts in good repair are HT 10. Swords, tables, shields, and other solid, Homogenous objects are HT 12. Cheap, temperamental, or poorly maintained items get -1 to -3 to HT; well-made or rugged ones get +1 or +2. Characters with the Machine meta-trait use their HT score.
Hit Points (HP): The amount of damage the object can take before it is likely to break or cease to function. For weapons and equipment without a listed HP score, consult the Object Hit Points Table to find HP based on weight and construction.
Effects of Injury
Detailed HP Calculation
Those who have a calculator or spreadsheet program handy may wish to calculate HP instead of using the Object Hit Points Table. HP are equal to 4 × (cube root of weight in lbs.) for complex, Unliving objects, and 8 × (cube root of weight in lbs.) for solid, Homogenous ones (round up). The GM may alter these values for unusually frail or tough objects.
Injury to artifacts works much like injury to living beings (see Injuries), with the addition of a few special rules.
Less than 1/3 HP left – An artifact damaged this badly may suffer halved (or otherwise reduced) effectiveness, at the GM's discretion.
0 HP or less – Roll vs. the artifact's HT each second while it is under stress (but not if it isn't being used): a chair rolls each second someone sits on it, a car rolls each second its engine is running, and so on. On a failure, the object suffers a severe malfunction and is disabled. Most disabled artifacts don't function at all until repaired. Sentient machines fall "unconscious." Homogenous objects, such as swords, bend or break, but might remain partially usable (see Broken Weapons). Ropes, cables, etc., are cleanly severed – not chopped to bits.
-1×HP – Artifacts don't "die," as they were never truly alive, but must still make HT rolls to avoid "death" as described under General Injury. On a failure, the object is destroyed. For instance, a sword might shatter instead of merely bending or snapping. A destroyed computer loses all data stored in it – including memories, if it is sapient.
-5×HP – The artifact is automatically destroyed, as described above.
Shock: Most artifacts don't feel pain, but damage can temporarily disrupt their functionality unless they have appropriate backup systems (represented by High Pain Threshold). Apply the usual shock penalty to any use of that object. For example, if a vehicle suffers sufficient injury to impose a -3 shock penalty, the driver has -3 to his vehicle operation skill next turn.
Major Wounds: An artifact can suffer a major wound, referred to as "major damage." When a machine with many subsystems – like a vehicle – suffers a major wound, the GM may call for a HT roll. On a failure, one or more systems fail. For example, major damage to a tank might knock out its gun or cause a fuel leak. If using a rulebook that supplies a "major damage table" for a specific type of machine, roll randomly and apply the result.
Knockdown and Stunning: A nonsentient artifact ignores these effects. A sentient machine (IQ 1+) can suffer these results as a damage-induced malfunction. For instance, stun means the machine doesn't function that turn, but can function again after it recovers.
Crippling and Hit Location: A human- or animal-shaped artifact uses the normal rules; see Crippling Injury. Other objects with distinct parts (e.g., a vehicle with a body, turret, and wheels) can suffer crippling injuries to specific hit locations; for vehicles, see the Vehicle Hit Location Table. In all cases, a crippled location is "disabled."
Fragile Objects: Artifacts are often Fragile. Those made of paper, dry wood, etc. are Combustible; those that contain highly flammable material, such gasoline or hydrogen, are Flammable. Artifacts containing unprotected explosives, sizeable stocks of ammunition, or volatile compressed gas are Explosive. Objects such as glassware, pottery, and televisions are Brittle.
Damage to Shields
Most medieval shields were wood, or wood with a thin layer of metal. After one good battle, a shield was worthless. Do not use this rule unless you are willing to tolerate some bookkeeping in the name of more realistic combat!
See Shields for the Defense Bonus (DB), DR, and HP of shields. If your shield's DB makes the difference between success and failure on any active defense (not just a block), the blow struck the shield squarely, and may damage it.
Apply the attack's damage to the shield. Subtract the shield's DR. If no damage penetrates the shield, there is no effect ... but you experience full knockback!
If damage penetrates the shield's DR, mark it off against the shield's HP. Use the standard Damage to Objects rules; ordinary shields are Homogenous, with HT 12. If the shield is disabled or destroyed, it no longer provides its DB, but it still encumbers you until dropped. If it is completely destroyed (-10×HP), it falls off.
A powerful blow may punch through your shield! The shield acts as cover, with "cover DR" equal to its DR + (HP/4). Damage in excess of cover DR penetrates the shield and possibly injures you; see Overpenetration. When using hit locations, roll 1d: on 1-2, apply damage to your shield arm; on 3-6, apply it to the location targeted by the attacker.
Damage to Buildings and Structures
The Structural Damage Table gives typical DR and HP for buildings, doors, walls, and similar inanimate structures. Most such structures are Homogenous. Assume that a structurally sound building in good repair has HT 12. Shoddy construction might reduce this to HT 9-11, while a quake-resistant building might have HT 13-14.
Any building "disabled" by going to 0 HP or less and failing a HT roll has one or more large breaches and loses electrical power, if any. At -1×HP or less, it must make HT rolls to avoid collapse – just as a character would roll to avoid death. It collapses automatically at -5×HP.
Anyone in a collapsing building takes 3d crushing damage, plus 1d per story overhead. A victim can attempt to dive for cover behind a structural member – see Dodge and Drop. On a success, he receives DR equal to the building's exterior wall DR against this damage, but is still trapped in the rubble. On a critical success, he is totally unharmed!
Repairs
Most artifacts cannot heal naturally (although there are exceptions; e.g., exotic "living metal" machines). If they become disabled, they cannot recover until repaired. If they are crippled, the relevant parts require repair or replacement – they can't recover on their own.
To fix a damaged, disabled, or malfunctioning device requires a suitable skill: Armoury, Electrician, Electronics Repair, Machinist, Mechanic, etc. See individual skill descriptions for what each skill covers. The GM is the final judge of the necessary skill.
Minor Repairs: Each attempt to repair damaged equipment that still has positive HP requires half an hour and a successful skill roll. See Equipment Modifiers and Time Spent for common modifiers. As well, if the device costs $1,000 or less, roll at +1. Roll at -1 if it costs $10,001-$100,000, at -2 if it costs $100,001-$1,000,000, or at -3 if it costs over $1,000,000. Success restores 1 HP times the margin of success (minimum 1).
Major Repairs: An artifact reduced to zero or negative HP requires spare parts that cost 1d × 10% of its original price. After obtaining these parts, use the rules above, except that all rolls are at an extra -2.
Replacement: If a device is destroyed (failed a HT roll to avoid destruction, or went to -5×HP or less), it is beyond repair. Replace it at 100% of its original cost.
Hiring Help: Those incapable of doing their own repairs can hire technicians. A typical rate is $20/hour – or higher, if unusual skills are required. Typical skill level is 9 + 1d.
Breakdowns
Most real-life equipment failure is due to mistreatment or routine wear – not combat damage. The GM may apply these rules to any complex artifact (anything Unliving).
Maintenance
Artifacts that have moving parts, that are unusually complex, or that are routinely under stress require regular maintenance to work properly. This definitely includes all weapons and vehicles, precision optics (cameras, night-vision gear, etc.), and any other equipment more elaborate than a screwdriver or a knife.
Machinery like this requires periodic "maintenance checks" against a suitable technical skill, as explained for the Maintenance disadvantage. The frequency of such maintenance varies. Most commercial ground vehicles require one or two man-hours of maintenance a week. Weapons, especially guns, need cleaning every day or so of use. Large, complex items, such as factories and fighter jets, require numerous manhours of maintenance per day – if not constant care.
Missed or failed maintenance checks result in HT loss. This HT loss is cumulative, and affects all HT rolls described under Effects of Injury and Slime, Sand, and Equipment Failure (below). To restore lost HT, use the Repairs rules, above. Treat each point of HT restored as a separate major repair.
This rule does not apply to items without moving parts, equipment in storage (not just sitting out in the open!), or any artifact just sitting there, unused, if it has a sealed case.
Slime, Sand, and Equipment Failure
Harsh conditions may result in more frequent breakdowns, regardless of maintenance. Whenever an artifact that requires maintenance is carelessly exposed to the elements (e.g., dropped in a swamp, left out in a sandstorm, or buried in volcanic ash), make a HT+4 roll for it. Use its current HT – including any reductions for missed maintenance. If the item lacks a HT score, assume HT 10. In extreme environments (desert, swamp, jungle, etc.), make one extra roll per item per day, in addition to any rolls for specific mistreatment.
On a failure, the equipment breaks down, jams, or otherwise fails; it cannot function at all without minor repairs. On a critical failure, it requires major repairs. The GM may wish to keep the results secret and let the operator discover the malfunction during normal use!
Modifiers: +1 if the PCs take significant time out each day to clean and maintain their gear (GM's judgment); -1 or -2 if the abuse or the environment is unusually brutal.
Broken Weapons
If a weapon is destroyed – that is, it failed a HT roll at -1×HP or below, or went to -5×HP – it is completely useless. But if it is just disabled, it might still be usable.
An extremely light weapon (anything weighing 1 lb. or less, such as a dagger) or a missile weapon (sling, bow, firearm, etc.) is useless even when merely disabled.
Other weapons sometimes remain partially usable when disabled. Roll 1d and consult the appropriate paragraph below. Where the weapon effectively becomes a different kind of weapon, figure skill and damage according to the new weapon type!
Axe/Mace Weapons: On 1-3, the head breaks off, leaving you holding a light club. On 4-6, the weapon is smashed beyond use.
Polearms: On 1-2, you're left holding an 8-foot pole; treat as a long spear that does thrust+2 crushing damage. On 3-4, you're left with a quarterstaff, and there's a very clumsy (-4 to hit) axe with reach 1 lying in front of you. On 5-6, you're left with a light club and there's a clumsy (-2 to hit) "great axe" with reach 2 lying on the ground.
Rapiers and Smallswords: On 1-3, treat a broken smallsword as a dagger and a broken rapier as a smallsword; damage is still impaling! On 4-6, the blade snaps off at the hilt; the weapon is useless.
Spears: On 1-3, the head breaks off where it joins the shaft, leaving you with a quarterstaff. On 4-6, the spear breaks further down; you have a baton, and there's a spear with reach 1, doing normal damage, lying in front of you.
Swords (broadswords, greatswords, katanas, shortswords, etc.) and Sabers: On 1-3, the blade breaks off at the halfway mark, losing its tip. It can still make a cutting attack at -2 to damage, but it is useless as an impaling weapon: a thrust does thrust crushing damage. If the sword was reach 2, it is now reach 1. On 4-6, the blade snaps off at the hilt; the sword is useless.
Two-Handed Axe/Mace Weapons: On 1-3, the head breaks off where it joins the shaft, leaving you with a quarterstaff. On 4-6, the weapon breaks further down; you have a light club, and there's a very clumsy (-4 to hit) axe with reach 1 lying in front of you.
Other Weapons: Use the closest weapon listed above. The GM has the final say, and may choose to roll if there is more than one way for the weapon to break.