Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

Just curious how other GMs out there handle the effect on PCs' equipment when the party gets slammed by either Fireball or Lightening Bolt. The rules are purposely vague on this, and seem inspired from advanced D&D, where mention is made of combustibles and melting metals.

Someone making their Save should definitely not suffer equipment destruction. On the other hand, maybe failed-Save PCs can elect to let some of their carried stuff take the brunt of the blast and be consumed versus them losing HPs.

My PCs have accumulated way too much stuff and enemy casters making use of these spells could be really useful. When a PC fails such a Save, I'm inclined to randomly take 1d4 carried items and have them also Save. Thoughts?

One way of doing it is if they roll a 1 or just their saving throw value*, so they always have a 5% chance of some item being damaged.
*If their Saving Throw value is a 15, rolling a natural 15 means they receive less damage, but they are damaged still.

There is a rule for this, you know. Item Saving Throws, on page 53, covers this in what I consider adequate detail.

Aha! I had forgotten that this was here. Thanks for the reminder!

OK, so for a related question: the PC fails his Save. Now I'm wondering about containers the PC carries. If your character's backpack fails its Save, would you then have Saves for all its contents? Alternatively, if the backpack succeeds on its Save, would you then consider all the contents safe?

Just curious what you would consider the most appropriate course.

Would say if a backpack makes its save it's safe as is its contents if it fails then its is destroyed and anything delicate needs to make a save things like paper or cloth maybe books .
As for gear anything that is under something that saves is safe .
If it's under something that fails then depends on what it is and the effect

Are there further rules for damage against gear? Item Saving throws decide if something is damaged but not by how much. Is leather armor which fails a saving throw gone? What about plate armor?

Or is it up to the GM to decide on individual basis?

BobAlcove wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:33 amOr is it up to the GM to decide on individual basis?

This.