Better Sunder Rules (3.5e Variant Rule)
From Dungeons and Dragons Wiki
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
 | |||||||||
|
Rate this article Discuss this article | |||||||||
Contents
Better Sunder Rules[edit]
As we all know, sundering in 3.5 sucks. It is hard to do and reduces your rewards for an encounter. These rules are meant to remedy that and provide rules for something my players have often wanted to do: cut off limbs.
The Base Sunder Rules[edit]
- You may make a sunder attempt in place of an attack whenever you make could normally make an attack. This provokes an AoO.
- A sunder attempt is an attack roll vs DC equal to 10 + target's attack bonus with the object or wearer's AC using the object's size for a non held object.
- If you hit the target object, roll damage. Apply hardness as normal for damaging objects
Object Damage and Condition[edit]
- If the object's hp are reduced to 3/4 or less of the maximum hp, then any use of the object takes a -2 penalty and has a fumble on a roll of 1 or 2.
- If the object's hp is less than 1/4 the maximum than the object is broken and ceases to function. A broken weapon can be used as an improvised weapon with all the penalties that entails.
- An object reduced to 0 hp or less is destroyed.
- A limb or natural armor that is reduced to 0 hp is not destroyed like an object(but see utterly destroyed).
- A body part or object regains functionality when it's hp are restored. Any damage to a body part is also dealt to the creature.
Sundering Body Parts[edit]
- You may sunder body parts. Any limb is treated as a weapon and is two sizes smaller than the creature it is attached to.
- Natural armor is treated as a worn object the same size as the creature. Limbs have HP equal to 15 + Level x Constitution modifier. The base HP amount of a limb (15) is doubled or halved for each size above or below medium and follows d&d's multiplication rules (two doublings equal a tripling etc...).
- Natural armor has 5 hp per point of natural armor.
Damaged Limbs[edit]
When a Limb is Damaged you take penalties to your checks and actions that involve that limb. For the most part, these penalties are the same as with an object, but some limbs cause additional penalties.
- A limb or object that grants you the ability to fly, such as a wing or broom of flying, causes your flight manueverability to be reduced by one step when below 3/4 hp, two steps when below 1/4 hp. Both also reduce speed by 10 feet.
- A limb that you use to move, such as a leg, takes penalties to movement skills and reduces their speed by 5 feet. A broken leg reduces speed to 1/2 or by 5ft to a minimum of 5ft.
Severing A Limb[edit]
- Severing a body part requires you to make an attack as a standard action with a -10 penalty on your attack roll and reduce a limbs hp to 0 in one hit. The limb is treated as having hardness 8 due to bones in the limb.
- When a limb is severed it is gone. The only way to get it back is through an ability that says you can regain lost limbs, such as the Regenerate spell or the Regeneration Special quality. It is possible to reattach a lost limb with an hours worth of work with the heal skill and a DC 25 Heal check. Such a method is not reliable however and the patient must make a DC 10 Fort save or have their body reject the limb, the DC rises by 5 if it is from another creature. The limb to be attached must have been severed for no more than 1 day.
| Size | Limb HP |
|---|---|
| Fine | 3 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Diminuitive | 3 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Tiny | 5 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Small | 7 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Medium | 15 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Large | 30 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Huge | 45 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Gargantuan | 60 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
| Colossal | 75 + (Constitution modifier x HD) |
Support Material[edit]
The following material may be incorporated with this variant:
- Reattach spell
- Lesser regenerate spell
- Greater regenerate spell
- Regenerative Cells feat
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Variant Rules
