Damaging Equipment:

For the most part, specific damage isn’t applied to equipment under AD&D rules. This doesn’t mean that equipment is never damaged or broken. Instead, it is assumed that whatever normal wear and tear an item may suffer (such as dents in plate mail) are repaired during the moments (or weeks or months) of downtime PCs experience.

However, there are times when your characters will want to cut a rope, snap a pole, or slash the bottom of a target’s purse. Specific damage is done to achieve a specific effect. For most attacks (such as those previously described) a simple attack roll and some common sense is sufficient. If the character hits the target with an appropriate weapon (you can’t cut a rope with a hammer), he achieves the desired effect. If the item is large and stationary, don’t even bother rolling—the GM just makes a ruling on how many attacks or rounds it takes to cause the desired effect based on the tools at hand (such as perhaps 1d4+1 rounds to smash down an oaken door with a battleaxe).

If trying to hit a very specific spot, such as the thin strap on a lady’s purse, then a called shot is required.

Item Saving Throws

When items are subjected to general danger—the flames of a fireball, the icy chill of white dragonbreath, the impact of a boulder—rolls to hit and hit points do not apply. Instead the item must make a saving throw (using the following table). This saving throw represents the item’s general ability to withstand the effects of the attack.

Item saving throws should be rolled for any unattended objects caught within the attack, and for any items carried by a character who fails a save against such an attack. A character who successfully saves against the blast of a fireball need not save for all of his items.

Saving throws are rolled on a d20, and need to be rolled over the target value listed on the table. Magical items roll these saving throws with advantage. Items that are designed to resist a specific effect (such as a ring of fire resistance) never have to make item saving throws against attacks of that type.

Item	Save vs.
	Acid	Crushing	Disintegrate	Falling
Bone or Ivory	11	16	19	6
Papers	16	7	19	—
Rope	12	2	19	—
Cloth	12	—	19	—
Leather	10	3	19	2
Glass	5	20	19	14
Ceramics	4	18	19	11
Stone	3	17	19	8
Wood, Thin	9	13	19	2
Wood, Thick	8	10	19	2
Metal	13	7	17	3
Oils	161	—	19	—
Other Liquids	151	—	19	—

Item	Save vs.
	Magical Fire	Normal Fire	Cold	Lightning2	Other Energy3
Bone or Ivory	9	3	2	8	2
Papers	19	19	2	19	2
Rope	10	6	2	9	2
Cloth	16	13	2	18	2
Leather	6	4	3	13	2
Glass	7	4	6	17	2
Ceramics	3	2	4	2	2
Stone	3	2	2	14	2
Wood, Thin	11	9	2	10	2
Wood, Thick	7	5	2	12	2
Metal	6	2	2	12	2
Oils	19	17	5	19	16
Other Liquids	17	14	13	18	15

¹ Liquids exposed to acid, even if they succeed the save, may become hopelessly mixed with the acid and still be unusable.

² Lightning includes any energy-based attack that strikes with substantial force such as lightning-bolts, repelling blasts, thunder waves, or any similar attack that deals both energy damage and has sufficient force to move objects.

³ Other energy includes all other energy based attacks not covered by the other categories—non-forceful electricity (such as a witch bolt), magic missiles, blasts of radiance, and the like.