The Fantasy Heroes Unbound campaign is now more than half way to unlocking the free adventure scenario stretch goal $50K! We greatly appreciate your pledge.

Don’t forget that Unbound designer and Dyskami chief Mark MacKinnon is hosting a live Ask Me Anything about Fantasy Heroes Unbound tonight (Thursday, September 24) from 7-8 pm EDT. You can participate on Dyskami’s YouTube channel directly or though the BackerKit campaign main page (where we are imbedding the stream).

During adventures, characters may take cover in or behind various large objects, which may include Items such as vehicles and mecha. AC modifiers usually apply to cover, but sometimes an attack is so forceful that it might damage or penetrate the covering object. This may damage the Item – possibly allowing some damage to pass through to the character taking cover as well – and perhaps render it inoperable with enough impact. Most often, these situations are best handled narratively rather than with strict rules, such as when an enemy fires a crossbow at player characters who are hiding in a rowboat or behind an overturned table. When a more mechanistic solution is desired, consider the following rules.

Every physical object has an associated material rating that will reduce standard (Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing) damage inflicted on characters taking cover behind it if the attack is sufficient to penetrate the object. Table 36 in the core rules provides a suggested list of material ratings – ranging from 0 (paper, cloth) to 5 (medium wood, thin stone, thin metal) to 10 (adamantine) – which is equivalent to the Item’s Damage Reduction Rank. This material rating is dependent on the hardness and thickness of the material from which the object is made, and could be modified both by how fragile the working parts may be and how well constructed it is.

To derive an Item’s Hit Points, multiply its material rating by 10, then add its Build Point cost based on its Size Rank.

If the Item suffers more damage than its material rating, the excess damage is deducted from its Hit Points. If its Hit Points are ever reduced to 0, it ceases to function in its given task (e.g. a cart can no longer be easily pulled, a boat will sink, a catapult will no longer fire, etc.). The Item is not destroyed – it is simply rendered non-functional and can usually be repaired later and returned to normal.

If the Item suffers 10 times its material rating in damage in a single attack, though, it is completely destroyed – regardless of how many Hit Points it has remaining. The object is beyond repair and must be completely rebuilt or replaced. Additionally, if an object suffers repeated damage that exceeds its material rating – roughly 10 times that amount within a short period of time (DM’s discretion) – it may also suffer sufficient damage to break.

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Thanks again for backing the campaign. We hope to see you tonight @ 7pm EDT for the AMA!