[PF] Breaking weapons with spells

[fratar11]

PFSRD states:


Energy Attacks

Energy attacks deal half damage to most objects. Divide the damage by 2 before applying the object's hardness. Some energy types might be particularly effective against certain objects, subject to GM discretion. For example, fire might do full damage against parchment, cloth, and other objects that burn easily. Sonic might do full damage against glass and crystal objects.

What about magic missile and disintegrate? Magic Missile is pure force damage. How would you rule it?

[Chuckthedwarf]

I'm pretty sure disintegrate's spell description is pretty clear.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/disintegrate.htm

A thin, green ray springs from your pointing finger. You must make a successful ranged touch attack to hit. Any creature struck by the ray takes 2d6 points of damage per caster level (to a maximum of 40d6). Any creature reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by this spell is entirely disintegrated, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust. A disintegrated creature’s equipment is unaffected.

When used against an object, the ray simply disintegrates as much as one 10-foot cube of nonliving matter. Thus, the spell disintegrates only part of any very large object or structure targeted. The ray affects even objects constructed entirely of force, such as forceful hand or a wall of force, but not magical effects such as a globe of invulnerability or an antimagic field.

A creature or object that makes a successful Fortitude save is partially affected, taking only 5d6 points of damage. If this damage reduces the creature or object to 0 or fewer hit points, it is entirely disintegrated.

Only the first creature or object struck can be affected; that is, the ray affects only one target per casting.

I'd say, it ignores all DR and simply destroys anything non magical. Sort of like Shatter. I'd let magical objects make a save, maybe. If it's equipped by someone, the owner generally does a save for the weapon, I think.

So... yeah.

As for magic missile, I think it's perfectly reasonable to let it hit. It might even really cripple the weapon user, with enough caster levels. But you'll be destroying an item...