breaking magic items?

[tim01300]

First question, can someone using domination or suggestion tell someone to breaking their weapon? If they worded it like a good idea?

Secondly can a magic weapon be broken using a strength check? For instance could a longbow+2 be broken over the PC's knee if he rolled a strength check of 18?

[Deophaun]

Dominate, most assuredly. Suggestion is iffier, and probably needs some set-up and a good bluff check to make breaking the weapon a character has used without issue for a good part of its career seem reasonable.

As for break DC, I don't have much to go on. It's probably pretty low. Bending an iron bar is a DC 24, and bending a sword should be easier. There's a real good question of what the magic bonuses should do. Some RL viking swords used such good steel that their ability to resist bends that would shatter other swords was considered magical.

[holywhippet]

Domination will work, suggestion probably won't since you can't make someone act against their best interest with that spell.

Magic weapons, like normal weapons, can be broken. It isn't a strength check though, they have hardness and HP. Hardness is damage reduction basically so you need to do more damage than the hardness to do damage then more damage than HP to destroy the item. Take a look at this page for info: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/exploration.htm - look at the table over on the right.

[Telonius]

Suggestion, I'd say yes, worded reasonably. You could convince the person that the sword they're carrying is actually a powerful lich's phylactery. Or that breaking an object made of steel would be a great way to intimidate the enemy - "If you can do that to a sword, just think what you can do to him!"