Help with Hardness

[silentspace]

In a PbP game here, I have a PC trying to escape a prison cell by casting Acid Splash on the lock.

Hardness: Each object has hardness—a number that represents how well it resists damage. Whenever an object takes damage, subtract its hardness from the damage. Only damage in excess of its hardness is deducted from the object’s hit points (see Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points; Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points; and Table: Object Hardness and Hit Points).

Energy Attacks: Acid and sonic attacks deal damage to most objects just as they do to creatures; roll damage and apply it normally after a successful hit. Electricity and fire attacks deal half damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the hardness. Cold attacks deal one-quarter damage to most objects; divide the damage dealt by 4 before applying the hardness.

Does Hardness apply to Acid? Or does it deal straight HP damage? I thought Hardness applies, but the PC's actions make me wonder.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Hardness applies to both sonic and acid damage. They just do full damage before hardness is applied.

I think.

 

[UltimaGabe]

I've wondered about this as well, but the general consensus in my group is that hardness does not apply to Acid or Sonic damage.

 

[RigaMortus]

Seems kind of unclear. I'd say that it probably ignores hardness since it says, "Acid and sonic attacks deal damage to most objects just as they do to creatures" Well, creatures don't have hardness now, do they? So there ya go...

The other thing I might change is to have sonic damage only ignore the hardness of glass or crystaline objects. I can see sonic damage bypassing the hardness of a metal object, but that's just me. YMMV.

 

[Delgar]

I also think that hardness should apply, but according to the DnD FAQ, both Acid and Sonic bypass hardness.

Delgar

 

[silentspace]

Well, if that's what the FAQ says, that's good enough for me.

 

[UltimaGabe]

In 3e, it was very unclear, as there were sections that specifically said that Acid was subject to hardness, while the rest of the text strongly implied otherwise. They took out the blatant disagreement in 3.5.