...got a question for everyone...
I'm going to be running an encounter with a very old dragon. I've given the dragon the "greater sunder" feat (and the necessary prerequisites).
Do you think this dragon can sunder a weapon with +3 enhancement bonus?
My argument is "yes" but here's my logic. Tell me if this makes sense.
In the beastiary for the black dragon entry they get damage reduction DR 5/magic at young adult, DR 10/magic at mature adult, and DR 15/magic at very old. It seems like a good fit to equate that to +1, +2 and +3 at each increase in it's DR.
Does this make sense? The beastiary says that if a monster has DR their own natural attacks qualify as overcoming the equivalent DR (I think it's around page 300).
...Second question...
Dragons seem like they would be good grapplers. Yet any larger or huge dragon is not going to have the necessary dexterity score to qualify for improved grapple. It seems like a hole in the logic for grappling. Obvously they can stillg grapple but they'll provoke an AoO in the process and won't get the bonuses if they had improved grapple or greater grapple.
...any thoughts on overrulling the feat requirements for grapple feats for beasts with claws and teeth?
(and lest you think I'm a mean DM there is nicer equipment in the dragon's hoard if the PCs are victorious)
...got a question for everyone...
I'm going to be running an encounter with a very old dragon. I've given the dragon the "greater sunder" feat (and the necessary prerequisites).
Do you think this dragon can sunder a weapon with +3 enhancement bonus?
My argument is "yes" but here's my logic. Tell me if this makes sense.
In the beastiary for the black dragon entry they get damage reduction DR 5/magic at young adult, DR 10/magic at mature adult, and DR 15/magic at very old. It seems like a good fit to equate that to +1, +2 and +3 at each increase in it's DR.
Does this make sense? The beastiary says that if a monster has DR their own natural attacks qualify as overcoming the equivalent DR (I think it's around page 300).
Your house-rule is a good way to bypass the RAW that states that 'An attacker cannot damage a magic weapon that has an enhancement bonus unless his weapon has at least as high an enhancement bonus as the weapon struck.', but please note that this is effectively an house-rule, not an official rule. DR 5/magic, 10/magic or 15/magic are effectively bypassed by a +1 weapon, so it seems logical that the natural attacks of Dragons (magic) would be equivalent only to +1 weapons as well.
By RAW, the only way a Dragon could Sunder a +3 weapon would be wearing a +3 Amulet of Mighty Fists or casting a Greater Magic Fang* spell with a caster level of 9th+ (Greater Magic Weapon would not work on the Dragon's natural weapons), but in order to benefit from GMF the Dragon would need either a Potion with a high caster level, a Scroll (and a good UMD check) or the Limited Wish spell.
*This could be debatable, since the GMF spell states that it allows to bypass only DR X/magic, but since it gives an effective enhancement bonus, it could be reasonable at least to allow the sundering of equivalent weapons. But again, rules are not crystal clear on this (IMHO).
Personally, I decided to just ignore the official rule on Magic Weapons (the increase in hardness and hp of the weapon is already a good factor, IMHO), but again, this is my house-rule.
...Second question...Dragons seem like they would be good grapplers. Yet any larger or huge dragon is not going to have the necessary dexterity score to qualify for improved grapple. It seems like a hole in the logic for grappling. Obvously they can stillg grapple but they'll provoke an AoO in the process and won't get the bonuses if they had improved grapple or greater grapple.
...any thoughts on overrulling the feat requirements for grapple feats for beasts with claws and teeth?
(and lest you think I'm a mean DM there is nicer equipment in the dragon's hoard if the PCs are victorious)
You can have a look at the Snatch feat on the Bestiary (page 316) or on the PRD. The feat is specifically suited for creatures like Huge Dragons and similar behemoths. Please note that you would still need a Gargantuan Dragon to benefit from all the goodies the feat offers (specifically, the squeeze) against Medium-sized characters (a Huge Dragon could snatch Medium-sized or larger creatures, but it would effectively need to follow the normal rules for Grapple after the initial free grapple check).
Hope this helps.
After a quick look at the Pathfinder PRD this sentence jumps out at me:
Damage Reduction: Dragons gain damage reduction as they age, as indicated on each dragon's specific entry. Their natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Now taking the The Wraith's reply into account.. I am inclined to agree.
This is a house rule, but its a logical and sensible one. Clearly a dragon's natural attacks ARE magic weapons in their own right, naturally, without the benefit of additional spells.
If I was a player I would accept this house rule from the GM without complaint, provided the Dragon was of an age in proportion to the enhancement bonus of the sword, as you approximated in the original post.