I was wondering if a magic weapon/item is dispelled for the 1d4 round duration it can latter be shattered.
From what I read the item loses all magical properties for the duration. If it is not heavier that 10 lbs per caster level I can see it getting shattered on a failed save.
Thoughts?
It works.
It does work. You do have to make a successful dispel check, and then the now non-magical item still does get a save to avoid breaking. Its only a will save though, which melee-types generally are bad at.
Saving Throws: Nonmagical, unattended items never make saving throws. They are considered to have failed their saving throws, so they are always fully affected by spells and other attacks that allow saving throws to resist or negate. An item attended by a character (being grasped, touched, or worn) makes saving throws as the character (that is, using the character's saving throw bonus).
I'm curious about this, because I have always run it the other way, in that even while its powers are suppressed, it is still a magic item. And that, conversely, the temporary magic enhancement from spells like Magic Weapon do not make the weapon a "magic item" for the purpose of being immune to shatter.
I'd like to see more people chime in on this, as I'm both surprised to be in the current minority, and also because this does open up a lot of odd cross-cases, such as:
Saves: if a dispel-suppressed item is fully "not magical", then it gets no saves against effects if left unattended.
Disjunction: if a dispel-suppressed item is fully "not magical", then it does not loose its powers when targeted by disjunction.
Hardness and HP: if a dispel-suppressed weapon/shield/armor is damaged to the "broken" condition, when it regains its powers, it will regain its extra HP and possibly be above half HP, thus causing it to loose the broken condition.
These three reasons are why I consider a dispelled magic item to still technically be a magic item, and receive any protections that state gives, even if they temporarily loose the magical bonuses or properties they normally have.
A dispelled magic item is considered non-magical while suppressed. From Dispel Magic:
If the object that you target is a magic item, you make a dispel check against the item's caster level (DC = 11 + the item's caster level). If you succeed, all the item's magical properties are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, after which the item recovers its magical properties. A suppressed item becomes nonmagical for the duration of the effect. An interdimensional opening (such as a bag of holding) is temporarily closed. A magic item's physical properties are unchanged: A suppressed magic sword is still a sword (a masterwork sword, in fact). Artifacts and deities are unaffected by mortal magic such as this.
The magic is the only thing making the weapon magical. You shut the magic off, and it is basically an ordinary weapon again.
Examples are electric fences. If the city loses power it is still an electric fence, but it won't be operating as one so it is effectively a regular fence.