Yes. Any weapon, improvised or not, that's made of the proper material will bypass DR.
The rules say that a weapon made of X has Y properties. In order for that not to be true there would have to be a general rule stating the opposite. An improvised weapon is still a weapon, and unless otherwise stated follows the same rules.
In short general rules apply unless overwritten by specific rules.
Adamantine: Mined from rocks that fell from the heavens, this ultrahard metal adds to the quality of a weapon or suit of armor. Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20...
Under the Main Weapons heading
Improvised Weapons: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses an improvised weapon in combat is considered to be nonproficient with it and takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object. To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. An improvised weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.
I have bolded all the differences between improvised weapons, and things made as weapons intentionally. Anything else is a house rule.
Would he treat an adamantine crowbar as if it was made of regular metal? :)
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I have bolded all the differences between improvised weapons, and things made as weapons intentionally. Anything else is a house rule.Untrue. An adamantine object has to be fashioned as a weapon to ignore hardness less than 20. Improvised weapons are not crafted to be weapons.
Improvised Weapons: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat.
Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20...
If I use an adamantine arrow as an improvised weapon, does it still count as adamantine?
Yes, it is still a weapon. The only thing improvised about it is that you're using it as a melee weapon instead of as ranged weapon ammunition as intended.
I have bolded all the differences between improvised weapons, and things made as weapons intentionally. Anything else is a house rule.Untrue. An adamantine object has to be fashioned as a weapon to ignore hardness less than 20. Improvised weapons are not crafted to be weapons.Improvised Weapons: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat.
Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20...
If a bludgeoning weapon made of adamantine can bypass damage reduction subject to adamantine - and it can - then any object in the universe made of adamantine would also be able to do the same thing. There is no functional difference between whacking someone in the face with a mace and whacking them in the face with a lamp-post, except that the mace is more aerodynamic and performs better as a weapon due to how it is fashioned. Since adamantine, silver, or whatever do not have to penetrate the skin and be introduced into the bloodstream to overcome DR, any object made of the appropriate material will overcome the appropriate DR.
I've never liked the rule that ammunition that hits is destroyed. I have bow hunted (traditional) much of my adult life. I would say I lose or destroy maybe 10% of my arrows. Normal wooden arrows with hunting tips and feathered fletching. When I am just target shooting I rarely ever destroy arrows and never lose them. That's just me, average person. Someone who is that heroic should be able to manage their ammunition better.
That's just something that's always nagged at me, but then arrows are ridiculously cheap in RPGs where as real life now-a-days you can make your own with about $2-3 worth of materials per arrow or buy them for nearly $10 each (or more if you get the aluminum or carbon arrows)
I know it has no real mechanical weight to the game. And I understand fantasy combat, you shoot an intelligent creature with an arrow it will either try to pull the arrow out or break it off.
@blackbloodtroll there are no rules saying that thrown weapons are lost or broken after you throw them. The breaking or lost values only apply to ammunition of ranged weapons as per RAW. So I would say that an adamantine cannonball which was thrown would be fine. Along the same lines I would say thrown arrows are retrievable also though.
I have bolded all the differences between improvised weapons, and things made as weapons intentionally. Anything else is a house rule.Untrue. An adamantine object has to be fashioned as a weapon to ignore hardness less than 20. Improvised weapons are not crafted to be weapons.Improvised Weapons: Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat.
Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20...
That doesn't make any sense. Adamantine is adamantine, no matter what form it's in. So long as an object has an edge, a point, and/or some heft that makes it suitable for use as a weapon, even if improvised, it's still a weapon.
A kitchen knife is not a weapon. It can still be used as an improvised weapon to attack with. If someone, for whatever reason, decided to make a kitchen knife out of adamantine, it would have the benefits of being crafted from that material. Which means you could use it to do full damage to a golem, for instance. You wouldn't be able to use it to break down a wall, however. Not because it's not crafted as a weapon, but because it's not a weapon suitable for such a purpose (e.g. a hammer or a pick.)
A kitchen knife is not a weapon. It can still be used as an improvised weapon to attack with. If someone, for whatever reason, decided to make a kitchen knife out of adamantine, it would have the benefits of being crafted from that material. Which means you could use it to do full damage to a golem, for instance. You wouldn't be able to use it to break down a wall, however. Not because it's not crafted as a weapon, but because it's not a weapon suitable for such a purpose (e.g. a hammer or a pick.)
I dunno. I think you'd get through the wall eventually. Andy Dufresne wishes he'd had an adamantine kitchen knife...
I dunno. I think you'd get through the wall eventually. Andy Dufresne wishes he'd had an adamantine kitchen knife...
A kitchen knife is not a weapon. It can still be used as an improvised weapon to attack with. If someone, for whatever reason, decided to make a kitchen knife out of adamantine, it would have the benefits of being crafted from that material. Which means you could use it to do full damage to a golem, for instance. You wouldn't be able to use it to break down a wall, however. Not because it's not crafted as a weapon, but because it's not a weapon suitable for such a purpose (e.g. a hammer or a pick.)
Right, but that's an entirely different argument. Though with an adamantine knife he might have made it out of there in 10 years instead of 20.
I think you are right... I am just saying that, particularly in the case of just a random adamantine crossbow bolt, say, it makes no sense at all that they break. What book is the durable ammunition from?
Remember, they're not completely adamantine. With arrows and bolts, it's the heads that are made of metal. As a GM, I don't have a problem with players paying out for adamantine ammo, then recovering the heads after a battle, assuming they have the time and ability, and then crafting new arrows with them later. Though with the RAW, I'm not sure how that works with adamantine sling bullets. Just how hard are you throwing those things that they're destroyed on impact with a living body, or even an iron golem, for that matter?
There currently is no pricing for adamantine per pound.
Well, looking at mithral, non armor items cost 500 gp per pound -- half of what it takes to make light armor.
If you applied the same idea to adamantine, that would be 2,500 per pound.
As to the improvised weapons/items thing... I agree that a piece of ammunition--which is a weapon--could bypass hardness even if used as a melee weapon.
For other items, that's one of those things I hope the GM can use common sense to determine. I would allow, say, a pair of adamantine bolt cutters or an adamantine saw to ignore hardness certainly--when applied to their typical tasks. Of course, it would take a rich craftsperson to have such tools, but in a fantasy world not impossible.