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So i've been gone from the boards for awhile and did a quick search but didn't find anything meaningful...
my interest revolves around Dreamscarred press's Psicrystal creature.
It sports a Hardness rating of 8. does it count as a creature and object at the same time?
if it has a Hardness score, how does it interact with Energy damage? like an object?
i'm not familiar with all of the new bestiary additions but last i knew there were not too many if any creatures by paizo that sport a hardness rating. Animated objects have hardness...but they start out as objects...
But this is a pathfinder base rules issue...
I'm just looking for something concrete for how to calculate damage to a creature with hardness...
Please discuss
-physical damage
-energy damage (i know certain weaknesses would bypass the hardness, but would they be halved?)
-and DR stacking
for reference it is a diminutive Construct that has a hardness of 8.
thank you
I'm definitely curious about the answer as well (for animated objects, primarily).
bump...I hope to see more than curious
RAW it would seem that hardness would act like a DR for such a creature.
Physical attacks that aren't otherwise noted as particularly effective/ineffective should be diminished by the hardness score.
Energy attacks being mitigated by hardness specifically state 'objects' so RAW I don't believe a creature with hardness would gain that benefit.
DR stacking and hardness would apparently work.
Really no one else? Just for the sake of lawyering and analysis...
This is what the boards are for, arguing about insignificant snippets of rules?
There's not that much to discuss I guess. It has hitpoints and a hardness; the rules apply to those as usual.
If this Construct was to get class levels, then stuff gets complicated.
If this Construct was to get class levels, then stuff gets complicated.
Not particularly, just more book keeping really.
So the relevant info i can find is mostly on pages 173-175 of the CRB.
info on DR was on 562-593.
DR and Hardness should stack
-DR seems to be calculated first. (it represents the ability to ignore blows altogether or instantly heal...)
-But Energy attacks Bypass DR, even "mundane" fire...
-Hardness is subtracted from damage left over after DR is applied...
-the dicey part is deciding if a creature with a Hardness score is considered an "Object".
-if it is an object with DR, the energy damage bypasses DR BUT is halved before applying Hardness. allowing for particularly effective energy types.
-if having a Hardness score does not confer the "object type", then Hardness functions like a second DR that catches energy attacks, unless those energy attacks are Particularly effective.
-If Hardness confers an "object type" then ranged attack damage is also halved, unless they are siege type weapons.
The only tricky bit i found in the text was this:
->Immunities: Objects are immune to nonlethal damage
and to critical hits. Even animated objects, which are
otherwise considered creatures, have these immunities.pg 174 CRB
and -->Animated Objects: Animated objects count as creatures
for purposes of determining their Armor Class (do not
treat them as inanimate objects). pg 175 CRB
so do animated objects have a resistance to energy attacks based on their "objectness"? they count as creatures for determining AC.
-Psicrystals already have a construct type so they have various immunities already. but does the wording imply anything else?
if a psicrystal is considered an object, does it gain the broken condition at 1/2 maxHP? Does it have a Break DC?
also....
Psicrystals progress similar to Familiars...they do not gain actual HD or Feats...so there is no messiness anymore
Psicrystals are a construct creature, not an object. They would not become 'broken' at half HP. They also aren't 'animated objects' so the lines you quoted don't apply to them as constructs. From the description they are 'formed' (AKA summoned or created from nothing) by the the person who takes the feat.
Having a hardness score doesn't 'confer' or 'imply' anything unless it is specifically stated to do so RAW. If a line about hardness stops being general and goes into specifics (referring to an object or animated object) and the entity in question isn't that specified type, it doesn't gain that benefit or liability.
:edited:
How about an animated object at 1/2HP?
How about an animated object at 1/2HP?
While the spell is in effect, no. Once the spell ends and the construct type goes away, yep it is 'broken' if it wasn't repaired or healed to over 1/2 damage.