I'm not sure how to put it better to make a FAQ-valid question.
What it's all about: One of my player wants to make a mythic paladin using the sacrificial shield mythic path, which gives the broken condition when the shield is damaged (I feel it's the RAI). We will say my player has a heavy steel shield (hardness 10, hp 20).
Under the "Broken Condition and Sundering" sidebar (p.149 of UCombat), it states that :
If a weapon gains the broken condition from an effect, that weapon is considered to have taken damage equal to half its hit points +1.
So, if I'm right, if my player use sacrificial shield to block an attack that should deal 11 damages, the shield take 1 damage, gain the broken condition, and is now considered at 9HP.
The main question is related to another part of the sidebar:
This damage is repaired either by something that addresses the effect that granted the weapon the broken condition (like quick clear in the case of firearm misfires or the Field Repair feat in the case of weapons with the fragile quality) or by the normal method for recovering item hit points (detailed in the broken condition description).
When an effect that grants the broken condition is removed, the weapon regains the hit points it lost when the broken condition was applied.
Damage done by an attack against a weapon cannot be repaired by an effect that removes the broken condition.
My player argue that he can clear the "effect" by just repairing 1 hp on the shield (the damages absorbed by the shield), and the shield will be totally fixed, while I don't think it qualify as "removing" the effect that grant the shield his broken condition.
The question is rather complex, and I don't want to be unfair. Can you help me out ?
There are two ways for an item to gain the broken condition.
One is for the weapon to take damage from an attack or attacks that is in excess of half the weapon’s hit points. The other is for the weapon to gain that condition from some effect. Both firearms and fragile weapons include effects that grant a weapon the broken condition (Core Rulebook 565) without the weapon explicitly taking damage.
If a weapon gains the broken condition from an effect, that weapon is considered to have taken damage equal to half its hit points +1. This damage is repaired either by something that addresses the effect that granted the weapon the broken condition (like quick clear in the case of firearm misfires or the Field Repair feat in the case of weapons with the fragile quality) or by the normal method for recovering item hit points (detailed in the broken condition description).
When an effect that grants the broken condition is removed, the weapon regains the hit points it lost when the broken condition was applied.
Damage done by an attack against a weapon cannot be repaired by an effect that removes the broken condition.
I am not sure there is an exact interpretation that covers this.
As far as I can tell, the shield was damaged by direct HP damage, not a "condition", so the only way to repair it is to actually repair the damage.
The shield in your example was damaged to 9 HP. It normally is considered broken when it has between 1 HP and 9 HP and is considered OK (not broken) when it has between 10 HP and 20 HP.
Given that, I would say that any amount of repair to the shield would raise its HP to 10 or higher and it would no longer be considered broken.
However, if he does not fully repair the shield, it will be easier to destroy it the next time he uses this ability. If, following your example, he only repairs 1 HP then the shield is no longer broken but it still only has 10 HP instead of its full 20 HP. Next time he uses this ability, it will be much easier to destroy the shield.
Wait...
Does that mean if you cast a spell that breaks a wepon on a weapon with less then 1/2 it's hp -1, it acutally goes up?
Wait...
Does that mean if you cast a spell that breaks a wepon on a weapon with less then 1/2 it's hp -1, it acutally goes up?
You're suggesting casting a spell that breaks a weapon on a target weapon that is already broken?
There would be no benefit to this spell. No reason to cast it. All it would do is a apply a non-stacking condition to the weapon that doesn't stack with the already existing identical condition. It's as meaningless as casting Invisibility on someone who is already invisible, or casting Cure Light Wounds on someone who is currently at full health, or casting Blindness on a target who is already blind.
But if for some reason you did this, the obvious answer is for the GM to say that there is no effect - the weapon remains at its current HP and still has the broken condition. After all, that's what he would say if you cast those other examples I just mentioned, right?
As far as I can tell, the shield was damaged by direct HP damage, not a "condition", so the only way to repair it is to actually repair the damage.
If it was a sunder attempt, the shield should be at 19 HP.
But here, he blocks damages with his shield using Sacrificial shield, meaning the shield takes the damages. Is the shield take any damages when using sacrificial shield:Otherwise, it gains the broken condition, even if the damage was not enough to give it the broken condition under other circumstances.
Does that mean if you cast a spell that breaks a wepon on a weapon with less then 1/2 it's hp -1, it acutally goes up?
My player just read it too. I assumed the broken condition given by an effect "inflicted" 1/2 +1HP of the item to it. The "considered as" is just perturbing. IMHO, RAI is suppose to inflict damages.
Potential FAQ stuff too, more likely to happen because of guns and misfire.