[3.5] Weapon Hardness and Special Materials?

[Gulian]

Do special materials increase weapon hardness, or not? On the d20srd, the table at Exploration says that only armor is affected by special materials in terms of hardness, but nothing in the text itself ever states that or is very vague.

If special materials indeed do affect weapon hardness, could you also please state the source of that conclusion? Our DM prefers concrete evidence. Thanks!

[Curmudgeon]

I think you've got things backward. If you look here you'll see that weapons don't have assigned hardness, but rather their hardness is derived from the materials in their construction. "Light metal-hafted weapon" has hardness 10 because the metal is assumed to be iron/steel. If you use a different material for a weapon haft, you use that material's hardness instead.

[Gulian]

I think you've got things backward. If you look here you'll see that weapons don't have assigned hardness, but rather their hardness is derived from the materials in their construction. "Light metal-hafted weapon" has hardness 10 because the metal is assumed to be iron/steel. If you use a different material for a weapon haft, you use that material's hardness instead.

But it says, as an example, "Two Handed Blade" - Hardness 10. It doesn't actually state that the material is assumed to be steel. If you also look to the Armor part of the table, where the small 2 sign is, and then read what that sign says, it for some reason specifically mentions that it varies by material. The different weapon types in that table don't have any such thing stated about them.

So, what makes you say that?

[Curmudgeon]

Table 8–8 is listed as "Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points". If your weapon is made of uncommon materials, you would use the appropriate values instead.

[Gulian]

I get that. But then why is there a specific clause saying:

"Varies by material; see Table: Substance Hardness and Hit Points."

Which is attributed specifically to armor? If the material is assumed to be steel, wouldn't it state an armor's Hardness and HP according to what it would be if it was steel?

[Curmudgeon]

Armor is made up of multiple materials: cloth padding, leather, steel chain links, brass rivets, sheet metal plates, and whatnot. You'll have different hardness depending on the specifics. You'll use the hardness of cloth for padded armor, the hardness of leather/hide for those types of armor, and so on. Weapons use fewer materials for their "business" parts, usually just steel and wood.