Magic Item Destruction

"You heard me. I break it!"

Written by JesSimmons

Superstition and Rumors

Many a weak wizard has perished in their first year outside the safety of their master's tower. So its not uncommon for strange occurrences after looting blood-soaked robes. Common folk will disregard most items on slain wizards, superstitious of unknown magical properties. Many rumors have risen on how "it's bad luck to kill a wizard." They gained traction after farmer Brown's house exploded.

"I didna' even kill 'em. I just grabbed some twig near 'em for kindlin'. Threw it in the fire last night. Next thing I knew, me chimne' was spittin' purple! Musta cursed the woods round him."

Common Knowledge

Mages through the centuries have always cautioned destroying magic items. Some claim it is impossible. The layman believes this to be mere overprotection of a magic hoarder. Magicians always seek more power. Some believe they are keeping magic items out of the wrong hands. And organizations have risen to collect such items from lesser hands. Even young sages respect maintaining an artful creation of power. It is only later in their studies of magic item creation do they realize the destructive effects of arcane artwork.

Arcane Knowledge Checks

To the studied sage, learning is a fundamental precaution to controlling arcane energy. Magic items are imbued with concentrated magical power. The higher the enchantment, the more concentrated the power. This should grant enough insight for players to assume some sort of explosion would occur. Many magic items are designed to safely release magical energy, such as potions and talismans. But permanent and regenerative magical power sealed into an object? When that seal breaks, the sudden release in close proximity can prove beneficial or disastrous. Destroying a magic item releases condensed magical energy. How much and how close depend on the amount of enchantments of the magic item.
Few mages have studied the effects of destroying magic items. So solid knowledge is extremely rare. Some rationalize the power of the blast would depend on the power of the wizard who enchanted it. Artifacts crafted by the gods may therefore be powerful enough to destroy the world (or a large section of it). Others argue that the blast can only be as powerful as the item. Or maybe just the highest level spell imbued upon it. The theories continue. Few are volunteering to break their noble family's heirloom for research.

What happens in the Effect Radius?

First, those in the blast are stunned, deafened, and blinded for a number of rounds equal to the total enchantment level. All creatures experience the surge of uncontrollable magic course through their body as it explodes out of the destroyed object. They see the object erupts like an uneven sunspot, not a perfect sphere. Magical resistance and immunity offer no protection from this effect, since it is higher concentration than most spells. Creatures looking at the blast from outside of the maximum radius roll a save vs blindness (Constitution DC 10 + total enchantment levels; artifacts DC 30) for the same duration.
Second is a contested roll for each level of the enchanted item. The DM rolls percentile to set the DC for each level separately. All creatures must roll percentile vs each DC separately. Resolve each roll one at a time. Creatures who roll 50% or more below the DC receive a permanent negative effect. Six percent to 49% below the DC receive a temporary, perhaps curable, negative effect. Rolls within 5% of the DC receive an immediate effect or no effect. Rolls 6% to 49% above the DC receive a temporary positive effect. Rolls at least 50% above the DC gain a permanent positive effect. All effects happen simultaneously but may not be apparent in the moment.
For example: a +3 sword (level 3 enchanted item) is broken in a fight. The GM informs everyone in 90 feet that they are stunned, deafened, and blinded from the blast for the next 3 rounds. The GM then rolls for the first magical effect for all within 90 feet. The DC rolled is 23%, allowing a greater chance for all to roll for a positive effect. The GM rolls for the second magical effect for all within 40 feet. The second DC is 92%, increasing the chance of negative effects. The third DC rolled is 47%, a relatively even chance for all within 10 feet of the blast.
When and how the effects manifest is at the Game Master's discretion. These effects can be innate or mechanical, just granting a stat boost, resistance, immunity, natural armor, etc. Effects can also comically manifest, such as a plant growing out the side of a character's face, sustaining their hunger with photosynthesis. But any attempt to remove it proves difficult since its roots have entwined throughout the body. The floor may become sentient. A magical ability from the destroyed item could imbue itself upon a character. An intelligent item may find its psyche trapped in a nearby animal or object.
For example: someone throws a Deck of Many Things into a lava pool. A powerful blast of magical energy hits all creatures in the area with 1d10 card effects as if they drew from the deck. Years later, artisans craft the cooled lava stone into several charms which bestow a wish or seals the first wearer's soul similar to card effects. Miners grind the lava stone to grit a road and fertilize farms, cursing the crops or mustering a strong army when needed. None of these effects might be known until after they occur.

Let's Do Damage?

Maybe you want to go with an insane amount of damage. This is an easy effect for Game Masters who do not want last-minute improv of game mechanics or huge storytelling. Pick a die (like the magical weapon's damage die or the spell damage dice) and consider the damage is inversely proportional to the distance from the destroyed item. Max damage is determined by the CUMULATIVE level of enchantment.
For example: a third level enchanted magic item will deal 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level damage to creatures within 10 feet of the blast; 1st and 2nd level damage from 10-40 feet; and 1st level damage from 40-90 feet.
The damage could be physical or mental. Physical damage could emulate raw magical energy. Damage special effects, such as weapons with an acid enchantment, could replace the raw magical burst with acid or stack on top of it. The stored spell continually produced an effect, making it more powerful than casting the individual spell. Spellcasters could take a mental or psychic shockwave for being attuned to the magical universe.
Mechanically, a sixth level enchanted item would deal 21d6 magical damage at the epicenter, radiating less damage out to 360 feet. This may not deter high level players from carrying around their obsolete magic items as sacrificial bombs. In a pitch battle, players may find a way to snap a wand for an easy win solution. The reason few adventurers do it is the high danger. But having a nuclear blast effect may also sound too extreme. Every nihilistic chaotic evil cult would be searching for artifacts to destroy if it could guarantee quickened world destruction. That is why the previous contested roll for positive/negative effects appeal to me. There is no guaranteed outcome of magic gone wild.

Method

Since magic energy is contained by an enchantment, spells rarely break a magic item short of a lesser wish or a wish. Destruction spells such as disintegrate are designed to quickly dismantle the physical and magical essence preventing a catastrophic release. Creatures such as rust monsters and magic eaters have similar instant effects on magic items.
A few rule books have outlined object hardness and hit points. Physical damage to frail objects like wands can require a simple strength check. Hardy battle gear like swords, armor, and shields are designed to take continual bashing. The enchantments upon them grant durability above normal gear and often require enchanted items of equal or greater level to break them. So don't assume the 4th level barbarian with a normal battle axe will sunder a deity's +5 holy avenger.

Talismans

Introduced in Oriental Adventures (2001), these single-use magic items have a fragile form. These items were created to easily break for a magic effect. Breaking them, intentionally or otherwise, triggers the effect as designed. More familiar wondrous items like Quaal's feather tokens trigger a similar way.

Potions and Scroll

Potions contain enchantments which only release upon consumption. The magic is so weak that it rarely lasts more than an hour, as it dissipates through the body. Breaking the container does nothing to a potion contents. Over time, the magic energy fades or absorbs into the environment.
Scrolls contain the essence of incomplete spells. Since some component is still missing, destroying a scroll parchment is usually safe and simple. The great danger is doing it in front of a wizard. Roll initiative to escape their ire.

Wands and Rechargeable Items

Similar to magical weapons with special properties, wands store more magical energy than a single spell. The amount of charges can dictate the force or effect of the blast. These items are not generally made to withstand damage. Wooden wands easily survive fall damage whereas a crystal wand is difficult to snap by hand. Methods will vary based on the material.
Wands are not the most dangerous items, but certainly the easiest to carry. They can hold 50 charges of up to 4th level spells. The max spell level would require at least a 9th level caster to enchant or recharge some of these items. A wand often appears as a shaft of wood to the untrained eye. Rumors have spread quickly of dangerous kindling found on dead wizards.
Example: A destroyed wand/necklace of fireballs could have several results: One fireball with massive damage. An expanded fireball with an additional 5 feet added to the radius per charge. A blast so hot that it surpasses fire resistance and immunity. One fireball per charge centered in random locations within the wand's normal range. The fire energy inverts, causing cold damage in any of the previous methods.

Enchanted Items

Armor and Shields

The magical essence is sealed to last for ages, to be passed down as family heirlooms. Items are crafted to take damage, so it will take more than an arrow to make magical plate mail explode. Also, these items usually have some ability to be repaired by a trained smith. These are typically the hardest items to destroy aside from artifacts. Getting attacked by a god with a powerful weapon could be more devastating than you think. 

Weapons and Ammunition

Weapons and ammunition are often the most expensive crafted items to maintain their durability through tough armors. This makes weapons tougher to break, but not indestructible. Specialized enchantments such as elemental damage become more volatile. A regenerative amount of magic supply these additional damage powers. The amount strong enough that a proficient archer will grow weary before they fully drain a bow's effective enchantment. That's more magical energy than a mage can summon within a week.
Ammunition can act like talismans, releasing their magic normally upon a hit. Just don't hold it when that happens. Arrows and bolts usually have the damage enchantment sealed in the arrowhead. The remaining structure of an arrow or bolt is highly durable.

Rings, Rods, and Staves

These items often possess the same multi-charge characteristic of wands and the durability of enchanted weapons. They also can contain any spells, making them more dangerous than wands which cap at 4th level spells.

Wondrous Items

These items vary too greatly in size, power, trigger, and function to define. Use whatever rules fit best.

Artifacts

Delving into the ancient tomes, mages have devised elaborate rituals for safely destroying immensely powerful items. There is no guarantee these methods will not destroy everything within several miles after the process. But if someone is bent on doing it right, they can do their DC 30 research. Some objects can only be destroyed on a hot summer day by hurling the item, stored in a vat of alchemist fire, into a live volcano occupied by an elder red dragon...blah blah blah. Wish it sealed away for eternity and hope the deity creator doesn't get too upset.
Since artifacts were usually created by deities, they have taken an interest in their creations. Many greater magic items were religiously devoted to the gods. When smaller items are destroyed, its like a single candle snuffed in a well-lit room. An artifact is like a pyre of fire being doused when destroyed. The change in light is perceivable, yet the deity may not immediately know which light in the room diminished. But these are just postulated analogies by mortals since the gods rarely get so personal. More often characters will need to deal with their mortal acolytes and followers bent on revenge.

Area of Effect

How big can this get? Needless to say, most mages have not been keen on experimenting. Creatures and/or objects in the epicenter of the blast are hardest hit with fading magical effects as it radiates outward. The higher the enchantment of an item, the more cumulative effects stack at the center of the blast.

Item's Total Enchantment	Level Effect Radius
1st level	10 feet
2nd level	40 feet
3rd level	90 feet
4th level	160 feet
5th level	250 feet
6th level	360 feet
7th level	490 feet
8th level	640 feet
9th level	810 feet
10th level	1,000 feet

Cover?

"But I'm a high-dexterity rogue. Surely I can hide behind this...well, that thing over there! I should get a saving throw to dive for cover."
Conceptually, they may be correct. But an inch of lead (Pb) is not going to be enough to stop the described surge of concentrated magical energy. Any cover strong enough to block the blast would have to be multiple times thicker than required to block a detection spell for each level of the blast. Mages have calculated 5 times the thickness of lead (or equivalent substances) per level should be safe, but that's just theory. And few people are wearing armor thick enough to block even a level 1 blast.
One might argue safety behind several walls in a dungeon or a building. The damaging effects could play havoc on multiple levels of a wizard tower. Even destabilizing the structure. Nothing like stunned, blind, and deaf in a crumbling structure to kick off a skill challenge for a hasty escape.