Hi all,
I am running Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Last session, the PCs starting exploring the Obstacle Course on the 15th floor. The dungeon includes a number of teleporting traps, some of which include a chance of being dropped into a lava lake. As a firm believer that falling into lava should be deadly, I always have it deal the maximum damage (10d10 = 100 points of fire damage!).
As the dice would have it, two of the PCs got unlucky and took a dip in the lava. They both survived because they are tough as dwarves with more than 100 hp each (plus one is a forge cleric with fire resistance).
At the time, I ruled that all their mundane equipment was destroyed but their magic items survived unscathed. However, I am just reviewing the rules for magic items, and I note that only artifacts are considered "practically indestructible". A normal magic items is "at least as durable as a regular item of its kind", and "most magic items, other than potions and scrolls, have resistance to all damage."
Looking at the rules for objects, even a resilient large object like a cart only has 27 hp on average. Most of their items are going to be small (10 hp on average) or tiny (5 hp on average). Even with damage resistance, that's not enough to survive a dunk in lava (even without me maxing out the damage).
The forge cleric has a necklace of prayer beads, a horn of the endless maze, +1 plate armor (created through a class feature), a cloak of protection, and a sentinel shield. Oh, and a magical jade staff that can turn into a giant poisonous snake.
The other PC (a berserker barbarian) has a +2 battleaxe, gauntlets of ogre power, a chest of preserving, and a bag of holding.
Should I rule that all the magic items were destroyed? (After all, right at the start of the obstacle course, Halaster did tell everyone to put their magic items in the available mine carts for safe-keeping ... so it's not like they weren't warned!) Or should I give each magic item a chance to survive? Maybe a higher chance based on rarity? (Or should I just determine hp for each item and then roll the 10d10 damage for each one?)
Thoughts?
Unless a magic item specifically states that it can be destroyed, such as a Necklace of Missiles, or mishandling of the items in a Bag of Holding, I assume enchanted items are far more durable than normal materials.
You have to ask yourself what is gained by taking away the player's magic items. If you feel it would balance the game, you should have a discussion with your players about that, rather than have them removed by what is in effect, DM fiat.
If you think it would make the game more fun, I would again, go to your players with your reasoning as to why.
If you have a Barbarian using Gauntlets of Ogre Power, one of two things would result from their loss. One, nothing major, if they have a Strength of 18. Two, a nerf to their attack and damage with melee weapons by reducing them to a Strength of less than 18. For a class that is primarily a melee damage dealer, this can be annoying/crippling.
I used to play with a DM who would occasionally freak out about how many magic items we had, would contrive of a way to take them away from us, we'd find new ones, and the cycle could continue. It was very annoying because it felt like we were being punished for something that wasn't under our control- if you don't want magic items in your game, just be up front with that when you give your elevator pitch for the game.
The DMG tells us the default expectation for the game is "The World is Magical" on page 9. It's ok to change that, but you need to adjust yours and the players expectations in advance.
If your goal is to make players worry about their items being potentially destroyed, as to make them more cautious, then you shouldn't take them away if there was nothing the players could do to protect them other than stay home and not adventure (and saying "well, they could have made a saving throw" doesn't count! They really have to have had the chance to make an informed decision, and a choice that isn't "let's just go home").
I'll note even destroying all of their non-magical gear, no matter how logical it is (falling into lava) is extremely harsh. What are they supposed to do without armor? Weapons? Tools? Rations? Spell Focuses and material components?
How do you expect them to continue in the campaign from here?
As a further question, you already made the situation far more dangerous than it was written to be by choosing to inflict maximum lava damage. What is served by adding insult to injury?
I mean if it's "realism", then falling into lava should be an automatic death, go make a new character!