How to Break Objects and Doors in 5e

An object has an Armor Class set by its material and Hit Points set by its size, and it fails every saving throw; a resilient Medium wooden door is AC 15 with 18 Hit Points. Every party meets a locked door. Someone wants to pick it, someone wants to kick it, and someone has already started swinging an axe. The SRD has rules for all three. Here they are, quoted, with the odds for each.

The quick version

The SRD's adventuring chapter covers small things:

As an action, you can automatically break or otherwise destroy a fragile, nonmagical object, such as a glass container or a piece of paper. If you try to damage something more resilient, the GM might use the rules on breaking objects in "Rules Glossary."

A vial, a letter, a lantern: no roll. Everything sturdier uses the glossary rules below.

Armor Class and Hit Points

The glossary opens:

Objects can be harmed by attacks and by some spells, using the rules below. If an object is exceedingly fragile, the GM may allow a creature to break it automatically with the Attack or Utilize action.

The Object Armor Class table:

And the Object Hit Points table, for objects Large or smaller:

Bigger things break in pieces:

To track Hit Points for a Huge or Gargantuan object, divide it into Large or smaller sections, and track each section's Hit Points separately. The GM determines whether destroying part of an object causes the whole thing to collapse.

A wall falls one section at a time. A bridge might fall when one span goes.

What hurts an object, and what doesn't

Objects have Immunity to Poison and Psychic damage. The GM might decide that some damage types are more or less effective against an object. For example, Bludgeoning damage works well for smashing things but not for cutting. Paper or cloth objects might have Vulnerability to Fire damage.

Bring a hammer to a door and a blade to a rope. Then the line that matters most for spellcasters:

An object lacks ability scores unless a rule assigns scores to the object. Without ability scores, an object can't make ability checks, and it fails all saving throws.

So a save-for-half spell deals full damage to an object, every time.

Damage thresholds

Castle walls don't wear down under a dagger. The glossary:

A creature or an object that has a damage threshold has Immunity to all damage unless it takes an amount of damage from a single attack or effect equal to or greater than its damage threshold, in which case it takes that entire instance of damage. Any damage that fails to meet or exceed the damage threshold is superficial and doesn't reduce Hit Points.

A threshold is all or nothing. Meet it and the whole hit counts; fall one short and nothing does. Many small hits do nothing at all, so big single hits are what count.

How long a door takes: swings counted

Take a level 1 Fighter, Strength 16, with a Greataxe: +5 to hit, 1d12 + 3 Slashing. We simulated 200,000 attempts against each target, counting critical hits.

The padlock has the fewest Hit Points but the highest AC: the Fighter misses 65% of swings, and any hit breaks it. A door takes four or five turns of loud chopping, so whoever is behind it hears the party coming.

Shatter gets a special line for objects:

A nonmagical object that isn't being worn or carried also takes the damage if it's in the spell's area.

Objects fail every save, so 3d8 Thunder lands in full, averaging 13.5. It destroys a resilient Small chest (10 HP) 83.6% of the time and a resilient Medium door (18 HP) 16.4% of the time. It never takes down a 27 HP section in one cast.

Fire Bolt has a line too: "A flammable object hit by this spell starts burning if it isn't being worn or carried." A burning object "takes 1d4 Fire damage at the start of each of its turns."

Picking, prying and ramming

Locks. The Lock entry in the gear chapter:

A Lock comes with a key. Without the key, a creature can use Thieves' Tools to pick this Lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check.

A Rogue with Dexterity 16 and proficiency (+5) succeeds 55% of the time; with Expertise (+7), 65%. A failed attempt costs time, not the lock, and it is quiet.

Prying. Carpenter's Tools and Smith's Tools both list "Pry open a door or container (DC 20)". At +5, that is 30%. The Crowbar helps:

Using a Crowbar gives you Advantage on Strength checks where the Crowbar's leverage can be applied.

With Advantage, 30% becomes 51%, if your GM agrees the leverage applies.

Ramming. The SRD doesn't set a DC for breaking down a door; the GM does, and the Typical Difficulty Classes table calls 20 Hard. The Portable Ram:

You can use a Portable Ram to break down doors. When doing so, you gain a +4 bonus to the Strength check. One other character can help you use the ram, giving you Advantage on this check.

Against DC 20, a +5 hero with the ram rolls at +9: 50%. With a friend on the ram, 75%. For 4 GP, it is the best door tool in the game.

Chains and manacles

Chain: "Bursting the Chain requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check as an action." At +5, 30%. A raging Barbarian has Advantage on Strength checks: 51%.

Manacles are harder:

Escaping the Manacles requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check as an action. Bursting them requires a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check as an action.

At +5, bursting them needs a natural 20: 5%, or 9.75% with Advantage. A +9 hero gets 25%. The lock is easier: "a creature can use Thieves' Tools to pick the Manacles' lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check."

When magic opens it

Knock (level 2, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard; Action; 60 feet):

A target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred. If the object has multiple locks, only one of them is unlocked.

It always works on a mundane lock, but it is not quiet: "a loud knock, audible up to 300 feet away, emanates from the target."

Quick reference

• Fragile, nonmagical things break automatically with an action.
• Object AC by material: 11 cloth to 23 adamantine. Object HP by size: Tiny resilient 5, Medium resilient 18, Large resilient 27.
• Objects are immune to Poison and Psychic damage and fail every saving throw.
• Damage threshold: one hit must meet it, or the hit does nothing.
• Lock: Thieves' Tools, DC 15. Pry: DC 20. Chain: burst DC 20. Manacles: escape DC 20, burst DC 25.
• Portable Ram: +4 to the Strength check, Advantage with a helper.
• Knock opens one mundane lock, loudly.

The Book of Dice covers the d20 behind every one of these checks in Part III, The Rolling.

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.