Through the course of adventuring, equipment, weapons, and armor can become damaged causing a loss in performance. Since the rulebook covers only weapon breakage (17.3) we added a standard "weapon and armor durability" check.

Here's how it works:

Weapons will become dulled or notched after successive combats. Broken weapons are, of course, useless. It is assumed that each character is taught the proper care (cleaning, oiling, sharpening, polishing, etc.) when they achieve their initial Rank with a particular weapon. This care is usually performed while sitting around campfires, standing watch, gossiping in taverns or relaxing at the local Inn. Greater damage will need to be attended to by a weaponsmith, etc.

Armor will become dented and damaged when subjected to the similar duress which weapons suffer: the general wear and tear of travel, the mud of the road, those pesky little teeth marks from that encouter with the goblins, that spear you should have moved aside for, etc. Here it is assumed that the character knows how to wash off mud, polish, repair a strap or two, bend back a legging, or add a new "shoelace" when the need arises. Anything beyond will need to be attended to by one more proficient (an armorer, leatherworker, etc.).

Like infection, it is suggested that weapons and armor be checked for possible damage after each combat. The base chance for weapons or armor to have sustained such damage is 10%. The following modifiers apply:

Weapons:

• +5% if the weapon scored a successful strike against metallic armor
  
• +5% if the weapon encountered a shield (this modifier does not apply to bucklers or a main-gauche)
  
• +10% if the weapon scored "damage directly affecting endurance" (subject to adjudication)
  
• +20% if the weapon scored a grevous injury (subject to adjudication)

Armor:

• +5% if a successful hit was scored by a Class A weapon
  
• +5% if the armor is metal and successful strike was scored by a Class C weapon
  
• +10% if the armor is cloth or leather and a successful strike was scored by a Class B weapon

Note that these modifiers are cumulative. If the damage check is equal to or less than the modified percentage, the item has been damaged.

Weapons that fail their damage check suffer a penalty of -1 to the damage they inflict and a -5% to their strike chance. These modifiers are cumulative. Armor which fails to save will suffer a -1 in its protection rating. The damage sustained for weapons and armor will remain in effect until they are repaired by a weaponsmith, an armorer, or by magic (or whatever the GM feels is adequate for repair).

Weapons that fail their damage check suffer a penalty of -1 to the damage they inflict and a -5% to their strike chance. These modifiers are cumulative. Armor which fails to save will suffer a -1 in its protection rating. The damage sustained for weapons and armor will remain in effect until they are repaired by a weaponsmith, an armorer, or by magic (or whatever the GM feels is adequate for repair).

The methodology to this rule is to further enhance the sense of realism for the Player Characters. This will obviously necessitate the need for returning to cities or towns to find adequate repairs rather than spending weeks or months at a time on adventures where smithies and their kilns are not present. Other items, such as saddles, clothes, ropes, carts, etc., could also undergo similar checks as they are used, at the adjudication and discretion of the GM. Obviously, items which are not repaired will become useless if their deterioration goes unchecked.