Everything Breaks

By default, only Weapons have Durability in Reclaim the Wild. Armor and Tools can be used infinitely, assuming they aren’t abused. However, some groups or GMs may prefer that all equipment wear down with repeated use, and eventually break. They may want all of a player’s equipment to work the same way, or they may want players to have that extra concern of durability when using their tools or getting into battles.

While having all equipment use Durability increases the amount of bookkeeping players have to do, it can add an extra survivalist edge to the Heroes’ adventures.

Under this rule, Tools and Armors have the following Durability.

Armor (including Clothing) loses one point of Durability after every combat encounter they are used in, just as weapons do. An Armor or Clothing is considered to have been used if the Hero wearing it was struck and damaged by anything, including terrain hazards. Simply benefitting from an Armor’s Enchantment does not count as being ‘used’ for the purposes of Durability.
Tools lose one point of Durability whenever they are used for their intended purpose. When used for an unintended purpose – a use that would destroy the Tool in the base rules – they instead lose two points of Durability. In this way, this particular Master Mode rule is friendlier to clever players and imaginative use of Tools.

Since players will be using more Materials over the long run, the GM should increase the Materials gained from Monsters or resources by 1.

This rule pairs well with the Repairing and Upgrading Mundane Weapons Assist Mode rule. Using these two rules together help balance their changes against one another, resulting in a fulfilling experience: everything breaks, but everything can be repaired, too. When these rules are used together, their adjustments to Material gain rates cancel each other out.

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