3.5 dev question about Fire Breath

[Nikodemos]

Howdy,

My 40th level warrior was battling some Hell Hounds when I saw this message:

The Hell Hound breathes fire.
Your Set of Caestus of Free Action (t) was damaged!

I looked at the item and it had 1 less point of AC bonus. Since it was in my backpack, I am surprised the fire didn't destroy it. Is this a new change in 3.5?

Thanks

[takkaria]

Howdy,

My 40th level warrior was battling some Hell Hounds when I saw this message:

The Hell Hound breathes fire.
Your Set of Caestus of Free Action (t) was damaged!

I looked at the item and it had 1 less point of AC bonus. Since it was in my backpack, I am surprised the fire didn't destroy it. Is this a new change in 3.5?

Thanks

I'm not sure exactly when that happened, but it is something relatively recent, yes.

[PowerWyrm]

Pretty sure it's a recent feature. Items in the backpack can be damaged instead of destroyed if they have bonuses.