Regarding eqdamage vs small spells, or small hits of ANY kind:

As many of you have already figured out, your eq takes a hit. It happens. Of
these, once in a while it is a "backpack" strike that can damage some random
items you carry, worn/wielded or not. This is for various reasons -- making
non-eq items wear out, for example.

How often does it happen? Actually, more than you think. As some of you may
have figured out, you only get notified when your eq takes damage when (a) it
has a spell on it, such as blue glow, or (b) it "shapes". Honestly, thyis is a
lot like what happens to monsters. You aren't told every tiny scratch they
take, but some spells cause them to respond (wither flesh, for example) and
you can "scan" them and look for changes in "shape" as well. (Combat sense
will tell you when it _doesn't_ take damage -- a warning sign, but not the
issue at hand). Now, if your eq isn't protted (was it, Blacksmith?) and it
takes a scratch, then you don't notice. Your eq could be scratched down to
"incredible condition + 1 hit point" and you wouldn't notice until it actually
dropped a shape. Again, just like monsters in that respect. In addition, if
your eq is made from resiliant materials (adamantium, diamond, etc) these
scratches might have no effect anyhow.

Then we get to the spells. Spells, as a general rule, cause more damage than
battle damage (I admit that changes player ot player, but as a general rule
spell damage > battle hit), and they hit more often, which means they are more
likely to cause _any_ damage, and therefore any eq damage, and therefore a
"backpack" hit. Since they are more rare, however, this is balanced so far.
But, when they do hit, they are more likely to "shape" your eq, because (a)
again, they tend to do more damage per hit, and (b) they don't do physical
damage. Adamantium is a tough metal, but a metal nonetheless. It corrodes in
acid. Diamond is the hardest material on RL earth, but it's made from carbon.
It burns. Each material has its own strengths and weaknesses, but nothing is
100% invulnerable.

Now a fireblast spell isn't the strongest attack in the game, but it's hardly
the weakest, either. I would suspect that it has a greater area of effect than
a laser, and could easily hit more than one "slot" on your body. We're
talking 100 or so fire damage -- enough to instantly kill many animals (try
it!) and badly, badly injure most people (admit it -- we're mudders, we're
probably not nomad background). It makes sense that a hit like that will cause
noticable damage on ivory, ice, or "stone" (ask your local merchant, "stone"
is crap) eq.

Now I could tie eq damage amounts/"backpack" hits to actual damage, but I am
100% certain that would be completely unfair to highbies. Or, I could make "
"backpack" hits come from area attacks only -- but I'd have to shut the mud
down for a few days tracking down the non-spell-area-attacks that did that,
and it would _still_ hurt highbies overmuch (Digga bunnies don't chain KC). Or
I could leave it the way it is, let you come to the realization that you took
an unfurtunate hit, and that it probably won't happen to you again for a good
long while.

Want to protect your eq? Here are some easy steps.
-- get the blue glow. Merchants do this all the time.
-- train combat sense! It helps with all items you carry, wear, or wield.
-- wear armour, get +resist eq, or get protection spells. The less damage
_you_ take, the less damage your eq takes.
-- learn about your opponents. Sure, a lot of monsters cast random spells, and
you can't do much about that. But you can learn to look for the
disinters/immolaters/dest-weapon-ers, or learn that "hey, this area has
nothing but cold spells".
-- keep eq material in mind. Silk eq might be very lightweight, but it tears
in a slight breeze. If you have a choice between two similar eqs, one of which
is more fragile but cheaper -- consider the options.

Shinarae Lluminus