Is it possible to damage objects with Explosive Missile and Demolition Charge combined?

Question

My character is a Bomber, an archetype of Rogue that uses Bombs like Alchemists instead of Sneak Attack, and that is better than the Alchemist at blowing stuff up.

The Explosive Missile discovery looks interesting for the added range to bombs, and my bombs can already be used to damage objects similarly to a sunder combat maneuver from a distance thanks to the Demolition Expert class feature that gives me early access to Demolition Charge. There is a catch : by the basic rules, a piercing weapon is useless to sunder objects, and my only options to use Explosive Missile are a bow, a crossbow (both purely piercing) and a pistol (terrible range and expensive ammo).

So, if I shoot an object with an explosive bolt, does it at least deal bomb damage even if the bolt itself doesn't do harm ?

Answer 1

Specific rule happens instead of general rule.

In this case the general rule is that ranged attacks are unable to preform sunder. Here we have a specific rule that allows bomb damage to be done to objects, but make sure you work out the method first since it is a sunder and you must overcome their sunder CMD.

From reading up on the abilities listed, there is no reason why they cant be used together. Just remember that you must prepare the demolition bombs ahead of time as they do not work like your standard bombs. They must be prepared at the start of day, so if you only prepare those and face a monk, you might be in trouble.

Answer 2

The sunder combat maneuver replaces a melee attack. Explosive Missiles, thrown bombs, and mundane ammo all fail to make the attack melee, thus the required action to sunder cannot be taken.

Answer 3

A bomber rogue's combination of the alchemist discoveries explosive missile and demolition charge allows the rogue to deal the weapon's damage and the bomb's damage then subtract that from an object's hardness… somehow.

Note that the weapon's damage will probably be reduced before hardness is applied:

Objects take half damage from ranged weapons (unless the weapon is a siege engine or something similar). Divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the object's hardness.

And, because typical alchemist's bomb deals fire damage, the fire damage will also probably be reduced before hardness is applied:

Energy attacks deal half damage to most objects. Divide the damage by 2 before applying the object's hardness. Some energy types might be particularly effective against certain objects, subject to GM discretion. For example, fire might do full damage against parchment, cloth, and other objects that burn easily. Sonic might do full damage against glass and crystal objects.

And, finally, after reducing the damage like it says to above, ask the DM if the object's hardness applies separately against each different type of damage or if the object's hardness applies but once against the total of the remaining damage. (This DM recommends the latter. James Jacobs seems to recommend here dividing the hardness by the number damage types then applying each bit of hardness separately. I don't even.) Then determine if the object's unharmed, damaged, broken, or destroyed. With all that potential halving, I hope you're shooting at scrolls or something.

Note that this makes hardness a little different from damage reduction, which says, "Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack," but even damage reduction says, "Damage Reduction does not negate… energy damage dealt along with an attack," so even if the GM says hardness does work like damage reduction except for objects, it's not like you're trying to destroy an object by poisoning it, so your rogue's demolition charge/explosive missile should work just fine. Well, fine as in just like it says above, anyway.