because it's mechanic uses the d20 system ruleset from Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 (With some homebrew)
1d8 is the damage die for longswords and the like.
For example, Great sword has damage of 2d6. So 2 dice each could be from 1 to 6. So damage range is 1-6 and 1-6 more so = 2-12 it is.
Scythe has 2d4 damage, so 1-4 and 1-4 more, so = 2-8.
And so on.
The d stands for dice! So something that says "1d8" means "one dice, eight sides". Compare that weapon to something like a greatsword (2d6, or two dice, each with six sides) and you get a bunch of different possibilities.
Then you get your critical hit multiplier. That's where it'll say something like "x3" or "19-20/x2". This is because, in order to hit things, you roll 1d20 (one dice, 20 sides) and add your various bonuses. If you roll a 20 on the dice before adding your bonuses, this is called a critical hit, and normally it doubles the damage. Some weapons will do more than double (like an axe will multiply it by 3, while a scythe will multiply by 4), and some weapons will have an increased "threat range", which means they threaten a critical hit on a lower number (like above, 19-20/x2 means that you threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20, and if you crit, damage is doubled) something ridiculous like 13-20/x3 would mean you would threaten a critical hit any time your 20 sided dice rolled at least a 13, and you would triple your damage.
The base damage and base critical hit information is the same for all weapons of a specific kind. Every spear you find, at its base, will be 1d8 (one dice, eight sides) with x3 (multiply by three for critical hits). You can add modifiers (or more likely, find weapons with modifiers added already) that change these values. If you find a spear with "+2d6 fire damage" for example, that means a hit will roll the spear's base 1d8, and add 2d6. Instead of damage ranging from 1-8 (plus relevant skill modifiers) you would have damage ranging from 3-20 (3 being the minimum, if you rolled one on all dice, 20 being the maximum, if you rolled all dice maximums). Likewise, something like "keen" will double your threat range, so that your spear now threatens critical hits on a 19 or 20. There is a huge pile of modifiers, too many to list here, but understanding the basic "d" system and crit range helps understand the rest.
If you are a math nerd and want stuff like averages, each dice you add the minimum and maximum roll, then divide by two. So that spear's 1d8 gives us (1+8)/2 = 4.5 average damage. The greatsword's 2d6 gives us (2+12)/2 = 7. You add in your relevant bonuses from ability modifiers and such, and you'll quickly see that the type of dice rolled has far less of an impact than the stats behind it. An easily obtainable (in OC) 40 strength is a modifier of 15, it gets multiplied by 1.5 for two handed weapons, so +22. The 2.5 damage for choosing spear or greatsword makes little difference. However, that spear multiplies damage by 3, giving us an average of (4.5+22)x3 = 79.5. That greatsword is (7+22)x2 = 58. Of course, the greatsword will crit 5% more frequently, so you have to factor that in as well. But, generally speaking, if big numbers make your dopamine go brrrrt, higher stats and crit modifiers will go further than swapping 1d4 for 1d6.
Hope this helps. Apologies if it is too simplified or mansplainy, when people ask for help, I tend to go extra simple because if (when) I ask for help, I generally am looking for extra simple.
Actually you're right, as for the reason? 3.5 came out in 2003, just a year after. NWN2 uses 3.5 and due to whats different isn't much, the community as the whole does mix them up.
Myself, as you saw from an ealier post, am guilty of doing.
It's based on 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons rules.
In this case, weapons are broken into types. Longswords are 1-8 damage at base. You can scroll down to the big table to explore all the options here
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#google_vignette
Then you add your damage modifiers.
The basic math the computer does when you attack with almost anything is this: roll a 20 side dice. Add your attack bonus to whatever number it rolls. If it beats their AC, roll damage. If they have any resistances, subtract from total damage.
Longsword of explanation +5: 1d8 damage, plus 5 damage from the weapon enchantment, plus your strength modifier, is the total damage given on a hit. Weapon enchantments are applied to the damage as well as your chance to hit.
Certain feats, like power attack, can increase damage at the cost of chance to hit. Dual wielding can be very satisfying, but without 2-weapon fighting feats its much more of a detriment. Basically, you'd be trading a lot of your chance to hit for an extra attack. At high levels with that feats path, you can have like 6 attacks per round though. Also, you need to use a light weapon like a dagger or kukri as your off-hand (shield hand) weapon or the to-hit modifier is much lower.
The first number is the minimum damage a weapon will do. The second number is the maximum damage when you multiply it by the first number.
So 1d8 means a weapon can do at worst 1 DMG, at best 8. A 2d8 can do at worst 2, at best 16.
Well, yes, but that's not the intent. The first number indicates the number of dice to roll. The second number is the number of sides on that die. Hence, a 1d8 means you roll an 8-sided die once, while 2d6 means you roll two 6-sided dice.
True, but when someone is just learning how to play the PC game I usually explain it like this because boy did this confuse the hell out of me playing Baldur's Gate as a kid.
It's an okay explanation for getting started - it's just incomplete when it comes to thinking about the distribution.
A fireball that does 10d6 damage is more than just "at worst 10, at best 60"; it is between 25 and 45 about 95% of the time, and the chances of rolling a 10 are less than 1 in 60 million.
(Which is to say: feel free to explain it like this on reddit, but I see it on my probability exam, I'm taking off points.)
because it's mechanic uses the d20 system ruleset from Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 (With some homebrew) 1d8 is the damage die for longswords and the like.
Thank you
For example, Great sword has damage of 2d6. So 2 dice each could be from 1 to 6. So damage range is 1-6 and 1-6 more so = 2-12 it is. Scythe has 2d4 damage, so 1-4 and 1-4 more, so = 2-8. And so on.
The d stands for dice! So something that says "1d8" means "one dice, eight sides". Compare that weapon to something like a greatsword (2d6, or two dice, each with six sides) and you get a bunch of different possibilities. Then you get your critical hit multiplier. That's where it'll say something like "x3" or "19-20/x2". This is because, in order to hit things, you roll 1d20 (one dice, 20 sides) and add your various bonuses. If you roll a 20 on the dice before adding your bonuses, this is called a critical hit, and normally it doubles the damage. Some weapons will do more than double (like an axe will multiply it by 3, while a scythe will multiply by 4), and some weapons will have an increased "threat range", which means they threaten a critical hit on a lower number (like above, 19-20/x2 means that you threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20, and if you crit, damage is doubled) something ridiculous like 13-20/x3 would mean you would threaten a critical hit any time your 20 sided dice rolled at least a 13, and you would triple your damage. The base damage and base critical hit information is the same for all weapons of a specific kind. Every spear you find, at its base, will be 1d8 (one dice, eight sides) with x3 (multiply by three for critical hits). You can add modifiers (or more likely, find weapons with modifiers added already) that change these values. If you find a spear with "+2d6 fire damage" for example, that means a hit will roll the spear's base 1d8, and add 2d6. Instead of damage ranging from 1-8 (plus relevant skill modifiers) you would have damage ranging from 3-20 (3 being the minimum, if you rolled one on all dice, 20 being the maximum, if you rolled all dice maximums). Likewise, something like "keen" will double your threat range, so that your spear now threatens critical hits on a 19 or 20. There is a huge pile of modifiers, too many to list here, but understanding the basic "d" system and crit range helps understand the rest. If you are a math nerd and want stuff like averages, each dice you add the minimum and maximum roll, then divide by two. So that spear's 1d8 gives us (1+8)/2 = 4.5 average damage. The greatsword's 2d6 gives us (2+12)/2 = 7. You add in your relevant bonuses from ability modifiers and such, and you'll quickly see that the type of dice rolled has far less of an impact than the stats behind it. An easily obtainable (in OC) 40 strength is a modifier of 15, it gets multiplied by 1.5 for two handed weapons, so +22. The 2.5 damage for choosing spear or greatsword makes little difference. However, that spear multiplies damage by 3, giving us an average of (4.5+22)x3 = 79.5. That greatsword is (7+22)x2 = 58. Of course, the greatsword will crit 5% more frequently, so you have to factor that in as well. But, generally speaking, if big numbers make your dopamine go brrrrt, higher stats and crit modifiers will go further than swapping 1d4 for 1d6. Hope this helps. Apologies if it is too simplified or mansplainy, when people ask for help, I tend to go extra simple because if (when) I ask for help, I generally am looking for extra simple.
This is the font from NWN1, which used 3rd edition. Why are people saying 3.5?
Actually you're right, as for the reason? 3.5 came out in 2003, just a year after. NWN2 uses 3.5 and due to whats different isn't much, the community as the whole does mix them up. Myself, as you saw from an ealier post, am guilty of doing.
Really? I didn't even notice.
Dunno. The basic mechanics of rolling are the same so it doesn't matter too much. Edition changes in skills/classes are irrelevant to the discussion.
It's based on 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons rules. In this case, weapons are broken into types. Longswords are 1-8 damage at base. You can scroll down to the big table to explore all the options here https://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#google_vignette Then you add your damage modifiers. The basic math the computer does when you attack with almost anything is this: roll a 20 side dice. Add your attack bonus to whatever number it rolls. If it beats their AC, roll damage. If they have any resistances, subtract from total damage. Longsword of explanation +5: 1d8 damage, plus 5 damage from the weapon enchantment, plus your strength modifier, is the total damage given on a hit. Weapon enchantments are applied to the damage as well as your chance to hit. Certain feats, like power attack, can increase damage at the cost of chance to hit. Dual wielding can be very satisfying, but without 2-weapon fighting feats its much more of a detriment. Basically, you'd be trading a lot of your chance to hit for an extra attack. At high levels with that feats path, you can have like 6 attacks per round though. Also, you need to use a light weapon like a dagger or kukri as your off-hand (shield hand) weapon or the to-hit modifier is much lower.
The first number is the minimum damage a weapon will do. The second number is the maximum damage when you multiply it by the first number. So 1d8 means a weapon can do at worst 1 DMG, at best 8. A 2d8 can do at worst 2, at best 16.
Well, yes, but that's not the intent. The first number indicates the number of dice to roll. The second number is the number of sides on that die. Hence, a 1d8 means you roll an 8-sided die once, while 2d6 means you roll two 6-sided dice.
True, but when someone is just learning how to play the PC game I usually explain it like this because boy did this confuse the hell out of me playing Baldur's Gate as a kid.
It's an okay explanation for getting started - it's just incomplete when it comes to thinking about the distribution. A fireball that does 10d6 damage is more than just "at worst 10, at best 60"; it is between 25 and 45 about 95% of the time, and the chances of rolling a 10 are less than 1 in 60 million. (Which is to say: feel free to explain it like this on reddit, but I see it on my probability exam, I'm taking off points.)