Combat Statistics Several fundamental statistics determine how well you do in combat. This section summarizes these statistics, and the following sections detail how to use them. Attack Roll When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. If your result equals the target’s AC or better, you hit and deal damage. Lots of modifiers affect the attack roll, such as a +1 bonus if you have Weapon Focus with that weapon, a +1 bonus if you’re using a masterwork weapon, a +1 morale bonus if you’re the recipient of a bless spell, a +2 bonus if your opponent is stunned, and so forth. Attack Bonus Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is: Strength modifier + size modifier With a ranged weapon, your attack bonus is: Dexterity modifier + size modifier + range penalty Strength Modifier: Strength helps you swing a weapon harder and faster, so your Strength modifier applies to melee attack rolls. Dexterity Modifier: Since Dexterity measures coordination and steadiness, your Dexterity modifier applies to attacks with ranged weapons. Size Modifier: The smaller you are, the bigger other creatures are relative to you. A human is a big target to a halfling, just as an ogre is a big target to a human. Since this same size modifier applies to AC, two creatures of the same size strike each other normally, regardless of what size they actually are. Size modifiers are as follows: Colossal –8, Gargantuan –4, Huge –2, Large –1, Medium-size +0, Small +1, Tiny +2, Diminutive +4, Fine +8. Range Penalty: The range penalty with a ranged weapon depends on what weapon you’re using and how far away the target is. All ranged weapons have a range increment, such as 10 feet for a thrown dagger or 120 feet for a heavy crossbow (see the weapons table). Any attack from a distance of less than one range increment is not penalized for range, so an arrow from a shortbow (range increment 60 feet) can strike at enemies up to 59 feet away with no penalty. However, each full range increment causes a cumulative –2 penalty to the attack roll. A shortbow archer firing at a target 200 feet away suffers a –6 attack penalty (because 200 feet is at least three range increments but not four increments). Thrown weapons, such as throwing axes, have a maximum range of five range increments. Projectile weapons, such as bows, can shoot up to ten increments. Damage When you hit with a weapon, you deal damage according to the type of weapon (see the weapons table). Unarmed strikes and the natural physical attack forms of creatures are considered to deal weapon damage for the purposes of effects that give you a bonus to weapon damage. Minimum Weapon Damage: If penalties to damage bring the damage result below 1, a hit still deals 1 point of damage. Strength Bonus: When you hit with a weapon, you also add your Strength modifier to damage with melee and thrown weapons. If you have a Strength penalty (not a bonus), apply it to damage you deal with bows and slings. Apply neither a Strength bonus nor a Strength penalty to damage from a crossbow. If you have a Strength bonus (not a penalty), you sometimes add more than or less than the bonus: Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only one-half of your Strength bonus. Wielding a Weapon Two-Handed: When you deal damage with a weapon that you are wielding two-handed, you add one and one half times your Strength bonus. Light weapons don’t get this higher Strength bonus when used twohanded. Multiplying Damage: Sometimes you multiply damage by some factor, such as when you score a critical hit. Roll the damage (with all modifiers) multiple times and total the results. Note: When you multiply damage more than once, each multiplier works off the original, unmultiplied damage (see Multiplying). Exception: Bonus damage represented as extra dice, such as from a sneak attack or a flaming sword, is not multiplied when you score a critical hit. For example, Krusk the half-orc barbarian gets a +3 bonus to damage when using a longsword, a +4 bonus to damage when using a greataxe (two-handed), and a +1 bonus to damage when using a weapon in his off hand. His critical multiplier with a greataxe is x3, so if he scored a critical hit, he would roll 1d12+4 points of damage three times (the same as rolling 3d12+12). Ability Score Damage: Certain creatures and magical effects can cause temporary ability damage (a reduction to an ability score). The Dungeon Master has details on ability damage. Armor Class (AC) Your Armor Class (AC) represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on you. It’s the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit you. The average, unarmored peasant has an AC of 10. Your AC is is equal to the following: (1d20 with the bot, or 10 when calculating AC) + armor bonus + shield bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier Armor and Shield Bonuses: Your armor and shield each provide a bonus to your AC. This bonus represents their ability to protect you from blows. Dexterity Modifier: If your Dexterity is high, you are particularly adept at dodging blows. If your Dexterity is low, you are particularly inept at it. That’s why you apply your Dexterity modifier to your AC. Note that armor limits your Dexterity bonus, so if you’re wearing armor you might not be able to apply your whole Dexterity bonus to your AC (see the armor table). Sometimes you can’t use your Dexterity bonus (if you have one). The AC bonus you get for a high Dexterity represents your ability to dodge incoming attacks. If you can’t react to a blow, you can’t use your Dexterity bonus on AC. (If you don’t have a Dexterity bonus, nothing happens.) You lose your Dexterity bonus when, for example, an invisible opponent attacks you, you’re hanging on for dear life to the face of a crumbling cliff high above a river of lava, or you’re caught flat-footed at the beginning of a combat. Size Modifier: The bigger a creature is, the easier it is to hit in combat. The smaller it is, the harder it is to hit. Since this same modifier applies to attack rolls, a halfling, for example, doesn’t have a hard time hitting another halfling. Size modifiers are as follows: Colossal –8, Gargantuan –4, Huge –2, Large –1, Medium-size +0, Small +1, Tiny +2, Diminutive +4, Fine +8. Other Modifiers: Many other factors add to your AC: Dodge Feat: The Dodge feat improves your AC by +1 against a single opponent. Enhancement Bonuses: Enhancement effects make your armor better (+1 chainmail, +2 large shield, etc.). Deflection Bonus: Magical deflection effects ward off attacks and improve your AC. Natural Armor: Natural armor improves your AC. (Members of the common races don’t have natural armor, which usually consists of scales, fur, or layers of huge muscles. You might get natural armor from a magic item or from the druid spell barkskin.) Dodge Bonuses: Some other AC bonuses represent actively avoiding blows, such as the dwarf’s AC bonus against giants or the AC bonus for fighting defensively. These bonuses are called dodge bonuses. Any situation that denies you your Dexterity bonus also denies you dodge bonuses. (Wearing armor, however, does not limit these bonuses the way it limits a Dexterity bonus to AC.) Unlike most sorts of bonuses, dodge bonuses stack with each other. A dwarf’s +4 AC bonus against giants and his +2 AC bonus for fighting defensively combine to give him a +6 bonus. Touch Attacks: Some attacks disregard armor, including shields and natural armor. For example, a wizard’s touch with a shocking grasp spell hurts you regardless of what armor you’re wearing or how thick your skin happens to be. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either a ranged touch attack roll or a melee touch attack roll). The attacker makes her attack roll as normal, but your AC does not include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. Your size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) all apply normally. For example, if a sorcerer tries to touch Tordek with a shocking grasp spell, Tordek gets his +1 Dexterity bonus, but not his +4 armor bonus for his scale mail or his +2 shield bonus for his large wooden shield. His AC is only 11 against a touch attack. Hit Points Your hit points tell you how much punishment you can take before dropping. Your hit points are based on your class and level and are modified by your Constitution modifier. Most monsters’ hit points are based on their type, though some monsters have class and level, too. (Watch out for the medusa sorcerers.) When your hit point total reaches 0, you’re disabled. When it reaches –1, you’re dying. When it gets to –10, your problems are over—you’re dead (see Injury and Death). Speed Your speed tells you how far you can move in a round and still do something, such as attack or cast a spell. Your speed depends mostly on your race and what armor you’re wearing. Dwarves, gnomes, and halflings move 20 feet, or 15 feet when wearing medium or heavy armor. Humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs move 30 feet, or 20 feet when wearing medium or heavy armor. If you take a double move action in a round, you can move up to double your normal speed. If you run all out, you can move up to quadruple your normal speed (or triple if you are in heavy armor). Saving Throws As an adventurer, you have more to worry about than taking damage. You also have to face the petrifying gaze of the medusa, the wyvern’s lethal venom, and the harpy’s compelling song. Luckily, a tough adventurer can survive these threats, too. Generally, when you are subject to an unusual or magical attack, you get a saving throw to avoid or reduce the effect. Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class, level, and an ability score. Your saving throw bonus is: Base save bonus + ability modifier Saving Throw Types: The three different kinds of saving throws are these: Fortitude: These saves measure your ability to stand up to massive physical punishment or attacks against your vitality and health such as poison, paralysis, and magic that causes instant death. Apply your Constitution modifier to your Fortitude saving throws. Fortitude saves can be made against attacks or effects such as poison, disease, paralysis, petrification, energy drain, destruction, and disintegrate. Reflex: These saves test your ability to dodge massive attacks such as a wizard’s fireball or the lethal breath of a dragon. Apply your Dexterity modifier to your Reflex saving throws. Reflex saves can be made against attacks or effects such as pit traps, catching on fire, fireball, lightning bolt, and red dragon breath. Will: These saves reflect your resistance to mental influence and domination as well as many magical effects. Apply your Wisdom modifier to your Will saving throws. Will saves can be made against attacks or effects such as charm person, hold person, polymotph other, and most illusion spells. Saving Throw Difficulty Class: The DC for a save is determined by the attack itself. Two examples: A Medium-size monstrous centipede’s poison allows a Fortitude save against DC 11. An ancient red dragon’s fiery breath allows a Reflex save against DC 35. |