Which is better: 2d4 or 1d8?

Thanks

2d4 will give you damage ranging from 2-8, 1d8 ranges from 1-8. If you're choosing a weapon, however, there are other things to take into account (speed factor, for instance).

2d4 means 5 in average
1d8 means 4.5 (average)

question about speed,...!?!?

is the greater the speed factor slower the weapon, or the other way round?

2d4 does:

2, 3, 4, 5
3, 4, 5, 6
4, 5, 6, 7
5, 6, 7, 8

look, it deals out
dmg 5: 25%
dmg 4 or 6: 3/16 each
dmg 3 or 7: 12.5% each
dmg 1 or 8: 1/16 each

in case of 1d8, it does dmg:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

with equal chance each: 12.5%

in long run, average dmg matters, and 2d4 deals out more average dmg and more chances of average dmg, so 2d4 is better

err,...how about speed factor?

is it the geater the number the faster weapon use? or vice versus?

The lower the better.

The higher the number on the speed factor, the slower the weapon. It may be counter-intuitive, but just compare the speed factors of the dagger with the two-handed sword, and you can pretty much figure it out.

Also, certain weapon styles, as well as certain levels of mastery give bonuses to speed (which actually reduce it). One of the great mysteries is why the combat system in D&D indicates a bonus by assigning a + and a number, which actually subtracts from rolls (Thac0, Saving Throws, AC, etc.), whereas negative assignments (penalties) add to the number. It is definitely a counter-intuitive system, which is why it was revamped in 3rd edition rules.

IMPORTANT !!!!
Speedfactor, does NOT affect attacks/round !!
Speedfactor is used to determine who has the initiative in the first fighting round, i'm not aware of any other uses.
Not that im saying you didnt know that, but it's a common mistake [img]smile.gif[/img]