ok, i just viewed the post about THAC0 and now im wondering how do you determine how much damage you do?

lets say i have a fighter with a bastard sword 1d4
with an 18 strength

another question, bastard swords do 1d4 great swords do (i think) 1d8, what does that mean?

<font color=silver>Numbers such as 1d8 or 1d10 are taken from the pen and paper version of D&D in which dice are rolled to determine damage. 1d10, for example means that one 10-sided die is rolled when a hit is scored to determine base damage from a weapon. 1d10 then means a random number from 1-10.

Different weapons use different dice to generate damag, with larger weapons generally doing more damage. For example:

dagger [very small] - 1d4
short sword [small] - 1d6
long sword [large] - 1d8
great sword [largest] - 1d10

In addition to the base damage of the weapon, magical enchantments or great strength can add bonus points of damage to the total.

For example a longsword +2 will do 1d8 + 2 points of damage on a successful hit.

The same sword being wielded by a fighter with high strength, say 18/95, will do 1d8 [base damage] + 2 [for magic] + 5 [strength bonus] on a successful hit.</font>

Well done Cyril. I've seen this explained in much more complicated ways that probably left the original poster more confused than before.

Malavon: THACO is a role on a 1d20. If you don't make that role, you won't do any damage whatsoever, regardless of weapon or damage bonuses.

cyril...you're my new best friend

peytin? you're from PA? Me too.

Bethlehem---Christmas City U.S.A

More tacky decorations on every other house than you can possibly imagine!

Just another thing to clarify that i think was left out; if a weapon ahs damage of 2d4 like the bastard sword that means it has rolls for 4, meaning damage somewhere between 2-8.