Real Newbie Question

[Sharkannon]

Ok I've never played D&D before playing IWD though I do know some of the rules, and have learned even more... but the thing is I still can't figure out what the 1d8 or 2d4 etc means on weapon damage.. does it mean you roll 1 dice with 8 sides or 2 with 4? basically making them the same... or what???

Thanks

I also forgot about dual wielding.. I have a group consisting of:
Paladin Level 11
Halberds ++
Great Swords ++
Large Swords ++
Small Swords +

Fighter Level 12
Axes +
Great Swords ++
Large Swords ++++ (I screwed up meant to put the 4th one in great swords)
Small Swords +

Ranger Level 11
Bows ++
Great Swords ++
Large Swords ++

Thief Level 14
Bows +
Missle +
Dagger +
Large Swords +
Small Swords +

Invoker Level 12 and Cleric Level 12

I've noticed my Ranger is just about as good as my warrior.. I mainly use her for Long range attacks.. The real newbie thing I did was.. I forgot about dual wield.. How do you equip a second weapon for dual wield?? I can't seem to figure that part out. (Prolly really easy.. but I'm at work right now and don't have the game here.. I don't have the manual for the game)

[ 07-08-2002, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: Sharkannon ]

[TheGrandSlayer]

1d8 and 1d4 are how much damage they do not adding your caracter's proficency (sp?)

[Sharkannon]

I understand they are how much damage, but how do you compair them? 1d8 vs say 2d4 or something like that. I am just curious, so I know what is a better weapon, and why [img]smile.gif[/img]

[StarVid]

The dual wield in IWD is kind fake. What you have to do is have a one handed weapon equipped and nothing in your shield slot and you get an extra attack.

As for the 1d8 and 2d4, these are used for random ranges of numbers. the number after the "d" stands for the kind of dice you would roll (d4 is 4 sided, d6 is six sided, d12 is 12 sided, etc.) and the number before the "d" is how many times you roll the dice.

For example:

1d8, roll an 8-sided dice 1 time
2d4, roll a 4-sided dice 2 times
5d6, roll a 6-sided dice 5 times

As for what is better, all you have to do is do the math.

For example:

My paladin is specialized in long swords and maces/morningstars, so she has equal skill in both. The long sword does 1d8 points of damage and the morning star does 2d4 points of damage, which weapon should I pick? Well the by rolling an 8-sided dice once, I can do anywhere's from 1-8 points of damage with a long sword. However, with the morning star, rolling 2 4-sided dice my damage range is 2-8. Therefore the morningstar is slightly better as it has a higher minimum damage.

I hope this explains the "d" system. This is actually the most common question among people who have never played D&D before.

[Sharkannon]

Perfect, that's what I wanted to know [img]smile.gif[/img] I kinda figured it was something like that knowing a little about D&D, but wasn't 100% sure.. thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Korwar Ironshaft]

You can make the comparison as difficult as you like. How detailed do you wanna be?

2d4 produces numbers that range from 2 to 8, with an average value of 5. It will get you an 8 only 1/16 of the time.

1d8 produces numbers that range from 1 to 8, with an average value of 4.5. It will get you an 8 about 1/8 of the time (twice as often as 2d4 will!)

For some of us, the statistical comparison is fun, but for most, it won't really add to any strategic advantage, and turns the "fun" into "work."

[--Twilight--]

Hello,
StarVid is right: the dual weapon wielding is fake, big time! One handed weapon and only that by a ranger = more attacks. It's a shame, because if you ever try-out REAL dual wielding in Baldur's Gate 2, then you will really, really, really wish for it in IWD. IWD2 had BETTER have it!!!! You don't have to use it, but its really cool (my favorite in BG2 - especially since you could gain any special abilities from either weapon).

- Twilight

[fiery_death_penguin1989]

underneath the screen name(on this website) how do you change the elite waterdeep guard, and dungeon master stuff!?

[Cyril Darkcloud]

FDPenguin, the avatars that you see underneath screen names are assigned to users based upon their number of posts. For example, once your post total here at IW reaches 49 your avatar will change from Elite Waterdeep Guard to Dungeon Master.

As Ziroc, our webmaster, adds new ranks and avatars from time to time there is no definitive list of how ranks and posts go together. But, if you'd like to see an approximate listing of the different ranks, you can find it here