New comer needs help

I am a new adventurer of no basics. Someone can tell me what this xdx+x is? What is a 6d6 damage? Thanks you!

[Memnoch]

6d6 is a way of calculating numbers (damage, etc) in AD&D. The first number is the number of times you roll a dice, and the second number (after the d) is the no. of sides of the dice used.

So the above would mean that you would roll a 6-sided dice 6 times to arrive at a damage figure. The damage range would be 6-36.

If the notation was 1d8+2, this would mean that you roll an 8-sided dice ONCE, then add 2 to the total. The range would then be 3-10.

Thanks. It helped a lot. Now I know what the heck my party is doing.

Is it that the combination of THACHO and AC gives you the chance of making a successful attack while the degree of damage of the attack is determined by the xdx+x? I know that a roll of 20 is a criticle hit and 0, criticle miss. What about the number in between? Does it count towards the damage?

Thanks

[Memnoch]

Think of it this way:

THACO - opponent AC = number you need to hit your opponent

So if your THACO was 15 and your opponent's AC was 0, you would need 15 - which is why the THACO number is 15!! If your opponent's AC was 4, you would need 15 - 4 = 11.

The only time your to-hit roll affects damage is when you roll a natural 20 (also known as a critical hit). In this case you ALWAYS hit your opponent, and damage is doubled before any modifiers are added.

In all other cases to-hit rolls do not influence damage.