Dice rolls: Difference between revisions

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Dice rolls (edit)

Revision as of 14:01, 22 January 2023

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For example, a successful hit with a [[Dagger]] will lead to a d4 being rolled to determine the damage (referred to as 1d4 damage), whereas a successful attack with a [[Greatsword]] will lead to two d6 being rolled (referred to as 2d6) for a total damage of 2 to 12.  Being caught in a [[Fireball]] will cause 8d6 points of damage, though a successful Saving Throw (see below) can reduce it to half.
For example, a successful hit with a [[Dagger]] will lead to a d4 being rolled to determine the damage (referred to as 1d4 damage), whereas a successful attack with a [[Greatsword]] will lead to two d6 being rolled (referred to as 2d6) for a total damage of 2 to 12.  Being caught in a [[Fireball]] will cause 8d6 points of damage, though a successful Saving Throw (see below) can reduce it to half.


For attacks made with weapons, the total value resulting from the roll is affected by the attacking creature's [[#Ability Score Modifier|Ability Score Modifier]] and [[#Proficiency Bonus|Proficiency Bonus]].  For the damage of spell attacks, no such bonuses apply.
For attacks made with weapons, the total value resulting from the roll is affected by the attacking creature's [[#Ability Score Modifier|Ability Score Modifier]] and [[#Proficiency Bonus|Proficiency Bonus]].  For the damage of spell attacks, no such modifiers apply.
 
==== A bit of Mathematics ====
 
Note that due to the mathematics of dice rolls, the difference between, say, 1d8 and 2d4 is more than just the higher minimum value of 2 on the 2d4 roll.  With the d8, you have an equal chance of getting, say, a 5 and an 8.  On the other hand, the 2d4 roll is statistically more likely to lead to a total value of 5, than a total value of 8.  This is most easily explained with a table of all possible outcomes:
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 30%; text-align: center;"
|+ Possible results of a 2d4 roll, highlighting the number of possibilities resulting in a total value of 5
|-
! First roll !! Second roll !! Total value
|-
| 1 || 1 || 2
|-   
| 1 || 2 || 3
|-   
| 1 || 3 || 4
|-   
| 1 || 4 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
|-   
| 2 || 1 || 3
|-   
| 2 || 2 || 4
|-   
| 2 || 3 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
|-   
| 2 || 4 || 6
|-   
| 3 || 1 || 4
|-   
| 3 || 2 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
|-   
| 3 || 3 || 6
|-   
| 3 || 4 || 7
|-   
| 4 || 1 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
|-   
| 4 || 2 || 6
|-   
| 4 || 3 || 7
|-   
| 4 || 4 || 8
|}
 
Notice how often the 5 appears in the possibilities for the '''total value''' (4 out of 16 possibilities) vs. how often the 8 appears (1 out of 16).  This means a 2d4 roll has a 25% chance of resulting in 5 points of damage, but only a 6.125% chance of resulting in 8 points of damage.  Meanwhile, the 1d8 roll actually has a higher chance of resulting in the maximum damage value of 8, since 1 out of 8 possibilities (12.5%) result in an 8.


=== Saving Throw ===
=== Saving Throw ===
Retrieved from "https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/6712"

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