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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Someone" data-source="post: 2304232" data-attributes="member: 5656">I see, I should have explained myself better.If you want to calculate the actual damage you´re doing per attack (not per hit!) you multiply the average damage and the probability of said attack hitting. It´s a better way to compare what attack is more efficient, since the average damage alone ignores the chances to hit (using only average damage, we get that the best strategy is "all power attack, all the time") Thus, the numbers I ran;In the first case (-5 to hit, ), you said that the probability of a fail was 30%, or the same thing, an attack has a 70% chance of hitting. Therefore, the average damage per attack is 29*(70/100)=20.3Same procedure for the second, we get an average per attack of 18,05Obviously, nobody deals 20.3 points of damage. That, or more exactly, a number close to that, would be what you get if you attack a target many, many times and divide the total damage by the number of attacks. But making a single whirlwind, you don´t get 20.3 damage: you either do more or less 29 (if you hit) or you do zero (if you fail). What the numbers tell us is two things: on average, playing the same character many times, power attack is good, but makes not a difference so big as a glancing look at the numbers ("wow, a +10 to damage!") may say. In our example, the difference is only of two points. Often, when your average damage is 19 or better, it´s rare to find a situation where power attack is useful, unless your to hit bonus is very high and the opponents AC is very low or it can´t defend itself at all.Another matter is when you´re actually attacking a large number of goblyns. You have to options: using power attack, with a 70% chance of hitting, will likely end with some goblyns very hurt and others unhurt. Not power attacking will end in, most likey, all of them moderately hurt. The second situation can be actually better than the first, if you or your friend have Great Cleave and can deal enough damage to finish those moderately wounded.</blockquote>

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