Ack (help figuring out weapon bonuses)

[Wootz]

I've been playing 4e (well, D&D in whole) for only a few months now, also with a bunch of beginners, so if I sound ignorant blame it on my noobishness.

Anyways, I've been trying to figure out how 2d4 is somehow better than 1d8, until I read about magic weapons. So a +2 longsword adds +2 to attack and damage rolls, but I was wondering if the +2 adds to each individual d4, or the whole thing?


Yes, I already googled it, and ended up with more confusing answers (if a weapon crit deals an extra d12, for example, a +5 weapon would add 5d12 worth of damage to the normal attack power. This seems like a little...much)

 

[Dracorat]

Welcome to D&D!

2D4 means to roll two 4-sided dice.

2D4 + 2 would be to roll two 4 sided dice, then add two points to the result.

A few things you mentioned...

2D4 is better than 1D8 primarily because you cannot roll a result of "1". Some people also like the consistency of damage (when you add more dice, you get more midrange results) but some people miss the excitement of having the extremes pop up more often ("1" and "8" in this case)

Magic weapons give you their plusses to the result - they do not add more physical dice.

In 4E a crit does not add damage (usually) - it instead means the person just hit for the maximum possible (normal) damage and that's it.

Playing the game wrong, especially with new people, is OK as long as you're having fun, bit I do encourage you to try to get more rules "right" as you can.

In the beginning of the PHB, they talk about dice and how to read dice rolls, I do encourage you to check that section again.

 

[mach1.9pants]

No, I ma afraid the 2d4 is one damage roll, so only one +2. 2d4 is better than a 1d8 because the minimum is 2 (rather than 1) and the average is 5 (rather than 4.5)

 

[logopolis]

Anyways, I've been trying to figure out how 2d4 is somehow better than 1d8, until I read about magic weapons. So a +2 longsword adds +2 to attack and damage rolls, but I was wondering if the +2 adds to each individual d4, or the whole thing?

No, a +2 weapon deals +2 damage on top of the total damage, not per die.

A 2d4 damage weapon is slightly better than a 1d8 damage weapon because the expected amount of damage it does is a bit better -- the average damage with a 1d8 damage weapon is 4.5, and the average damage with a 2d4 damage weapon is 5.

Yes, I already googled it, and ended up with more confusing answers (if a weapon crit deals an extra d12, for example, a +5 weapon would add 5d12 worth of damage to the normal attack power. This seems like a little...much)

Most magic weapons deal maximum damage on a critical, plus one die of damage (usually d6) per weapon "plus". So, a crit with +5 longsword will do 13 damage, plus the standard strength/feat bonuses, plus 5d6 damage.

 

[Wootz]

Welcome to D&D!

2D4 means to roll two 4-sided dice.

2D4 + 2 would be to roll two 4 sided dice, then add two points to the result.

A few things you mentioned...

2D4 is better than 1D8 primarily because you cannot roll a result of "1". Some people also like the consistency of damage (when you add more dice, you get more midrange results) but some people miss the excitement of having the extremes pop up more often ("1" and "8" in this case)

Magic weapons give you their plusses to the result - they do not add more physical dice.

In 4E a crit does not add damage (usually) - it instead means the person just hit for the maximum possible (normal) damage and that's it.

Playing the game wrong, especially with new people, is OK as long as you're having fun, bit I do encourage you to try to get more rules "right" as you can.

In the beginning of the PHB, they talk about dice and how to read dice rolls, I do encourage you to check that section again.

Thanks! I see now how that makes sense. I understood that they meant a weapon with the "high crit" property and stuff, but the bonus thing after that made no sense. I spent a long time reading the PHB but it's so confusingly organized (I kept seeing [W] pop up, but wasn't explained it till way later) it took several read-throughs to understand. Thanks for explaining!

 

[CovertOps]

Magic weapons give you their plusses to the result - they do not add more physical dice.

In 4E a crit does not add damage (usually) - it instead means the person just hit for the maximum possible (normal) damage and that's it.

This is incorrect. Magic weapons do extra damage on a crit. I do not have the books in front of me, but you get an extra d? per plus of the weapon. There is a standard die type (d8?), but some magic weapons specify that they use a different die type (d12 or d6). The OP said that a +5 weapon would do an extra 5d12 damage which is correct for SOME weapons. The magic weapon entry would have to specify that it does d12's on a crit. Check the PHB for weapons that do this.

 

[Dracorat]

This is incorrect. Magic weapons do extra damage on a crit. I do not have the books in front of me, but you get an extra d? per plus of the weapon. There is a standard die type (d8?), but some magic weapons specify that they use a different die type (d12 or d6). The OP said that a +5 weapon would do an extra 5d12 damage which is correct for SOME weapons. The magic weapon entry would have to specify that it does d12's on a crit. Check the PHB for weapons that do this.

Thanks! I just found supporting evidence for your statement on page 225.

My players are going to be happy.

(And to the OP - even us "old dogs" sometimes get even these things wrong )