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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. |
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| 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. |
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| ==== A bit of Mathematics ====
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| 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:
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| {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 30%; text-align: center;"
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| |+ Possible results of a 2d4 roll, highlighting the number of possibilities resulting in a total value of 5
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| ! First roll !! Second roll !! Total value
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| | 1 || 1 || 2
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| | 1 || 2 || 3
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| | 1 || 3 || 4
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| | 1 || 4 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
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| |-
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| | 2 || 1 || 3
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| |-
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| | 2 || 2 || 4
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| | 2 || 3 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
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| |-
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| | 2 || 4 || 6
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| | 3 || 1 || 4
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| | 3 || 2 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
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| | 3 || 3 || 6
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| | 3 || 4 || 7
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| | 4 || 1 || {{color|red|'''5'''}}
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| | 4 || 2 || 6
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| |-
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| | 4 || 3 || 7
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| | 4 || 4 || 8
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| |}
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| 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.
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| === Saving Throw === | | === Saving Throw === |
