My first D&D-style game ever! Need help!!

brkl · Post by **brkl** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 9:43 pm

Perhaps I'm just lame, and my college education was worth squat

, but could someone tell me what 1D8 means?
1=?
D=damage
8=?

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:17 am

In P&P (Pen and Paper) D&D, To Hit, Damage, etc. are determined by die rolls. Several different dice are used - 4-sided, 6-sided, etc. So, 1d8 = 1 roll of an 8-sided die.

brkl · Post by **brkl** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:58 am

So, does this equal the total damage done if, that is, I succesfully hit?

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 1:05 am

Nope - the total damage varies, depending on the die roll (random number generated by the computer).

On 1d8, you can inflict anywhere from 1 to 8 damage.

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Sat Apr 27, 2002 4:44 am

But you can do extra damage if you have an higer strenght or by using some items.

Good luck!

Willa_Ly · Post by **Willa_Ly** » Sat May 04, 2002 5:27 am

1d8. The first one is how many, "d" means dice and 8 means of eight sides. So it is actually short for "one dice of eight." (rolling one, eight sided die)

JackOfClubs · Post by **JackOfClubs** » Mon May 06, 2002 1:10 pm

To clarify: 1d8 means a random number between 1 and 8 with an even chance of getting any of the possible values = 1/8.

Contrast this with 2d4 which means 2 rolls of a 4-sided die. The maximum damage is the same (8) but the odds of getting it are much lower. Since you have to roll 4 out of 4 twice in a row, the odds are 1/4 * 1/4 = 1/16.

Of course, the odds of getting the minimum roll is the same and you have a much better chance of getting a mediocre roll of 5 (4/16) so this is often the better choice overall. For instance, a Bastard Sword, which does 2d4, is more expensive than a Long Sword which does 1d8.

Hope this helps and doesn't just add to the confusion.

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Tue May 07, 2002 2:01 am

Originally posted by JackOfClubs
To clarify: 1d8 means a random number between 1 and 8 with an even chance of getting any of the possible values = 1/8.

Contrast this with 2d4 which means 2 rolls of a 4-sided die. The maximum damage is the same (8) but the odds of getting it are much lower. Since you have to roll 4 out of 4 twice in a row, the odds are 1/4 * 1/4 = 1/16.

Of course, the odds of getting the minimum roll is the same and you have a much better chance of getting a mediocre roll of 5 (4/16) so this is often the better choice overall. For instance, a Bastard Sword, which does 2d4, is more expensive than a Long Sword which does 1d8.

Hope this helps and doesn't just add to the confusion.

It even get's me confused,

The most easyest was is to add the lowes posible damage to the maximum damage and devide that by 2 for the avarage dame.

Longsword(1d8): 1+8=9 -> 9/2=4.5
Basterdsword(2d4): 2+8=10 -> 10/2=5
Longsword+2(1d8+2): 3+10=13 -> 13/2=6.5
etc.