Most melee attacks, weapon attacks, and natural attacks use a single Main Damage Die.
The Main Damage Die represents the actual strike: the blade, claw, bite, club, fist, horn, or impact.
Damage Type | Die | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Light Damage | 1d6 | dagger, knife, rat bite, small claw |
Standard Damage | 1d8-1d10 | sword, spear, mace, wolf bite, large claw |
Heavy Damage | 1d12 | battle axe, greatsword, cave bear claw, ogre club |
A Main Damage Die is always a single die.
For example:
a dagger deals 1d6 Light Damage
a rat bite deals 1d6 Light Damage
a sword deals 1d8 or 1d10 (with two hands) Standard Damage
a cave bear claw deals 1d12 Heavy Natural Damage
a battle axe deals 1d12 Heavy Weapon Damage
If the Main Damage Die rolls a 1, the attack misses.
A miss deals no damage.
If the attack misses, no Special Damage or additional effect occurs.
Some creatures, weapons, or features may change this rule. For example, a creature may not miss on a 1, or a clumsy creature may miss on a 1–2.
If the Main Damage Die rolls its maximum value, the attack is a critical hit.
When an attack crits, roll the Main Damage Die one additional time and add it to the damage.
This extra die is rolled only once unless a feature says otherwise.
Examples:
a 1d6 attack crits on a 6
a 1d8 attack crits on an 8
a 1d12 attack crits on a 12
Some creatures, weapons, or features may change this rule. For example, a weapon may explode more than once, or a monster may have a wider critical range.
Some attacks deal Special Damage in addition to their Main Damage.
Special Damage represents an added effect such as:
blood drain
poison
fire
frost
acid
holy power
necrotic force
tearing flesh
venom
disease
corruption
Special Damage is not part of the Main Damage Die.
Special Damage is rolled only after the Main Damage succeeds.
If the Main Damage misses, the Special Damage does not happen.
Special Damage does not miss.
Special Damage does not crit.
Special Damage does not add an ability modifier unless a feature specifically says otherwise.
When an attack lists Special Damage, resolve the Main Damage first.
If the Main Damage hits or crits, roll the Special Damage and apply its effect.
If the Main Damage misses, do not roll Special Damage.
Only the Main Damage Die determines whether the attack misses or crits.
A vampire bite deals:
1d8 + STR piercing damage
plus
1d8 blood drain
The 1d8 piercing damage is the Main Damage Die.
The 1d8 blood drain is Special Damage.
If the vampire’s bite rolls a 1 on the Main Damage Die, the attack misses. No piercing damage is dealt, and no blood is drained.
If the bite hits, the vampire deals:
1d8 + STR piercing damage
plus
1d8 blood drain
The blood drain is rolled after the bite hits. It does not crit, and no ability modifier is added to it.
If the bite crits, the vampire deals:
1d8 + 1d8 + STR piercing damage
plus
1d8 blood drain
The blood drain still happens, but it does not explode.