Damage calculation

[RandomOG]

Can anyone point me to a discussion of how to calculate damage with various weapons in Avernum 5, melee and bows, or tell me the formula. I can't seem to find one with the fairly basic search facilities.

 

I know Avernum 4 had different base damage for different weapon types in addition to the numbers of hit dice quoted and also that the character's skills didn't simply raise hit dice by 1 per point, so the question isn't trivial

 

Thanks

 

Randomiser

 

(With an S not with a Z like Ms Minelli )

[Aoslare]

I wrote this

 

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=191189Post191189

 

about Avernum 6, but I believe it is exactly the same for Avernum 4 and 5.

[RandomOG]

Thanks Slarties

 

How does Magery fit into the picture?

 

Otherwise I think I understand but the thread is a bit confusing when you say

Average Damage for Weapons = Base Damage + (Weapon Multiplier * Attack Bonus * 0.75)

and Dantius then goes on to define base damage in an odd way. I guess you mean the base damage is the average damage done by the weapon without taking into consideration the bonus from the character's stats.

 

Really it seems to be a fairly simple Hit Dice based system where you get a specified number of dice of a specific size from the weapon and 0.75 dice of the same size from each point in the relevant stats. It seems lots of the difficulty in defining the numbers arises from trying to discuss the subject without mentioning hit dice.

 

E.G A steel spear is 11-33 which is to say 11D3. Average throw on a D3 is 2 So base damage is 11*2=22 You get an extra 0.75D3 for each point in Dex, Thrown Weapons and Sharpshooter. Say total is 18, then bonus comes to 18*0.75*2=27. Total damage=22+27 = 49. Fairly easy as I say, but only if you actually think about hit dice, otherwise you wonder where all these magic numbers come from.

[Alorael at Large]

Each point of spell level, Spellcraft, or Magery adds one to the Spell Power in the formula.

 

—Alorael, who agrees that it's a simple system. It's just also completely opaque unless you do the testing to work out the formulas.

[Aoslare]

By Base Damage I mean what is listed in the item info window as "Base Damage." This is always equal to (Weapon Multiplier * Weapon Bonus Level), but people seem to have an easier time with the equations if I list it the first way. The alternative (which I myself prefer) would be:

 

Average Damage for Weapons = Weapon Multiplier * ( (Weapon Bonus * 1) + (Attack Bonus * 0.75) )

 

I also found Dantius's explanation here to be very confusing.

[RandomOG]

Yep. Kudos to those who did all the boring testing or managed to delve into the code somehow. This is stuff people always want to know - How else can you work out which weapons to give which characters? - so Jeff could save fans a lot of work by just publishing the formula in the first place.

[Erebus the Black]

Originally Posted By: Randomiser

E.G A steel spear is 11-33 which is to say 11D3. Average throw on a D3 is 2 So base damage is 11*2=22 You get an extra 0.75D3 for each point in Dex, Thrown Weapons and Sharpshooter. Say total is 18, then bonus comes to 18*0.75*2=27. Total damage=22+27 = 49. Fairly easy as I say, but only if you actually think about hit dice, otherwise you wonder where all these magic numbers come from.

You meant javelin, right? because spears are affected by Str, Spear, Quick Action and BladeMaster.

[Aoslare]

Yeah. Spears are however affected by Str, Polearms, and Blademaster -- Quick Action never affects the damage output of a hit.

[Erebus the Black]

true, but I figured you can add it as a percent average, but I see now that if you that you also need to add riposte, lethal blow and anatomy

[Mestalidd]

Originally Posted By: Randomiser

Yep. Kudos to those who did all the boring testing or managed to delve into the code somehow. This is stuff people always want to know - How else can you work out which weapons to give which characters? - so Jeff could save fans a lot of work by just publishing the formula in the first place.

But whats the fun in that?

PS : Did anyone else find that keeping your parry and defense intentionally low was a good way to maximize riptose damage output? Endurance can fix your lack of hit survivability. Or is that just general knowledge that took me forever to catch on to? Because that happens alot....

[Aoslare]

That's actually incorrect, as far as Parry goes. The game checks for Riposte BEFORE it checks for Parry, so Parry will never reduce the chance of getting a Riposte in.