# Talk:Damage
I'm not totally sure we need a page like this, but it seemed to be in demand, so I created it.  It's definitely in need of work.  It might be worthwhile/fun to make a list of everything that can deal damage, but then again it might not.  --Andronikus 20:41, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Question about damage
I've always wondered, see, this weapon does 2d3. This other weapon does 5d4. What's the difference? What do 2d3 and 5d4 mean? I mean what does the d mean and what do the the numbers mean? If this page explains this it would be helpfull to an extreme level!--—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.180.83.13 (talk • contribs) .

Some examples:
1d6 - imagine a 6-sided dice, and roll it once = You'll get results 1 - 6 
4d6 - roll a 6-sided dice four times, and count the results together = You'll get results from 4 to 24 
5d4 - roll a four-sided dice five times = The results will be from 5 to 20 
2d3 - a three-sided dice rolled two times will return numbers 2 - 6 
So the second number is number of sides, and the first number is how many times you roll the dice.
84.47.1.51 14:04, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

It's also worth mentioning that throwing many small dice is not the same as throwing one big die.  A single big die can give any roll with equal probability; but 5d4, for example, will give many rolls of 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 and very few rolls of 5 or 20.  Rolling many dice approximates a normal distribution or "bell curve".--Ray Chason 14:24, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
Simplified damage calculation
I appreciate that the damage calculations in Nethack can be very complicated.  Often, however, the calculation is pretty simple.  I'd like to see a section describing the damage calculation with the common modifiers (weapon base damage, skill level, erosion, enchantment, strength) and mere disclaimers about things that make the calculation occasionally inaccurate (silver bonuses, blessed bonuses, artifact bonuses, damage doubling, back-stab damage, monsters' status effects, dual wielding, having 4 arms, encumbrance....)
I would personally find this handy for solving three common problems I'm faced with:

Establishing the enchantment of my weapons by observing the damage that I do
Safely attacking tough monsters without risking killing them outright (as a pacifist, as a protection racketeer, to avoid murder, etc)
Choosing a suitable weapon for mid-game from the available options I found during the early-game
Thefifthsetpin 00:56, 16 December 2011 (UTC)