ATTACK.SPO, version 1.12, for Angband 2.7.9v6 (all systems) Release Date : September 2, 1996 Written by : Stephen S. Lee (lee9@fas.harvard.edu) with the help of : Leonard Dickens (leonard@alw.nih.gov) John Lame (jlame@math.ohio-state.edu) Please notify the author of any errors (however minor) that you find. Also, it is my intention to provide complete information rather than easy-to-understand information, so this spoiler is necessarily verbose. Suggestions to improve the format of this spoiler are welcome (especially if they help make this spoiler easier to read). NOTES (1) This spoiler was written specifically for Angband version 2.7.9v6. There have been many changes in the attack system even since 2.7.8, so I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this spoiler for older versions, especially for versions older than 2.7.8. (2) The notation "XdY" indicates a number obtained by rolling an Y-sided die X times. (Thus 4d6 indicates a number from 4 to 24.) (3) Angband uses only integer arithmetic (and is hence Pentium-friendly :-). If at any time you find a decimal portion following a multplication or division operation, discard the decimal portion accordingly. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ATTACKING WITH MELEE WEAPONS | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF BLOWS PER MOVE ---------------------------------------- If your character has enough strength and dexterity, and is using a light enough weapon, he or she may be capable of hitting an opponent several times in one move. Each blow has a separate chance to hit, damage roll, etc. The number of blows your character gets per attack is dependent upon strength, dexterity, class, and the weapon wielded. It is *not* dependent on character level (as is the case in many other games). If your character is attacking with bare hands, he or she can never have more than one blow per attack. Otherwise, to find the number of blows per attack, use the following procedure. First, find the strength-weaponry index (SWI). To find this, first determine the character's adjusted strength for blows (ASB) value. The ASB equals your character's Strength, if it is below 18. Otherwise, start with the appropriate value from the following table: Strength ASB Strength ASB Strength ASB ----------- --- ------------- --- ------------- --- 3-17 * 18/70-18/79 90 18/150-18/159 170 18-18/09 20 18/80-18/89 100 18/160-18/169 180 18/10-18/19 30 18/90-18/99 110 18/170-18/179 190 18/20-18/29 40 18/100-18/109 120 18/180-18/189 200 18/30-18/39 50 18/110-18/119 130 18/190-18/199 210 18/40-18/49 60 18/120-18/129 140 18/200-18/209 220 18/50-18/59 70 18/130-18/139 150 18/210-18/219 230 18/60-18/69 80 18/140-18/149 160 18/220+ 240 Next, divide the ASB by the weight (in pounds) of the weapon currently in use. This divisor has a class-dependent minimum value, the MWW (min weapon weight) shown below; if the actual weapon weight is below the MWW, use the MWW instead. Then, multiply by a class-dependent weapon speed modifier (WSM): Class MWW WSM ----- --- --- Warrior 3.0 0.5 Mage 4.0 0.2 Priest 3.5 0.3 Rogue 3.0 0.3 Ranger 3.5 0.4 Paladin 3.0 0.4 Finally, round down to the nearest integer. This is your character's SWI. Now, index your character's Dexterity and the SWI in the following table to find how many natural blows your character gets in one combat round. Mages have a maximum of four natural blows per round, while all other classes (except warriors) have a maximum of five. Warriors alone can get a maximum of 6 natural blows/attack. | SWI (Strength-Weapon Index) Dexterity | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+ ---------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 3-9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10-18/09 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18/10-18/49 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18/50-18/69 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18/70-18/89 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18/90-18/99 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18/100-18/109 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18/110-18/119 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18/120-18/129 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 18/130-18/139 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 18/140-18/149 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18/150+ | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ---------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ Finally, some weapons magically provide extra blows when wielded. These include Weapons of Extra Attacks and the artifact weapons Careth Asdriag, Sting, Haradekket, and Gilettar. Add the blows provided by these weapons to the user's natural blows calculated above; the resulting number is the actual number of blows that character will receive with that weapon. This number is indicated on the character data screen (versions 2.7.9v3 and higher). CALCULATING MELEE COMBAT ABILITY -------------------------------- Many factors are taken into account when considering your character's skill in successfully landing a blow in hand-to-hand combat. The outline for calculating the numerical rating of this skill is as follows: base class ability + racial modifier + level modifier ------------------------------- base melee combat skill strength modifier + dexterity modifier - armor encumbrance penalty + ring bonus/penalty + gauntlets of slaying bonus + weapon modifier - heavy weapon penalty - edged weapon penalty + temporary spell bonus - stunning penalty ------------------------------- bonus to combat skill Overall melee combat skill = base melee skill + (3 * bonus to combat skill) Here follows more detail on each item in the outline: I. Calculating base melee combat skill A. Base class ability Begin with the appropriate class-based base melee combat skill from the following table: Class Base melee skill ------------ Warrior 70 Mage 34 Priest 48 Rogue 60 Ranger 56 Paladin 68 B. Racial modifier Add or subtract the appropriate race modifier from the following table: Race Melee skill modifier ------------- Human 0 Half-Elf -1 Elf -5 Hobbit -10 Gnome -8 Dwarf 15 Half-Orc 12 Half-Troll 20 Dunadan 15 High-Elf 10 C. Level modifier Finally, add the product of your character's experience level and the increase in melee combat skill per level for the appropriate class: Class Melee skill increase per level ------------- Warrior 4.5 Mage 1.5 Priest 2.0 Rogue 4.0 Ranger 3.0 Paladin 3.5 II. Calculating the bonus to combat skill The bonus to combat skill appears after "+ To Hit" on the character statistics screen. The number appearing there may be inaccurate if your character is using unidentified weapons or rings. A. Strength modifier Begin by taking the bonus to-hit corresponding to your character's strength. +to +to +to Strength hit Strength hit Strength hit ---------------- ------------------ ------------------ 3 -3 18/90-18/99 4 18/150-18/159 10 4 -2 18/100-18/109 5 18/160-18/169 11 5-6 -1 18/110-18/119 6 18/170-18/179 12 7-17 0 18/120-18/129 7 18/180-18/189 13 18-18/69 1 18/130-18/139 8 18/190-18/199 14 18/70-18/79 2 18/140-18/149 9 18/200+ 15 18/80-18/89 3 B. Dexterity modifier Add in the appropriate dexterity bonus or penalty from the following table. +to +to +to Dexterity hit Dexterity hit Dexterity hit -------------- ------------------ ------------------ 3 -3 18/50-18/89 4 18/150-18/159 10 4-5 -2 18/90-18/99 5 18/160-18/169 11 6-7 -1 18/100-18/109 6 18/170-18/179 12 8-15 0 18/110-18/119 7 18/180-18/189 13 16 1 18/120-18/129 8 18/190-18/199 14 17 2 18/130-18/149 9 18/200+ 15 18-18/49 3 C. Armor encumbrance penalty Heavy body armor restricts your character's movement somewhat and can impair combat ability when worn. The negative number enclosed in parentheses before the brackets in the inventory description of heavy body armor describes this impairment; penalize your character's bonus to combat ability accordingly (the penalty may range from -1 to -8). D. Ring bonus/penalty When worn, Rings of Accuracy and Slaying can magically affect your character's skill in combat. Rings of Accuracy have their numerical combat bonus enclosed in parentheses (when identified); for Rings of Slaying, the bonus to skill is the first of the two numbers enclosed in parentheses. Adjust your character's bonus to combat skill accordingly; be sure to take both rings into account if your character is wearing two Rings of Accuracy or Slaying. E. Gauntlets of slaying bonus Some gauntlets are empowered to magically enhance combat skill. These include gauntlets of Slaying, gauntlets of Power, the Leather Gloves 'Cambeleg', and the Set of Cesti of Fingolfin. The first number in the pair of numbers enclosed in parentheses in the description of the gauntlets describes the bonus; adjust the running total of the bonus to combat skill accordingly. F. Weapon modifier Many weapons are magically enchanted so it is easier to strike foes with them; in other cases, the weapon may have an especially keen edge or be particularly well-balanced for fighting. Whatever the case may be, the aid to fighting skill a weapon provides is described by the first of the pair of two numbers in parentheses in an identified weapon; adjust the combat skill bonus by this factor. G. Heavy weapon penalty Your character is heavily penalized for attempting to equip a weapon (either melee or long-range) that is too heavy for him or her to use without difficulty. The following chart gives the upper limit on what a given strength enables a character to wield without great effort: weight weight limit limit Str. (lb) Strength (lb) ----------- -------------------- 3 4 17 28 4 5 18-18/19 30 5 6 18/20-18/29 35 6 7 18/30-18/39 40 7 8 18/40-18/49 45 8 10 18/50-18/59 50 9 12 18/60-18/69 55 10 14 18/70-18/79 60 11 16 18/80-18/89 65 12 18 18/90-18/99 70 13 20 18/100-18/149 80 14 22 18/150-18/199 90 15 24 18/200+ 100 16 26 For equipping a weapon that is too heavy to wield easily, your character's bonus to combat skill is penalized by one point per 0.5 lb of difference between the weight limit and the weight of the weapon. The penalties for wielding both a heavy melee weapon and a heavy bow are cumulative. (Note that wielding a heavy bow will adversely affect melee combat skill, and vice versa.) H. Edged weapon penalty The gods of the world of Angband generally dislike the shedding of blood. Hence their priests are uncomfortable with the use of edged weapons or polearms, with the exception of blessed weapons which are approved for holy war. (Apart from generic Blessed Weapons, blessed weapons also include Holy Avengers, weapons of *Slay* Evil, the Spear 'Aeglos', the Trident of Wrath, the Great Axe of Eonwe, the Spear of Orome, and the Trident of Ulmo.) If a priest is wielding an edged weapon or polearm that is not blessed, subtract 2 from his or her bonus to combat skill. I. Temporary spell bonus Several spells and enchantments can provide a temporary boost to one's skill in fighting. Here is a table of these magics, and their numerical effects: Spell +to hit --------------------- Blessing +10 Heroism +12 Berserk Strength +24 J. Stunning penalty If your character is stunned, he or she will be less able to successfully inflict damage in combat. If your character is heavily stunned (the stun counter is between 51 and 100 inclusive), subtract 20 from the cumulative total of the bonus to melee skill. If your character is stunned but not heavily stunned (the stun counter is between 1 and 50 inclusive), subtract 5. III. Calculating the overall melee combat skill To calculate your character's overall melee combat skill, simply add three times the total bonus obtained in section II above to the base melee combat skill obtained in section I. CALCULATING THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFULLY LANDING A BLOW ---------------------------------------------------------- Once you have made the calculations in the previous section, you can now calculate the exact probability of hitting any monster whose armor class is known. First of all, your character will always miss a monster 1 in 20 times, and will always hit a monster 1 in 20 times. This is true regardless of the skill of the player or any armor protection the monster may possess; it reflects the randomness of combat and the fact that (un)lucky breaks can and do occur. In the other 90% of cases, begin with the rating for overall melee combat skill. (If this is non-positive, then your character can only hit a monster (any monster) the minimum 1 in 20 times.) It is much harder to hit a monster that you cannot see (which can occur if you are blind, if you have no light, or if the monster is invisible); if this is the case, divide by 2, rounding up. Call the resulting visibility-modified rating K. Then the chance of successfully hitting the monster is (K-(3/4 of the monster's AC)) in K. CALCULATING THE PROBABILITY OF A CRITICAL HIT --------------------------------------------- Occasionally, your character will be able to skillfully land a critical hit on a monster, doing extra damage. (This can only be done if your character is using some weapon other than his or her bare hands.) To calculate the chance of a critical hit in melee combat, first calculate P, the sum of the following three numbers: (1) The weight of the wielded weapon in pounds, multiplied by 10. (2) Your character's bonus to combat skill as calculated above, multiplied by 5. (Do *not* include base melee combat skill here.) (3) Your character's experience level, multiplied by 3. The chance of getting a critical hit is equal to P in 5000. To find out the type of critical hit, add 1d650 to 10 times the weight of the wielded weapon, and match the resulting sum in the following table: Sum | Type of Critical Hit ---------+--------------------- 1-399 | good 400-699 | great 700-899 | superb 900-1299 | *GREAT* 1300+ | *SUPERB* CALCULATING THE DAMAGE DONE BY A HIT ------------------------------------ To find the damage done to a monster by a successful blow, follow this step-by-step procedure. (When calculating damage done with bare hands, begin with a base damage of 1, and skip to the last step, step 5.) (1) First roll the base damage for the wielded weapon; this appears as an expression of the form XdY in parentheses in the description of the weapon. (2) Many powerful weapons have the power to do extra damage against certain types of creatures. Multiply the weapon's base damage by the highest applicable multiplier from the following list. (Only the highest multiplier is used, even if more than one of the following cases applies.) Weapon Power Multiplier Applies when ... -------------------------------------------------------------- Flame Tongue 3 Monster does not resist fire Frost Brand 3 Monster does not resist cold Acid Brand 3 Monster does not resist acid Lightning Brand 3 Monster does not resist lightning Slay Animal 2 Monster is a natural creature Slay Demon 3 Monster is a demon Slay Dragon 3 Monster is a dragon Slay Evil 2 Monster is evil Execute Dragon 5 Monster is a dragon Slay Giant 3 Monster is a giant Slay Orc 3 Monster is an orc Slay Troll 3 Monster is a troll Slay Undead 3 Monster is undead (3) Next, if the hit was a critical hit, apply the following operations as per this table: Type of critical Operation --------------------------------------------------- good Multiply by 2, then add 5 great Multiply by 2, then add 10 superb Multiply by 3, then add 15 *GREAT* Multiply by 3, then add 20 *SUPERB* Multiply by 3.5, then add 25 (4) If the wielded weapon is enchanted such that it is magically capable of inflicting additional damage, add the bonus to damage of the weapon. (This bonus is the second of the pair of numbers in parentheses in the description of the weapon.) (5) Other modifiers to damage: (Negative damage cannot be inflicted upon an opponent; if the resulting total is negative, no damage is done.) (a) Strength Bonus: High strength permits the character to hit monsters harder for more damage, of course. Use the following table to find the appropriate modifier: +to +to +to Strength dam Strength dam Strength dam ---------------- ------------------ ------------------ 3-4 -2 18/80-18/99 5 18/160-18/169 12 5-6 -1 18/100-18/109 6 18/170-18/179 13 7-15 0 18/110-18/119 7 18/180-18/189 14 16 1 18/120-18/129 8 18/190-18/199 15 17-18/19 2 18/130-18/139 9 18/200-18/209 16 18/20-18/69 3 18/140-18/149 10 18/210-18/219 18 18/70-18/79 4 18/150-18/159 11 18/220+ 20 (b) Ring bonus/penalty: Rings of Damage and Rings of Slaying magically enhance damage potential. Rings of Damage have their bonus to damage enclosed in parentheses; for Rings of Slaying, the bonus to damage is the second of the pair of numbers enclosed in parentheses. If your character is wearing one or two such rings, add the appropriate bonus or bonuses to the damage done. (c) Gauntlets of slaying bonus: Some magical gauntlets (the same types described earlier as enhancing the bonus to combat skill) increase the damage done with every hit. If your character is wearing such gauntlets, add the second number of the pair of numbers enclosed in parentheses in the description of the gauntlets. (d) Stunning penalty: Being stunned reduces ability to inflict damage in melee combat. If your character is heavily stunned (i.e. the stun counter is between 51 and 100 inclusive), subtract 20. For non-heavy stunning (stun counter between 1 and 50 inclusive), the penalty is minus 5 points of damage. (e) Edged weapon penalty: This is similar to the penalty priests get to their bonus to combat skill for wielding an inapprorpiate weapon; if your character is a priest who is wielding a edged weapon or polearm that is not blessed, subtract 2 from the damage total. (Note that, alternatively, in place of steps 4 and 5 you can simply add instead the number given as "+ To Dam" on the character statistics screen, although this applies only if all of your current equipment is identified.) This gives the amount of damage the monster takes from the blow. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ATTACKING WITH SHOOTING WEAPONS AND THROWN OBJECTS | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ To attack with shooting weapons in Angband (and many other roguelike games) you must equip the shooting weapon and fire the appropriate ammunition. Slings use rounded pebbles and iron shots as ammunition; short bows and long bows use arrows and seeker arrows; light and heavy crossbows use bolts and seeker bolts. Using the appropriate distance weapon and ammunition together (rather than simply throwing the ammunition) can greatly increase the damage done. Normally, your character can only throw or shoot one object per move. A distance weapon of Extra Shots permits more rapid shooting. Also, Rangers using either a short bow or a long bow get an extra shot at 20th level, and a second extra shot at 40th level. (These extra shots are in recent versions handled in such a way that you still fire one shot per move; it is just that each shot is done in less game-time and hence takes up less of your "energy".) CALCULATING SHOOTING/THROWN WEAPON ABILITY ------------------------------------------ Overall skill at using shooting or thrown (missile) weapons is calculated in the same manner as melee skill. To calculate your character's base skill at using missile weapons, begin with the base skill for the appropriate class in the following tables, add or subtract the appropriate race modifier, and the product of your character's experience level and the class bonus per level modifier to missile weapon skill. Gain Base per Class skill level Race Modifier Race Modifier ------------------- ----------------- ----------------- Warrior 55 4.5 Human 0 Dwarf 0 Mage 20 1.5 Half-Elf 5 Half-Orc -5 Priest 35 2.0 Elf 15 Half-Troll -10 Rogue 66 3.0 Hobbit 20 Dunadan 10 Ranger 72 4.5 Gnome 12 High-Elf 25 Paladin 40 3.0 Then, calculate the bonus to combat skill in exactly the same manner as for the bonus to melee combat skill, except use the to-hit bonus from the equipped distance weapon in place of the to-hit bonus from the equipped melee weapon. (If ammunition inappropriate to the equipped distance weapon is used, or a non-ammunition object is thrown, no bonuses to combat skill from any equipped weapon applies.) Then calculate overall distance weapon skill = base distance weapon skill + (3 * bonus to combat skill). CALCULATING THE PROBABILITY OF HITTING A MONSTER WITH A MISSILE --------------------------------------------------------------- To calculate the probability of hitting a monster with a thrown or shot object, first calculate K with this procedure (similar to that for melee combat): (1) Begin with your character's overall distance weapon skill. (2) If the thrown/shot object in question is a weapon of any kind, add 3 times the weapon's bonus to-hit (the first of the pair of numbers enclosed in parentheses). (3) Subtract the distance (in terms of squares) between your character and the target monster. (4) Divide by 2 if the monster is not visible (which can occur if your character is blind, if the monster is not in a lit area, or if the monster is invisible); round up any fraction. One time in twenty, the missile will always strike and inflict damage; one time in twenty, the missile will always miss. (This applies regardless of visibility, distance, character skill, etc.) In the other 90% of cases, if K is non-positive, your character has such poor skill that he or she can never hit any target. Otherwise, the chance of successfully striking the monster is (K-(3/4 of the monster's AC)) in K. CALCULATING THE CHANCE OF A CRITICAL HIT WITH A MISSILE ------------------------------------------------------- Occasionally, your character can shoot a missile so that it will strike a monster in a vulnerable spot for extra damage. This is handled in a way similar to the way it is handled in melee combat. To calculate the chance of a critical hit with a missile, first calculate P, the sum of the following three numbers: (1) The weight of the wielded weapon in pounds, multiplied by 10. (2) Four times the sum of your character's bonus to combat skill (as calculated above; do *not* include base distance weapon skill here) and the to-hit modifier provided by the missile (only if it is a weapon; otherwise the modifier is zero). (3) Your character's experience level, multiplied by 2. The chance of getting a critical hit is equal to P in 5000. To find out the type of critical hit, add 1d500 to 10 times the weight of the thrown weapon, and match the resulting sum in the following table: Sum | Type of Critical Hit --------+--------------------- 1-499 | good 500-999 | great 1000+ | superb CALCULATING THE DAMAGE DONE BY A MISSILE ---------------------------------------- To find the damage done by a missile to a monster, use the following procedure. (Note that there are some important differences between damage done by a melee weapon and by a missile; strength, ring, and gauntlet bonuses do not apply to missile damage, and bonuses to damage for missiles apply *before* multipliers are taken into account, unlike bonuses for melee weapons.) (1) Begin with the base throwing damage of the object. (For weaponry, this appears as an expression of the form XdY in parentheses. For other objects, base throwing damage may be found in ITEMLONG.SPO; base throwing damage for some objects is zero.) (2) If the missile is a weapon, add any appropriate bonus to damage. (This appears as the second of the pair of numbers in parentheses.) (3) (If your character is throwing an object that is not a piece of ammunition, or is using ammunition inappropriate to the equipped missile weapon, skip to step 5 now.) Add any appropriate bonus to damage provided by the equipped distance weapon. (This appears as the second of the pair of numbers in parentheses.) (4) Multiply by the multiplier provided by the equipped distance weapon. The multiplier is equal to 2 for slings or short bows, 3 for long bows or light crossbows, and 4 for heavy crossbows. Add 1 to the multiplier if the equipped missile weapon is a weapon of Extra Might, or if it is the Light Crossbow 'Cubragol' or the Long Bow of Bard. (5) If the missile is a weapon, and has the power to do extra damage to a certain class of creatures, multiply by the highest possible applicable modifier. (This works in exactly the same way as it does for melee weapon damage; see step 2 in "Calculating the damage done by a hit" in the melee weapon section for more details.) (6) Finally, if your character is fortunate enough to have scored a critical hit with the missile, apply the following operations: Type of critical Operation --------------------------------------------------- good Multiply by 2, then add 5 great Multiply by 2, then add 10 superb Multiply by 3, then add 15 MISSILE BREAKAGE ---------------- Objects are fragile, and throwing or shooting them may break them. Artifacts never break, and throwing a non-artifact object straight down at the ground always breaks it. Otherwise, find the percentage chance of missile breakage from the following table. (If a missile hits either a monster or a wall less than 3 squares away from the player, the chance of breakage doubles.) Type of object Chance of breakage ----------------------------------------------- Flask of oil 100% Potion, bottle, or food item 50% Arrow, scroll, light source, or skeleton 30% Bolt, sling ammo, wand, or spike 20% All other non-artifact objects 10%