Campaigns for the Beginner: How do attack??!!11? (For D&D 3.5)
1) How do I attack? aka WHY IS IT SO FUCKING COMPLICATED TO HIT A BITCH?
Yeah, not joking with the "aka", bit. It can be really fucking complicated just to throw a punch, or swing a sword. So, I better take it slow. You too. read slowly, take notes, cross yourself and pray a Hail Mary, cuz this shit gets ridiculous.
First of all: you need a base attack bonus. When you choose a class, you'll see a chart. It shows up to... 20? levels, I think, and has all the basic stats of your class. It'll say "Base Attack Bonus", "Fortitude, Reflex, Will", some class features you pick up every level, and a number of spells chart if your class ever picks up spells. Everything else is gravy right now. Our mashed potatoes is that first one. The Base Attack Bonus, also called "BAB", or just "att bonus."
Every class has its own BAB. Fighters normally start with +1, but some classes start at +0, so make sure you check. It also might not increase EVERY level, so keep an eye on it.
Since I'm playing ranger, once again, I will use my ranger (and also the ability scores I rolled last week). For a ranger, the BAB starts at +1 (fuck yeah), and basically goes up by 1 every level (fuck yeeaaah). At level 6, rangers get a second attack, as well (hahaha, motherfuckers).
Because I'm an archer, I'm going to focus on RAB (ranged attack bonus), but if I were using a sword, or a fist, or anything that, let's say, doesn't have range, then it's called melee. We don't normally use MAB, however. Just AB, works. Whatever you prefer.
So:
AB (melee, means getting close and personally and seeing the life leave your opponents eyes, muahahaha)
RAB (ranged, means snipers. We're dicks; never get our hands dirty if we can help it)
AB relies on your Strength modifier. RAB relies on your Dex mod. My ranger's BABs are as follows:
AB: +1 +1> +2
RAB: +1 +3> +4
Now, let's put my ranger in combat. She starts off using her bow and arrows. She picks a target, announces it OUT LOUD, and rolls her att. Using JUST the RAB I have above (just BAB and Dex), I would roll 1d20, then add +4. I rolled 17 (no I really did YEAH NOW YOU ROLLED MORE THAN 10? WHAT ABOUT AT MY GAME, YOU FUCKING DICKTWAT OF A DICEROLLER!) *ahem* sorry.
So, 17 +4 > 21
And that is your attack roll (att). Now, you tell your DM (dungeon master) your roll. Then, the DM looks at the target's character sheet the ranger had aimed for. The DM looks at the target's AC (Armor Class, remember?). If your att is THE SAME OR HIGHER, you make a successful hit. You roll dmg. Dmg (damage) is specified by the equipment you used. Let's say my character used a longbow. (Because longbows are better, shut up, I'm not compensating for my lack of penis.) Longbow do 1d8 damage. That's it. Sadly, you need a composite longbow to add str mod to your damage. Anyway. I rolled a 7 (THIS IS HORSESHIT! WHY ARENT YOU ROLLING THIS WELL WHEN I ACTUALLY PLAY YOU FUCKING COMPUTERIZED PIECE OF-)
The enemy takes 7 dmg. (i'm ridiculously frustrated now)
Now, let's move on to AB: It works the exact same way. Melee weapons, however, allow you to add your str mod to your dmg. So if I had rolled 7 (*steams angrily*), I would add +1 as well and done 8 dmg. However, my att roll would have been 19, not 21. *shrugs*
Moving on.
There are a ton of different ways to increase your att roll.
Feats (easiest way)
Spells (limited to access to magic)
Magical Items (limited to treasure and/or the money you gots. Also, limited to the area you're in. A good DM makes finding good items even in a town at least VAGUELY difficult. The smaller the village, the less likely you'll find anything good, or be able to find someone to make it. Also, you could find a sweet new item and be too low-level, or the wrong class, to be able to use it)
Flanking/Charging (Flanking means two teammates facing each other with an enemy between them. With both teammates fighting the same opponent, the enemy is flanked, and the teammates get +2 to their att; Charging means, well, charging. Also called Bull Rush. It means you can move twice your distance AND still attack the opponent (normally if you run, you cannot attack). HOWEVER, you must move at least 10 feet, and you get a -2 to your AC. You also cannot move away afterwards, not even 5'. Taking the feat "Improved Bull Rush" however, negates the -2, I think? Yeah. Anyway.)
Those are the only ways I can think of off the top of my head to get more BAB, other than just leveling. The LAST THING to talk about when discussing attacks is an attack of opportunity.
2) What is an attack of opportunity, aka What is this fuckery?
An attack of opportunity is an extra attack allowed when the target is taken unawares or is distracted. There are certain situations where this happens.
when in combat, you attempt to move more than 10' away (unless you call "withdraw action")
when you pass within an enemy's reach (say your friend is fighting a troll, and you try to get past the troll, but you're within its 10' reach, it gets to attack you)
when you attempt to cast a spell while within melee reach
when you use a ranged weapon within melee reach (this happened to me this past weekend. Fucking trolls. It moved within 10 feet of me, and I couldn't move far enough away without creating an attack of opportunity anyway, so I just shot the bastard, but it got a hit on me first. It killed me. I would have done 53 dmg, damn it. I was so angry)
drawing a weapon while within melee reach of an enemy (that's why, children, you always have your weapon drawn if you're feeling antsy)
getting up from a prone position while in melee reach
I can't think of anything others. Basically, if you do any of those things, the enemy gets to attack you, even if they've already attacked that round, or if it's not even their turn to att. Which brings us to ONE MORE QUESTION, FUCK, I ALMOST FORGOT.
3) What is an attack round?
An attack rounds begins as soon as you enter combat with an enemy. Everyone, including the enemies, roll Initiative (d20, plus Dex modifier). The numbers are set up highest to lowest. The highest Initiative (Init) goes first. A round is how long it takes for every person on the list to attack/make some sort of action. Each round is six seconds long. No matter how long it takes to get through the list (ten minutes, an hour), IN GAME, that round was ONLY SIX SECONDS. That's important. Some spells are time sensitive. If the spell says its duration is 1 hour/ten minutes/1 minute/etc, it means 1 hour in game time. Not the time on your watch or phone. If it lasts 1 hour, that means the spell lasts-- fuck I have to do math. Shit. Um. Ten rounds = 1 minute. So, yeah, 600 rounds is one hour? yeeaaahh
I fucking hate math. Probably why my character KEEPS FUCKING DYING.
