| MikeRPG |
My friend and I just got into a rather heated discussion on this issue and need assistance.
He was looking at getting an alchemical silver longsword. We have both read the description on the -1 penalty to damage and have interpreted it in completely opposite ways.
His interpretation is that the -1 penalty to damage (with a minimum of 1 point of damage) is applied to the damage ROLL, not the total damage. Therefore, if a fighter with 10 Strength swings that silver longsword and rolls a 1 for damage, he deals a minimum 1 damage. If a fighter with an 18 Strength rolls a 1 on the die, he still does that minimum 1 point of damage, plus 4 points for his strength, for a total of 5 damage.
My interpretation is that the -1 penalty to damage is added to the TOTAL result of the damage roll. So if the fighter with 10 Strength rolls a 1 on the damage, he deals the minimum one point of damage. If the fighter with an 18 Strength rolls a 1 on the damage die, he deals that, plus 4 damage from his strength, THEN a -1 penalty from the silver, for a total of 4 damage.
While we acknowledge that this is a minor, minor issue, it is a point that bears arguing as to what point penalties are applied. Is the penalty applied to the roll? Or to the total?
Thank you for any assistance.