Not sure what the (melee) and (ranged) means in relation to attack bonus.


Beginner Box


So I'm a bit of a newb and any clarification on this matter would be super useful (I've searched around and can't seem to figure it out) so thanks for checking this out!

Anyway, I get what melee attack / ranged attack means when it's associated with weapons, but what about the figure that seems completely unaffiliated?

I'll attach a screenshot if possible, but if not I mean the values you can see in the Beginner Box Hero Lab character profile under "Basics" - specifically: "BAB", "Attack Bonus", "(Melee)", and "(Ranged).

Here's the screenshot for context.


Looks like that's just giving you final calculations for the related to-hit bonuses.

Basically, a melee attack's to-hit bonus is equal to your BaB + your STR modifier + misc bonuses. According to that, you have +1 from BaB, +4 from strength, and +0 total from misc modifiers (-1 from power attack and +1 I can't figure out from context) for a total of +5 to-hit

And a ranged attack's to-hit bonus is equal to your BaB + your DEX modifier + misc bonuses. So with that, you have a +1 from BaB, +1 from DEX, and +1 form misc bonuses. But, again, I can't figure out the context of that misc bonus.


Johnny_Devo wrote:

Looks like that's just giving you final calculations for the related to-hit bonuses.

Basically, a melee attack's to-hit bonus is equal to your BaB + your STR modifier + misc bonuses. According to that, you have +1 from BaB, +4 from strength, and +0 total from misc modifiers (-1 from power attack and +1 I can't figure out from context) for a total of +5 to-hit

And a ranged attack's to-hit bonus is equal to your BaB + your DEX modifier + misc bonuses. So with that, you have a +1 from BaB, +1 from DEX, and +1 form misc bonuses. But, again, I can't figure out the context of that misc bonus.

His Dexterity is 14, so a +2 modifier not a +1. +2 Dex, +1 BAB gives you the +3 ranged attack modifier listed.

Power Attack is not included either. Look at the longsword attack on the right. It only deals 1d8+4 damage, and the +4 comes solely from his 18 Str.

The BAB, melee attack, and ranged attack numbers are all right. The only thing this is a problem is that miscellaneous +1 attack bonus listed under the +1 BAB. My guess is that it is simply an error. There is nothing listed that should be giving a miscellaneous +1 attack bonus.

Edit: And I think I know what it is. Hero Lab would normally just display BAB, and not Attack Bonus. But this is Beginner Box material. The Beginner Box doesn't use BAB, it just lists Attack Bonus. So both BAB and Attack Bonus on that sheet mean the same thing.


Johnny_Devo wrote:
Looks like that's just giving you final calculations for the related to-hit bonuses....
Jeraa wrote:
...both BAB and Attack Bonus on that sheet mean the same thing.

OH, that makes perfect sense! Thank you both so much for reading / replying. It really cleared it up for me, and I can pass that on to my players. (I'm sort of getting a trial by fire as a new GM here, but Pathfinder has been tons of fun. It's awesome that the community is so helpful too.)

Edit: The longsword Bizonder is using has a +5 melee attached - could that end up translating to a stray +1 or is that something else entirely (ie, counting the BAB as well as the Attack bonus which you've helpfully pointed out is the same thing)?

Do I use the weapon's attack bonus, the one I've shown in the screenshot, or is that Hero lab attempting to calculate the final number for me?


thatyellowbird wrote:
Johnny_Devo wrote:
Looks like that's just giving you final calculations for the related to-hit bonuses....
Jeraa wrote:
...both BAB and Attack Bonus on that sheet mean the same thing.

OH, that makes perfect sense! Thank you both so much for reading / replying. It really cleared it up for me, and I can pass that on to my players. (I'm sort of getting a trial by fire as a new GM here, but Pathfinder has been tons of fun. It's awesome that the community is so helpful too.)

Edit: The longsword Bizonder is using has a +5 melee attached - could that end up translating to a stray +1 or is that something else entirely (ie, counting the BAB as well as the Attack bonus which you've helpfully pointed out is the same thing)?

The +5 listed there is correct for normal longsword attacks. +1 from BAB/attack bonus, and +4 from the 18 Strength. The -1 from power attack is not included in those modifiers, as it is optional. There are no other modifiers added into that.


Okay, looks like I was just confusing myself with the Hero Lab set up - thank you so much for all your help in taking the extra time to break that down for me, I think I've got it now.

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