A damage roll determines how much damage you deal with an attack. Damage rolls vary widely with the different powers and weapons that can be involved, but the basic formula is often the same.
- Roll the damage indicated in the power description. If you’re using a weapon for the attack, the damage is often some multiple of your weapon damage dice.
- Add the ability modifier specified in the power's damage roll description, if any. Usually, this is the same ability modifier you used to determine your base attack bonus for the attack (such as Strength), but not always.
- Add any other bonuses that apply to damage rolls or damage. See the entry on bonuses for more specific information.
Many damage rolls have the [W] symbol. This indicates you should roll the damage dice for the weapon you are wielding for this attack. The number preceding the weapon damage symbol specifies how many times to roll the weapon damage dice. Some weapons have multiple die rolls, such as a Falchon's 2d4. In this case, 3[W] means 3*2d4, so roll a d4 6 times.
Your weapon's or implement's enhancement bonus may also affect damage rolls.
A critical hit maximizes most variable elements of a damage roll, and may add additional die rolls or static damage. See the entry for critical hits for more specific information.