Combat Numbers
When in combat without brief modes enabled, you'll see something like the following when attacked or attacking: Melee(d100):60 vs Dodge(d100):10 Parry(d100):50
The number after the "d" within the (parenthesis) is your dice roll maximum.
Melee is Melee offense. Your roll is mainly affected by skill in the wielded weapon type, and somewhat by the Melee skill.
Ranged is Ranged offense. Used in calculations for firing bows/flintlocks, hurling weapons, casting magical bolt spells, etc. Hurling/bows/flintlocks are affected by Marksmanship and skill in the weapon held, casting magical bolts is affected by Marksmanship and their skill in whichever elements are utilized by the spell (for instance, a firebolt would be based on the Pyromancy skill).
Dodge is Dodge defense. Ability to dodge any attack, mainly affected by Dodge skill.
Block is Block defense. Ability to block any attack, as long as a shield is in hand, mainly affected by shield skill.
Parry is Parry defense. Ability to parry melee attacks. Cannot parry ranged attacks. Mainly affected by skill in the weapon type used.
Here's what's happening in the following formula: Melee(d2181):326 vs Dodge(d100):36 = 290 (13%) 2 bludgeon damage (head) (energy -1)
- The attacker's melee roll is a max of 2181, they rolled 326.
- The defender's dodge roll is a max of 100, they rolled 36.
- The defender is thus hit and takes 2 bludgeoning damage to their head.
- The attacker used 1 energy to attack.
Note that having a much higher roll than your target does not mean they will not dodge and vice versa. These rolls are the maximum you can hit, not the numbers you are presently getting.
When dealing damage, you may notice minuses (-) or pluses (+). These help to show how effective an attack is. If there are minuses, the attack is being resisted by the target, whether it be because of natural resistance (such as a stone golem being resistant to slashing attacks) or armor the target is wearing. If there are pluses, the attack is particularly effective.