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For example, the Clerics level 1 power "brand of the sun" says the following:

Hit: 1[W] + Wisdom modifier radiant damage.

What does that mean? Does that mean 1xWeapon Damage + Wisdom modifier? Or does it just mean 1 + Wisdom modifier? Or something else?

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3 Answers 3

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The first one: 1 weapon damage + wisdom modifier. Heroes of the Fallen Lands page 25 says

A [W] in a damage roll expression is a variable that stands for the damage dice of the weapon used to deal the damage. The number before the [W] indicates the number of times to roll the weapon dice. For example, if a power deals 2[W] + Strength modifier damage, and the attacker uses a dagger (1d4 damage), roll 2 four-sided dice (2d4), then add the attacker's Strength modifier.

Edit 2 You can find this information in page 273 of the Rules Compendium, in the Reading a Weapon Entry subsection.

Edit 3 As Allen says, an attack that did 2d4 normally would be augmented to 2*2d4 = 4d4. You get to multiply the whole dice expression.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Corner case that confuses the locals: if you're using a weapon that rolls multiple dice normally (like a Falchion that does 2d4 damage), an attack that does 2W will do 4d4 damage. (Or 2x2d4) \$\endgroup\$
    – Allen Gould
    Jun 23, 2011 at 16:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ Another odd case that I had forgotten - Beastmaster Rangers have powers that use [B] instead of [W] - those refer to the beast's damage figure. Pretty sure there's no other letters at work beyond that. \$\endgroup\$
    – Allen Gould
    Nov 7, 2011 at 23:09
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1[W] Means you apply the weapon damage from your equipped weapon once. Whereas, 2[W] means you roll it twice, and so on.

This threw me when I was reading the game for the first time because the specification of that syntax is buried somewhere completely unintuitive. Try looking at the start of the equipment section.

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    \$\begingroup\$ The other convention on the argument is the use of the letter [B]. It is used to denote a Ranger's beast companion base damage. \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik Burigo
    Jan 17, 2011 at 16:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ If I have a +3 on a 1d10 weapon, 2[W] would be 2d10 + 3, correct? \$\endgroup\$
    – user1277
    Jan 19, 2011 at 18:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, it's correct, the [W] is a placeholder for the dice roll, not for the whole expression. Check the Rules Compendium page I mentioned, or, for example, Heroes of the Fallen Lands page 25, where it says "A [W] in a damage roll expression is a variable that stands for the damage dice of the weapon used to deal the damage." \$\endgroup\$
    – Adriano Varoli Piazza
    Jan 19, 2011 at 18:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ Unyielding Avalanche is a stance power and includes the line "Any enemy that starts its turn adjacent to you takes 1[W] damage..." Since this is an effect, and not an attack, would a +3 battleaxe do 1d10 or 1d10+3 damage? \$\endgroup\$
    – Jason White
    Oct 3, 2011 at 0:03
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    \$\begingroup\$ It's a "damage roll" and therefore it would do 1d10+whatever your total damage modifiers outside of your stat were. \$\endgroup\$
    – Brian Ballsun-Stanton
    Oct 3, 2011 at 4:40
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If you get something like 2[W]+strength modifier it means that, for a longsword, 2d8 + strength modifier (and other bonus), for a scythe it would indicate 4d4 (two time 2d4) + strenght modifier. In my case, for a one-handed weapon that can be hold with two hands (a weapon with the versatile property), I add +1 damage each time I throw the dice (with a longsword held with two hands, 16 strength, and an attack doing 2[W] + Str Mod damage, you would roll 2d8+5). But do what you want, it the base of RPG.

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