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How to Calculate Attack Modifiers

In D20 role-playing games such as Dungeons &Dragons, an attack modifier is applied when rolling a die to determine whether your character can successfully hit an enemy. This number is added or subtracted from the 20-sided die role, as is your base attack bonus, depending on a number of factors. While your character's attack bonus reflects his ability with the current weapon, the attack modifier involves current situational conditions that can positively or negatively affect the chances of a successful attack.

Instructions

- 1
  Give your character plus 2 to the attack modifier if he has combat advantage. Combat advantage means that your opponent is in a vulnerable position and is unable to properly defend itself. A number of situations can result in this, including when the defender is balancing, dazed, running, squeezing through a small opening, or unconscious. You can also trick an enemy into thinking you have combat advantage once per encounter, by successfully rolling a Bluff check.
- 2
  Subtract 2 from the modifier if your character is in a position that makes attack difficult, such as being prone or tied up. Shooting a weapon at long range also has a minus 2 modifier. If you are charging your enemy, take plus 1 to your first attack, whether it be with a weapon or while performing a Bull Rush.
- 3
  Trace a straight line with your finger from one of the corners of your character's square to each of the corners of the square your opponent is occupying. If any of the lines are interrupted by an intervening object, the defender has cover, giving you minus 2 to your attack modifier. Take minus 5 instead if the obstacle is a solid wall and your foe is shooting out of an arrow loop or small window.
- 4
  Take minus 2 to your attack modifier if your target is concealed. Concealment means that the foe is behind foliage, is obscured by fog, or is standing in a dimly-lit area. Your opponent can be even more heavily obscured by thick smoke or fog, provided he is standing next to your character. Heavily-obscuring conditions give you minus 5 if the defender is at a range, as does invisibility and total darkness.

Role Playing Games