1d12 or 2d6 - Slashing

[DeLastOne]

Hi guys

What is your take here ?

if profecient with martial weapon who deals 1d12 or 2d6, won't it make sense to choose the one with 2d6 damage since you are guarantee at least a result of 2 vs 1 on the 1d12 ?

Same damage type, same proficiency. Greatsword VS Greataxe

[Zephyrhawk]

Yep. 1d12 deals between 1-12 damage, 2d6 deals between 2-12 damage.

Edit: I stand corrected :)

[meyer2150]

2d6 is bell shaped curve..

[Slice]

Not quite. On 1d12 every number has an even chance. on 2d6 you will tend to get more in the 6-8 range.

1d12 chance to get a 12 is 1/12
2d6 chance to get a 12 is 1/36.

2d6 will give more consistent damage while 1d12 has an equal chance.

The casino game Craps is based off of the rolling of 2d6 and the payouts are based on the probabilities.

[Harag]

Agree - go with the 2d6.

[DeLastOne]

One interesting thing I read is about the fact you will mostly do more 12 on a D12 than on 2d6 in average. Also with Paladin class you have feat to reroll 1 and 2 at level 2... might be something worth considering :)

[Slice]

I work in a casino :)

Chance to roll d12 2d6

1 1/12 0
2 1/12 1/36
3 1/12 2/36
4 1/12 3/36
5 1/12 4/36
6 1/12 5/36
7 1/12 6/36
8 1/12 5/36
9 1/12 4/36
10 1/12 3/36
11 1/12 2/36
12 1/12 1/36

[DeLastOne]

Originally posted by Slice:

I work in a casino :)

Chance to roll d12 2d6

1 1/12 0
2 1/12 1/36
3 1/12 2/36
4 1/12 3/36
5 1/12 4/36
6 1/12 5/36
7 1/12 6/36
8 1/12 5/36
9 1/12 4/36
10 1/12 3/36
11 1/12 2/36
12 1/12 1/36

THanks a lot

[subetai99]

To echo Slice...

Average damage of 2d6 (7 dmg) is better than 1d12 (6.5 dmg), but if you want to get 12s, your odds are better with the 1-12. You also have a better chance of rolling a 1, than you have of getting a 2 with the 2d6. There are just a number of combinations to get you to those middle numbers of 2-12, so you will mostly likely do closer to your average. e.g. to get to doing average damage, a 7, you could...roll a 4-3, 5-2 or 6-1.

In regular 5e, if you are say...a crit fishing Half Orc Champion Fighter, who crits on a 19 or 20 (18,19 or 20 at higher levels) and you want to see big hits from time to time, you would use a Great Axe imo. Your chances of a really big hit are better with the 1-12, than the 2-12. But...your chances of a low number are also higher! I'm an optimist though, so if I had an Half Orc Champion Fighter, I would only be mentally counting up the 12s, in my head, not seeing all the 1s also! lol :)

To sum up...you have only a 2.777% chance of getting a 12 with 2d6, but an 8.333% chance of getting a 12 with 1d12. But remember, those percentage numbers go the other way too and 1d12 has a chance at a 1, that 2d12 doesn't. So, you have a 16.666% chance of a 1 or 2 with 1d12 vs just a 2.777% chance of a 2 only with 2d6.

[Penitent Pilgrim]

My luck with dice is usually poor so I will take as bell curve over a flat die roll any day.

[RJM]

The bell curve is great for consistency and for most races I would take a 2h sword for 2d6. If you're a half-orc with the brutal critical feature, you want the damage die to be as big as possible because you get to add another one, so your damage increasing to 2d12 becomes attractive compared to 3d6 and I would go with the 2h axe.

[subetai99]

Originally posted by RJM:

The bell curve is great for consistency and for most races I would take a 2h sword for 2d6. If you're a half-orc with the brutal critical feature, you want the damage die to be as big as possible because you get to add another one, so your damage increasing to 2d12 becomes attractive compared to 3d6 and I would go with the 2h axe.

I totally agree! I was more thinking of the Savage Attacks half orc racial, but in your example, a half orc with Brutal Critical would get even more weapon die attacks. And yes, it is a singular DIE, not weapon DICE for these racial and class abilities on crits. So Savage Attacks crit only gets you 1-6 extra damage with a 2d6 Greatsword, but an extra 1-12 with a Great Axe!

So...a half orc who is a 10th level barbarian with a greatsword who has a crit, would do 2d6 normal + 2d6 for the crit + 1d6 for Savage Attacks + 1d6 for Brutal Critical. That would be a total of 6d6 or 6-36 (average 21) damage plus modifiers. That same half orc would get 4d12 or 4-48 (average 26 damage) from a Great Axe. For a half orc fighter champion or barbarian, a Great Axe is clearly superior to a Greatsword.

[Shadow]

Reading the half orc description in the D&D Player's Handbook just screams "You're supposed to make a barbarian with a greataxe, here." (so naturally the last time I played one I made a fighter with a greatsword, for which the universe punished me by having him be killed and turned into a vampire thrall)

Edit: But keep in mind that while a greataxe might be better, a greatsword is still perfectly viable, so if you like swords...

Edit edit: There's also the great weapon fighting style, which lets you reroll 1 and 2 on damage rolls, which is a bigger bonus for sword than axe.