Attack bonus

Every attack is one roll: d20 + your attack bonus, against the target's armour class (AC). If the total meets or beats the AC, you hit. A natural 20 always hits and a natural 1 always misses.

Your attack bonus has five parts:

base attack bonus + ability modifier + the capped bonus + feats + the situation

• Base attack bonus comes from your class levels.
• The ability modifier comes from your abilities.
• The capped bonus is capped at +20.
• Feats have no cap.
• The situation applies only while its condition is met, and is mostly not shown on the character sheet.

Base attack bonus

Base attack bonus (BAB) comes only from your class levels. Strength, gear and spells do not change it.

Every class follows one of three tracks:

The class list names the track for each class in its own column.

Past level 20 the class tables stop

The class tables count only the class levels you took within your first 20 character levels. After that, every character, whatever the class, gets +1 for every 2 character levels above 20, rounded up. At level 40 that is +10 for everyone.

The highest base attack bonus a character can reach is +30: 20 full-track levels taken first, plus the 10 epic points.

The order you take your levels in changes your attack bonus.

• Fighter 20 then Wizard 20: +20 from the tables, +30 at level 40.
• Wizard 20 then Fighter 20: +10 from the tables, +20 at level 40.

The build creator shows the result of your level order as you plan.

Saving throws also switch to a flat epic progression past level 20, with a different rounding, so they no longer rise in step with your attack bonus.

The ability modifier

Melee uses your Strength modifier - unless you have Weapon Finesse and a higher Dexterity modifier, with a weapon light enough to qualify.

Ranged uses your Dexterity modifier - unless you have Zen Archery and a higher Wisdom modifier.

Two things on this server change which modifier is used:

• Divine Power uses Wisdom instead of Strength or Dexterity on melee attacks, if Wisdom is higher. It adds nothing to damage.
• A Warlock's pact weapon uses Charisma the same way, if Charisma is higher.

Both replace the modifier. They do not add to it.

The capped bonus: +20

One part of your attack bonus is capped at +20. It holds two things:

• the higher of your weapon's attack bonus or its enhancement bonus - not the sum;
• bonuses from spells and spell-like abilities, including Bard Song and most feats you have to activate. Different spells add together inside this cap.

Everything else adds on top of the cap with no limit:

• always-on feats: Weapon Focus, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess;
• toggled stances such as Expertise;
• situational feats such as Bane of Enemies;
• feats spent on a single attack, such as Disarm.

Two characters with the same "+20 capped" gear can have different attack bonuses because of these. Caps and limits lists the other caps.

Other Modifiers

These apply automatically while their conditions are met. Apart from the mounted penalty, some of them are not shown on the character sheet.

The target's Defensive Awareness cancels the flanking bonus. The target's Blind-Fight cancels the invisibility bonus.

Stances

A combat mode lowers your attack bonus in exchange for something else. It stays on until you switch it off.

Attacks per round, and why the later ones miss

A round is 6 seconds, and you get more than one attack in it. Each extra attack is -5 lower than the one before.

The number of attacks stays at what it was at character level 20. Epic levels raise every attack in the sequence but never add one. A level 40 Fighter attacks at +30/+25/+20/+15: 4 attacks, each +10 higher.

A Monk fighting unarmed or with a kama steps down by -3 instead of -5, and reaches 6 attacks where everyone else has 4.

Two things cut you to 1 attack per round: a crossbow without Rapid Reload, and being slowed while not hasted.

Extra attacks

Beyond the main sequence there are two more kinds:

• Free attacks - from Haste, from feats, from attacks of opportunity. They step down by -5, even for a Monk, and they take no two-weapon penalties.
• Off-hand attacks - 1 for wielding two weapons, 2 with Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. They always step down by -5.

The order within a round is main attacks, then free attacks, then off-hand attacks.

Fighting with two weapons

Wielding a second weapon lowers your attack bonus on both hands:

A shield or a torch in the off hand is not a weapon: it gives no penalty and no extra attack. A Ranger in light or no armour counts as having both Two-Weapon Fighting and Ambidexterity without taking the feats.

Reading it in game

The custom character sheet shows your full progression, main hand and off hand, with your stances and effects already counted. The plain number beside it is your base attack bonus on its own.