Probably going to sound stupid

[Monkay]

Yeah, this is going to sound like a dumb question but what is the damage formula for melee if you do not have a weapon equipped. Is it calculated by strength and dexterity that you get extra blows or is it just a fixed 1d2 or whatever. Just wondering because I thought it would be really cool if I could create a character that could go up to enemies and just punch them in the face! Could make it like a challenge or something, you know, something like playing the first 1000" with no weapons!

[Derakon]

I believe fists are simply a 1d1 weapon of the lightest weight class. This can still be a decent weapon if you have high strength, since you STR bonus to damage gets added to each blow; I've played warriors who didn't bother buying an initial weapon and were able to proceed quite happily for some time before finding a dagger in the dungeon. As for making it to 1000', that's a bit trickier, but I wouldn't be surprised if careful play would allow for it.

So in short, just maximize your blows/round and then your STR score to make your fists as deadly as possible.

[Monkay]

Nice, I'll try a Half-Troll warrior with that strategy. I'll just sell my short sword and max out strength, and use the extra money on !CLW and scrolls of phase door!

[Monkay]

Another thing, how is the tunneling calculated if you had no weapon equipped, it's obviously affected by STR but is it possible to tunnel effective, as in breaking into quartz viens and granite?

[Derakon]

I believe you can dig through magma and possibly quartz; haven't tried granite. You want to be as strong as possible for that. If I recall correctly, digging ability is a function of STR, weapon weight, and any digging bonuses you have. If you really need to dig you could bring a Ring of Delving with you.

(Yes, this is horribly unrealistic. Who cares?)

[Monkay]

Well I tried to get down to 1000" with my warrior, but I greedily decided to loot a vault at 850" and he get squashed by a 3-headed hydra, but that's closer to my goal than I hoped!

[PowerWyrm]

Yeah, this is going to sound like a dumb question but what is the damage formula for melee if you do not have a weapon equipped. Is it calculated by strength and dexterity that you get extra blows or is it just a fixed 1d2 or whatever. Just wondering because I thought it would be really cool if I could create a character that could go up to enemies and just punch them in the face! Could make it like a challenge or something, you know, something like playing the first 1000" with no weapons!

In the latest version, IIRC, you get a fixed 1 damage for "punching"... but a number of bpr equal to what you would get wielding a weapon of minimum weight. This is great for warriors with a lot of str/dex...