Dungeons of Dredmor (available on Steam) is a confusing game. Dredmorpedia is a good place to learn about the game and see all the numbers. This page explains how those numbers and mechanics interact. I'll tell you now, it's messy! All this data has been verified on the latest version of the game (1.1.4) with all three expansion packs (Realm of the Diggle Gods, You Have To Name The Expansion Pack, Conquest of the Wizardlands).
Every skill line belongs to one of three Heroic Archetypes: Warrior, Wizard, Rogue. The skill selection screen doesn't say which Heroic Archetype each skill line belongs to.
Each skill you learn grants you Primary Attribute points depending on the Heroic Archetype of the skill.
Primary Attribute | Warrior | Wizard | Rogue | Each point adds... | |||||||
![]() | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ![]() | 0.333 | ![]() | 0.175 | ![]() |
||
![]() | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ![]() | 0.5 | ![]() |
||||
![]() | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.175 | ![]() | 0.5 | ![]() | 0.333 | ![]() | 0.75 | ![]() |
![]() | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ![]() | 0.5 | ![]() | 0.175 | ![]() |
||
![]() | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | ![]() | 0.75 | ![]() |
||||
![]() | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.75 | ![]() | 0.175 | ![]() |
Gear and skills give increase Secondary Attributes directly, but Primary Attributes also contribute.
All fractions are rounded down. Miminum of zero. Usually.
Secondary Attribute | Primary Attributes add... | |
![]() | ![]() ![]() |
|
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | (![]() |
|
![]() | ![]() | minimum 1 |
![]() | ((![]() ![]() |
|
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | ((![]() ![]() | minimum 6 |
![]() | ![]() |
|
![]() | ![]() | minimum 5 |
![]() | ((![]() ![]() |
|
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | nothing | minimum 1 |
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | nothing | |
![]() | nothing |
The "mundane damage types" are Blasting,
Crushing, and
Slashing. These damage types get special treatment in both attack and defense calculations.
Melee attack damage =
This is all added up on your character sheet, except "Melee Power" is tacked onto the end as "+XX". The damage inflicted by a melee attack appears in the message log.
Melee Power
Melee Power adds damage to attacks with melee weapons and thrown weapons. Melee Power is divided evenly across the mundane damage types of the attack. Melee Power doesn't add any damage types that aren't already in the attack, and doesn't affect non-mundane damage types.
Example:
Critical Hits
A Critical Hit doubles Melee Power. The Melee Power is distributed across the mundane damage types as normal.
crossbow attack damage =
This is all added up on your character sheet. The damage inflicted by a crossbow attack appears in the message log.
A critical hit with a crossbow bolt doubles the mundane damage types of the attack. Too bad Archery skills, crossbows, and crossbow bolts all add bonus Piercing damage, which is not increased on a critical hit.
Some crossbow bolts affect an area. The damage on the tooltip is applied like a normal crossbow attack. The area effect (which is not explained in the tooltip) is independent of the crossbow attack. It can't crit, and still happens if the attack is dodged.
thrown weapon damage =
This is completely absent from your character sheet. The damage inflicted by a thrown weapon does not appear in the message log.
A critical hit with a thrown weapon doubles the damage bonus from Melee Power: 2x Melee Power (with Thrown Weaponry skill) or 1x Melee Power (without Thrown Weaponry skill).
Some thrown weapons, like bombs, affect an area. The damage on the tooltip is applied like a normal throwing attack. The area effect (which is not explained in the tooltip) is independent of the thrown weapon attack. It can't crit, and still happens if the attack is dodged.
Defenses are applied in this order.
Dodge, Counter, and Block don't work on traps or spells. (All ranged attacks from monsters are spells)
Counter Chance and Block Chance are a bit misleading. Here's an example. 30% Dodge Chance, 20% Counter Chance, and 50% Block Chance add to 100%, but they don't affect 100% of attacks.
Block Chance is the percentage of attacks that the defender will dodge.
When a defender dodges, the attacker's attack is completely avoided. The attacker inflicts no damage. The attack does not trigger procs for the defender or attacker.
Counter Chance is the percentage of attacks--that aren't dodged--that the defender will counter.
When a defender counters, the attacker's attack is completely avoided. The attacker inflicts no damage. The attack does not trigger procs for the defender or attacker. The defender immediately makes a melee attack against the attacker. This attack isn't special. It can crit and trigger procs, and the attacker's defenses apply against it.
Counters can be countered. Only the last creature to counter inflicts damage on the other.
If a critical hit is countered, both are negated. Neither the attacker nor the defender inflict damage. The message log says, "Critical hit - but you block it!" but you didn't block. You countered. Blocking a critical hit is a different interaction.
A build based on countering may seem roguelike, but high Dodge Chance will reduce the number of attacks that can be countered.
Block Chance is the percentage of attacks--that aren't dodged or countered--that the defender will block. The attack can trigger procs.
Block multiplies the attacker's mundane damage types by 0.25. Only a quarter of mundane damage gets through a block. Block does not affect any other damages types.
Armour Absorption subtracts its value from the mundane damage types, in order:
Crushing, then
Slashing, then finally
Blasting. If Armour Absorption completely absorbs one mundane damage type, the remainder overflows to the next.
Example:
Blocking before Armour Absorption is advantageous to the defender. Percentage reduction on a big number, then flat reduction from a small number.
If blocking and/or armour absorption reduce the damage of a hit to zero, the message log says, "The attack has no effect."
Resistance subtracts its value from the incoming damage of the same type. A negative resistance increasing incoming damage. Resistance that exceeds the incoming damage will NOT heal the defender. Resistance to mundane damage types is applied after Armour Absorption, so mundane damage types may be reduced both by Armour Absorption and Resistance.
Dungeons of Dredmor and all images are (c) Gaslamp Games, Inc.