Melee hit chance: skills, HCI and DCI

The standard equation#

Let A be the attacker’s effective combat skill, D the defender’s effective combat skill, H the attacker’s net hit-chance bonus, and V the defender’s net defence-chance bonus. The ordinary chance is ((A + 20) × (100 + H)) ÷ (2 × (D + 20) × (100 + V)). After any weapon-specific adjustment, the minimum is 2%. A result of 100% or more succeeds automatically.

Values at or below −20 skill are replaced with −19.9 before this calculation. H and V each have a final upper cap of 45; these are caps on the modifiers, not a 45% chance to hit. Equipment HCI / DCI first pass through your progression-band caps.

Worked comparisons#

Which skill is used#

A normal weapon uses its combat skill. Use Best Weapon Skill chooses the highest of Swordsmanship, Fencing and Mace Fighting. A Mage Weapon can use Magery when its effective value exceeds the weapon skill. With empty hands, defensive skill is max(Wrestling, min(120, (Anatomy + Evaluating Intelligence + 20) ÷ 2)). This defensive substitute does not change unarmed attack skill.

Common chance modifiers#

Weapon accuracy levels contribute 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 points for Accurate through Supremely Accurate. The current melee hit path adds 10 HCI and subtracts 20 DCI while Divine Fury is active. Hit Lower Attack and Hit Lower Defence each subtract 25 from their corresponding modifier. Weapon abilities can add their own modifiers before the final 45-point ceilings.

See Equipment tiers and caps for the complete progression-band limits.