====== Attack Skill ======

{{:items:enchanted_sword.png?nolink }} **Attack Skill** is an offensive martial talent, most often used in melee combat to determine whether an attack hits successfully. When attacking with a melee weapon, the attacker’s Attack Skill gets a [[DRN]] roll is compared to the defender’s [[Defence Skill]] DRN roll:

  * **If the Attack result is higher than the Defence result**, the attack lands, ignoring the target's shield (if they have one).
  * **If the Attack result is lower than or equal to the Defence result**, what happens depends on if the defender's Parry bonus is what's responsible.
        *  **If the Parry bonus is what makes the difference**, the attack hits the target's shield, and the shield's [[Protection]] value is used in damage calculations.
        * **If the Parry bonus is not what made the difference**, the attack misses completely.

After the attack hits, whether or not it does any damage depends on a different dueling pair of DRN rolls (Damage vs. Protection), and on a different pair of attributes ([[Strength]] and Protection).

==== Some other details ====

  * Attack Skill and Defence Skill are also relevant for [[repelling]], the art of dissuading a foe's attack with a weapon.
  * [[Fatigue]] effectively reduces Attack Skill, with every 20 points of Fatigue counting as **-1** Attack Skill. This is less severe than the drop-off for Defence Skill (-1 for every 10 points), however, so both frontlines "fatiguing out" will result in more hits landed on both sides.
  * [[Experience]] stars increase Attack Skill.
  * Going [[Berserker|Berserk]] increases a unit's Attack Skill at the expense of their Defence Skill, though **only** if they have points in the Berserker trait.

===== Stat Examples =====

Note that these examples include the weapons involved, most of which (other than spears or axes) modify Attack Skill.

^  Example Monster  ^  Their ATT  ^
|  A [[Afflictions|Blind]] soldier with a spear  |  1  |
|  A ??Soulless?? (zombie) trying to punch someone  |  4  |
|  Most [[Pretender]] Idols (though most can't attack)  |  5  |
|  A ??Crusher?? trying to punch someone  |  7  |
|  A ??Soulless Warrior?? who died holding a weapon  |  7  |
|  A totally-green ??Militia?? man with a spear  |  8  |
|  A ??Jotun Bondi?? (amateur fighter) with an axe  |  9  |
|  **The average human soldier with a spear**  |  10  |
|  The average human soldier with a sword  |  11  |
|  A ??Longdead?? (skeletal) warrior with a spear  |  11  |
|  A ??Wolf??  |  11  |
|  A ??Man at Arms?? or equivalent with a sword  |  12  |
|  A ??Knight of Man?? with a lance  |  13  |
|  A ??Samurai?? with a katana  |  13  |
|  An ??Emerald Guard?? or equivalent with a sword  |  14  |
|  A ??Devil?? with their trident  |  14  |
|  A Size 7 ??Air Elemental?? with their lightning  |  15  |
|  An ??Emerald Lord?? or equivalent legend with a sword  |  16  |
|  A ??Yamabushi?? with a katana  |  17  |
|  An ??Arch Angel?? with their ??Flambeau??  |  18  |
|  A ??Kenzoku?? with their magic katana  |  19  |
|  ??Rarku - Hunter of Heroes??  |  20  |
|  ??Ferdiad - Fir Bolg Hero??, with his sword, while [[Berserker|Berserk]]  |  21  |
|  ??Cu Chulainn - Hero??, with his magic sword, while [[Berserker|Berserk]]  |  23  |
|  ??Umor - Eater of Gods??, first life  |  25  |

Super-high attack skill on troops -- over 13 -- is not very common, at least since independent troops are rarely all that trained.