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The number that results will contest the victim’s armor class score to see if they are hit. To calculate the attack bonus your character will have with a weapon, add together their strength/dexterity modifier + their proficiency bonus (if they are proficient with the weapon).
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Some weapons have the finesse property, allowing you to use your character’s strength or dexterity modifier for attacks and damage rolls. For ranged weapons like a longbow, you would use your character’s dexterity modifier. For most melee weapons, the ability modifier that will be used when attacking will be strength. On the page just before the weapons chart, the Player’s handbook details different weapon properties.
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Once you decide on your character’s weapons, it is important to fill in the attack bonus your character will be granted with the weapon, and the damage and type of damage their weapon will deal.
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