Quote Originally Posted by Winthur View Post
Apparently you are more likely to roll >=2 on a 1d4 than you are a >=4 on a 1d8, plus it's 2d4+1 instead of 1d8. And that's it. I guess the good B.Swords start appearing in the sequel.
It's more that you're less likely to roll <=2 twice on 2d4 than you are to roll <=4 on 1d8 (the downside is that you're also less likely to roll >=3 twice than you are to roll >=6 on 1d8, but as a rule predictability works in favor of the player). Rolling 2d4 gives a range of 2-8 with an average of 5 and a marked central tendency (that is, results cluster around the mean), while the 1d8 gives a range of 1-8 with mean of 4.5 and no central tendency. Of course, 2d4+1 boosts that even a little higher: a range of 3-9 with a mean of 6 is nearly on par with a 2d6 (range of 2-12, mean 7 with a slightly weaker central tendency), and you can still use a shield with it.