ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

Hi.
I returned to TOME after 2 years, and as always, one thing is strange to me.
Are daggers is best waepons in TOME? On swordmaster char, dagger do a lot more dmg than other weapons. Where is the hook?

There are several things that affect damage.

1) The number of hit die. Something that is 8d4 is eight times as good as something 1d4. Daggers are the worst except for broken daggers.
2) Any to-hit and to-damage bonuses on the weapon (the +x, +y).
3) Weight bonuses- heavier weapons have a higher chance of critical hits.
4) Your to-hit and to-damage bonuses.
5) Number of blows/round. Daggers rule in the early game because of this. A beginning swordmaster might get 4 hits/round with a dagger and only one with a broadsword. The sword does more damage in one hit, but the extra three hits for the dagger make it much better. This is affected by your strength and dexterity and the weight of the weapon. After you max your stats a sword will get as many hits as a dagger and be a much better weapon.

Bottom line: Immediately sell your sword and buy a dagger if you are playing a swordmaster. Do the thieves quest to get a better dagger. By the time you are ready for a sword, you will have found an artifact or ego weapon.

Let's say you're playing a strong character. That character gets an innate +4 to damage (for example) on every strike they make. With a broadsword, you do 2d5+4 damage per strike, averaging 10. With a dagger, you do 1d4+4 damage per strike, averaging 6.5. Obviously, if you only get one attack, then the broadsword is better. However, it's much easier to get multiple attacks with the dagger than with the broadsword, because it's so light. With two attacks per round, your average damage with the dagger is now 13, better than the broadsword. And it's entirely feasible to get upwards of four attacks per round right from the start, making the dagger more than twice as good as the broadsword.

Eventually you'll be strong and dextrous enough to get multiple attacks even with heavier weapons, so the dagger's huge advantage is only in the early game. Moreover, heavier weapons get better critical hits, which can be a significant multiplier for your damage output (especially if you worship Tulkas, who has a spell to guarantee critical hits).

Note that whips are actually better than daggers, since they have 1d6 dice instead of 1d4 (or 1d5 for the main gauche). But a swordmaster is not going to be very good with whips.