Oblivion:Hand to Hand

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Skill: Hand to Hand
Governing Attribute: Strength
Specialization: Combat

Hand to Hand is the skill that governs how well your character can attack enemies using only fists. Hand to Hand attacks damage both the opponent's Health and Fatigue, unlike other types of melee attack. Improving your hand to hand skill allows you to deliver more damage with your fists, and gives you access to power attacks.

Contents 1 Mastery 1.1 Mastery Perks 1.2 Skill Benefits 1.3 Skill Increases 1.4 Dialogue 2 Character Creation 3 Messages 4 Notes

[edit] Mastery

[edit] Mastery Perks

• A Novice does a basic power attack with a damage bonus (2.5 times more damage) in all directions.
• An Apprentice gains damage bonuses with a Mastery Standing Power Attack (3 times more damage).
• A Journeyman gains the Mastery Left and Right Power Attacks, which do 2.5 times more damage and have a chance to disarm.
  • Journeymen also gain the ability to damage creatures that are immune to normal weapons (e.g., Ghosts, Wraiths, etc.)
• An Expert gains a Mastery Backwards Power Attack, which does 2.5 times more damage and has a chance of a knockdown.
  • Experts also gain a chance of a knockback attack when blocking.
• A Master gains a Mastery Forward Power Attack, which does 2.5 times more damage with a chance to paralyze.
  • Masters also gain a chance of a disarm on a knockback attack when blocking.

[edit] Skill Benefits

Your hand to hand skill controls how much damage you do with your fists, according to the following formula:

Health_Damage = 1 + 10.5 * (Strength/100) * (HandToHandSkill/100)

The damage currently done when your character uses Hand to Hand can be seen in the skills section of your journal: if you highlight Hand to Hand, the number visible next to a fist icon is the damage. The target's Fatigue is also damaged by:

Fatigue_Damage = 1 + 0.5*Health_Damage

See The Complete Damage Formula for more information on melee damage.

[edit] Skill Increases

Your hand to hand skill increases by 0.6 experience points each time you hit a living target with your fists, regardless of the amount of damage inflicted. Using a power attack will not increase the amount of experience gained. Hits on inanimate targets (such as those in the Fighters Guild training rooms) do not provide any experience. Hand to hand experience is gained somewhat more rapidly than the other melee combat skills (Blade and Blunt).

General tips on how to increase your hand to hand skill are provided at General Combat Strategies.

See also:

• Increasing Skills: General tips on how to improve your skills semi-naturally.
• Trainers: Pay for hand to hand lessons.
• Hand to Hand Training: A master of unarmed combat wants you to try to hurt him to prove you deserve training.
• Skill Books: Books that provide lessons in hand to hand.
• Increasing Attributes: Tips on training skills to improve the Strength attribute.
• Free Skill Boosts: There are a couple opportunities to receive free hand to hand skill boosts.

[edit] Dialogue

When your skill reaches 70 or higher, NPCs will start saying: "Seems you've bloodied your knuckles a few times."

[edit] Character Creation

The following races provide initial skill bonuses in hand to hand:

• +5 bonus: Argonian, Imperial, Orc
• +10 bonus: Khajiit

The following standard classes include hand to hand as a major skill:

• Archer, Barbarian, Crusader, Knight, Monk, Warrior

[edit] Messages

The following table provides the messages that are displayed when your Hand to Hand skill levels up.

Level	Message
Apprentice	Thick calluses cover your knuckles and joints from long hours of punching and kicking. At long last you are an Apprentice in Hand to Hand combat. You have a new Standing power attack, which does extra damage. Press and hold the attack button to use this power attack.
Journeyman	Thick calluses cover your knuckles and joints from long hours of punching and kicking. At long last you are a Journeyman in Hand to Hand combat. Your Sidestep power attack now has a chance to disarm your opponent. Press and hold Attack while moving left or right to use this power attack.
Expert	You are now an Expert in Hand to Hand combat. You gain the Sweeping power attack, with a chance to knock down your opponent. Press and hold Attack while moving backwards to use this power attack.
Master	At long last you are a Master of Hand to Hand combat. You now have the Rushing power attack, which has a chance to paralyze your opponent. Press and hold Attack while moving forward to use this power attack. Blocking has a chance to disarm your opponent.

[edit] Notes

• There is no way to apply additional magical damage while using hand to hand combat. For example, a dagger can be enchanted to add magical fire, frost, or other damage types. Hand to hand combat does not permit this. Wearing magical gauntlets will not make any difference to your combat or damage ability either. Additionally, there is no way to apply poison to your fists to use during combat.

• You cannot use a shield while using your fists, either. If you have an equipped shield, you will not receive the shield's Armor Rating unless you are using a (one-handed) weapon. However, you will still receive the benefits of any enchantments on the equipped shield.

• Should a weapon reach 0 health, it will be unequipped automatically and your fists will be switched as your current weapon. Therefore, some degree of competency in hand to hand may be useful.

• One benefit of hand to hand combat is that you damage your opponent's fatigue directly, increasing the chances of knocking him down. You can also use a torch while you fight and block.

• If you visit the Warrior birthsign doomstone you can receive the greater power War cry. One of several benefits of this power is that it fortifies your hand to hand skill 10 points once a day for 120 seconds.

• Once your renown reaches 30, you can also visit the Jode heaven doomstone to receive the greater power Jode's Blood. One of several benefits of this power is that it fortifies your hand to hand skill 20 points once a day for 120 seconds.