When a character hits with a weapon, she deals damage according to the type of weapon. Effects that modify weapon damage also apply to unarmed strikes and the natural physical attack forms of creatures.
Damage is deducted from the target’s current vitality, wound or hit points, as appropriate.
Reflex Save
A Reflex save represents a character’s attempts to reduce damage from an opponent. When a character makes a Reflex save, she rolls 1d20. If the result equals or beats the opponent’s Attack Roll, the character takes half damage. Many modifiers can affect the Reflex save.
Making a Reflex save is an immediate standard action.
A character cannot tumble to reduce damage from energy attacks.
Minimum Weapon Damage
If penalties to damage bring the damage result below 1, a hit still deals 1 point of damage.
Strength Bonus
When a character hits with a melee weapon, add double her Strength modifier to the damage.
Dealing Nonlethal Damage
Certain attacks deal nonlethal damage. When you take nonlethal damage, keep a running total of how much you’ve accumulated. Do not deduct the nonlethal damage number from your current vitality points. It is not “real” damage. Instead, when your nonlethal damage exceeds your current vitality points, you fall unconscious.
You can use a melee weapon (or unarmed strike) to deal nonlethal damage instead, but you take a -5 penalty on your attack roll. If the attack roll would have otherwise hit, the attack is successful but deals lethal damage as normal.