If the attacker hits using a weapon, the attacker adds the weapon damage (normally 1-5 dice) to his total before the damage divisor is calculated.
Melee Weapons
Most melee weapons do 3 dice.
A Melee weapon is any weapon used in hand-to-hand combat, meaning not thrown or fired.
•Small weapons such as knifes, brass knuckles and the like add 1 dice.
•Medium weapons such as short swords and clubs do 2 dice
•Large weapons such as long swords do 3 dice.
•Great weapons such as mauls and flails and 2H swords do 4 dice.
Improvised weapons do –1 dice damage compared to a real weapon of comparable size. A hafted club does 3 dice. A boat paddle does 2 dice.
Firearms
•Pistols do 1 dice
•Hvy pistols and sub-machine guns do 2 dice.
•Rifles, including assault rifles, do 3 dice.
•Heavy rifles and machine guns do 4 dice.
•Automatic fire bursts subtract one dice from the to hit roll, but if successful can dramatically increase damage. For automatic fire damage, roll a separate d6, and multiple that by the weapon dice.
(If you’re the sort that obsesses over the difference between a 9mm and a .357, you’re playing the wrong game.)
A firearm used in melee is an improvised weapon except for the very few that were designed for that purpose.