tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post7211165457682618778..comments2023-06-08T08:26:07.304-05:00Comments on Advanced Gaming & Theory: Mechanic Series: THAC0 & Armor ClassRipperXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-53266111752226522712016-01-14T21:31:17.325-06:002016-01-14T21:31:17.325-06:00Oh no, Ripper, I bring the Combat in all its morta...Oh no, Ripper, I bring the Combat in all its mortal glory to my D&D players. Consider this: Combat is non-linear, meaning that any injury can be fatal. I see fear in my players' eyes every time they go into battle. I have am elegant mechanic for determining, if a critically injured character remains on his feet; and if he remains conscious after an arrow pierces his chest, before bleeding out. I use a hit location table, but not for damage, rather to see of the armor will avert a critical hit. Armor is very expensive and warriors have to spend money and seek out master armorer and accumulate good armor piece meal. If you got a solid metal piece protecting the area, then nothing under sixth level can deal a death blow with natural weapons through a solid metal armor. Players can develop their unique fighting style by trial and error, that matches historical experience.<br /><br />I don't use THAC0, because there are a set of static modifiers to hit, and then there are tactical modifiers that apply to the to hit roll based on characters' actions in battle, and, if they use the weapon in accordance with the purpose, for which is was developed, they get a tactical advantage - Unseating riders, trapping and pulling shields from melee opponents, etc. If I want to learn the players something, I have their opponents use the tactic on players.<br /><br />I also make my D&D game realistic in terms of consequences of their decisions, that players face in the game. <br /><br />The chief benefit of all this house-ruling is that players are forced to think, and that power games are rendered impotent. They have to get into the game to be able to perform. This style of DMing evolved, when I got a group of outsiders to gaming, wbo all wanted to play fighters (they had a pretty sound logic - simplest character type that they can understand, and therefore, control). I decided to make playing fighters in my game as interesting, as it is to play thieves and magic-users. <br /><br />1e Matrix suits me better, but I see the advantages of using THAC0.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-32451214616788178422016-01-14T19:17:32.112-06:002016-01-14T19:17:32.112-06:00Realism and D&D are two very different things,...Realism and D&D are two very different things, especially when it comes to combat, but I get what you are saying. Either you are a fan of the THAC0 system, or you aren't. Me personally, I can't use a combat matrix, I don't like them and I never have. I can work with the THAC0 system much faster, I already know my THACO, just give me the modified AC and I can tell you if I hit or not. <br /><br />I personally have developed a deep love for math, but calculating THAC0 isn't complex enough to even be called math. But I get it! I do. It is a preference thing, but the cool thing about it is that you and I can play the same game with two different tables and come out with relatively the same results regardless of the method that we are using, so you are correct, using the 1e matrix system instead of THAC0 doesn't break the game down, it is still functional.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-42671979103999408022016-01-14T16:08:29.784-06:002016-01-14T16:08:29.784-06:00Hey, Rip! You further defined me as a FIRST Editio...Hey, Rip! You further defined me as a FIRST Edition AD&D DM! I don't confuse my players with game mechanics, they need to have uncluttered minds to make decisions and interact with the hell that I put them into!<br /><br />I am not a fan of Gygax or a hater of Simplicity, however, if you want your game to reflect realism, and be reflect the real world tactics that is line how medieval weapons were developed and used, your game will get nuanced and more complex! Personally, I don't want to be figuring out the 'rithmetic, while DMing. What I do instead is have a set of To Hit and To Be Hit numbers written on my copy of the player character's sheet, already prefigured with all of the modifiers. One line for each melee weapon, 1H and 2H use line for the bastard sword, and three lines for each missile weapons - at different ranges. This way, I see the number I need based on what the player tells me, I roll and call it without having to do any math. I use a lot of modifiers - Weapon vs armor table, I added a few tweaks to make combat more tactically relevant in a direction different from the Combat and Tactics.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-54960047804305336082016-01-12T15:59:12.339-06:002016-01-12T15:59:12.339-06:00That may be an inaccurate statement that I made, I...That may be an inaccurate statement that I made, I can't tell you too much. I know that he touches upon it in the 1e DMG, but by the time Gygax got to sit down and write the DMG the MM had already been in print for a couple of years. Talking about THAC0 could had just been a nod to a mechanic that was too late to implement.<br /><br />This stuff was before my time, I was just a little kid. What I'd like to know is how in the hell did anybody play AD&D without the Combat Matrix? The MM was published one year, than the PHB the next, the DMG was last to be written, and it contains most of the info that makes the game playable. My only guess is that there must had been a combat matrix in the first printing of the MM.RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-5944896053771104362016-01-12T12:03:30.195-06:002016-01-12T12:03:30.195-06:00"Gygax [...] dismissed [it] as too simple.&qu..."Gygax [...] dismissed [it] as too simple."<br /><br />If there's one thing Gary didn't like, it was simplicity. :-)GreyKnighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07573812542452845497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370162161693557709.post-5679875063347622752016-01-11T18:10:11.446-06:002016-01-11T18:10:11.446-06:00Thanks Chris! But do make sure that you remember t...Thanks Chris! But do make sure that you remember that if one of those preppy popular kids ask you if you are playing one of those complex math games, then it is your DUTY to always say, "Yes!", and if he still wants to play then you must string him along as long as possible. RipperXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506064393275174920noreply@blogger.com