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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
AD&D players and referees, what do you think of ascending AC?
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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9282799" data-attributes="member: 6877472"><p>Really, probably the most fun part of explaining how the system works is how AD&D flip flops on how modifiers work. For example, the lower your Armor Class, the harder you are to hit.</p><p></p><p>Yet, rather than lowering your Thac0, attack bonuses increase your die roll (which has the same end result, but doesn't seem as intuitive to some people). The defensive adjustment from Dexterity gives a negative modifier to AC (this makes sense), but at the same time, bonuses to AC, like +1 armor or the Swashbuckler's AC bonus are expressed as positive numbers. I had a prospective player look at me like I was from another planet when I explained that +1 plate isn't cursed, lol.</p><p></p><p>Of course switching it wouldn't be ideal either ("so my -1 sword lowers my Thac0 by 1 but increases my damage?" or "so ok, magic swords have pluses, but magic armor has minuses?"), so really I just blame Dexterity here (and the occasional -1 bonus to AC that crops up here and there, like the Dark Sun Gladiator's armor optimization*).</p><p></p><p>*corrected in the revised version of the setting to be a positive bonus.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 9282799, member: 6877472"] Really, probably the most fun part of explaining how the system works is how AD&D flip flops on how modifiers work. For example, the lower your Armor Class, the harder you are to hit. Yet, rather than lowering your Thac0, attack bonuses increase your die roll (which has the same end result, but doesn't seem as intuitive to some people). The defensive adjustment from Dexterity gives a negative modifier to AC (this makes sense), but at the same time, bonuses to AC, like +1 armor or the Swashbuckler's AC bonus are expressed as positive numbers. I had a prospective player look at me like I was from another planet when I explained that +1 plate isn't cursed, lol. Of course switching it wouldn't be ideal either ("so my -1 sword lowers my Thac0 by 1 but increases my damage?" or "so ok, magic swords have pluses, but magic armor has minuses?"), so really I just blame Dexterity here (and the occasional -1 bonus to AC that crops up here and there, like the Dark Sun Gladiator's armor optimization*). *corrected in the revised version of the setting to be a positive bonus. [/QUOTE]
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AD&D players and referees, what do you think of ascending AC?
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