Announcing enemy AC

[Ron]

I like not to tell them. However, I am usually busy with too many things to take care of during a combat and it is not uncommon to tell them without even realizing it. Also, as clever they are, they will quickly figure out by themselves.

 

[Fenes 2]

After a few rounds the players usually know from the diferent results of attack rolls what the AC of their opponent is, so I see no harm in telling them then. It speeds up combat if the players can tell me "2 hits, total 21 damage" instead of just "I hit AC 22, AC 14 and AC 18".

 

[Gothmog]

Nope, I never tell them the AC of their opponents, nor their hp, saves, or anything else. In fact, I have found it helps to keep as much game info and stats away from the players as possible in order for the players to act more like living characters in a fantasy world. For instance, during the game, I don't allow players to access their specific numerical values on their sheets, such as saves, AC, or hit points. I know some of you are screaming "burn him!" by this point, but in my experience, it does help players role-play vs roll-play more, and its not that much more work for me as the DM (I have a big spreadsheet with all of their ACs, hps, saves, and skill bonuses on it). I give them rough estimations of how many hp they have left (lightly wounded, bleeding from many small scarpes and cuts, or badly wounded, you are barely able to block out the pain enough to swing you sword again, for example). Although my players resisted a little at first, they love it now (even the die-hard hack-n-slasher)- they all say it helps them to focus more on their character as a person in a fantasy world rather than an amalgamation of statistics. After the session, when we are updating characters they can reference their sheets all they want, but during play I don't allow it since it slows things down considerably, and leads to some very unrealistic PC decisions ("I have 62 hp left? Hell, I think I'll charge that group of 23 orcs!").

 

[Umbran]

If the players have garnered enough information to divine what the AC is ("Hmm, we've rolled a 15, a 16, and a 17, and only the 17 hit..."), I figure I might as well tell them.

 

[Buttercup]

I never tell things like that. However, I'm pretty sure my players can figure it out. They all know who has rolled what, and who manages to hit.

But I wouldn't give them an armorclass number any more than I would say "you see three beholders". I try to describe stuff.

 

[Numion]

...and leads to some very unrealistic PC decisions

Unrealistic things in D&D? No way!

 

[Hejdun]

but during play I don't allow it since it slows things down considerably, and leads to some very unrealistic PC decisions ("I have 62 hp left? Hell, I think I'll charge that group of 23 orcs!").

It's not that unrealistic. If you have 62 hit points (read: mid to high level), then you can expect to mow those orcs down. There's nothing unrealistic about that. Hell, even Aragorn and Eomer have done it. Remember when the gates at Helm's Deep were being battered down and they charged into the god knows how many orcs? To top it off, Gimli didn't bother helping them because they knew they wouldn't need help. He just sat on a tree stump and watched them.

I don't it's that unrealistic for a mid to high level character to know that he can just mow down the opposition given his skill level.

 

[Squire James]

Since I happen to be one of those people whose primary love for the game are its statistical aspects (ie: all those pretty numbers), I gotta disagree with Gothmog's DM-ing style. Of course, his is his and mine is mine, so no big deal.

I have the kind of players who often forget to Power Attack even when they discover their enemies are hit on anything but a 1. I even had to make a statement similar to, "Guys! This thing has over 700 hit points and an AC of 17. If you don't Power Attack this thing, you're dead!" It's amazing how many PC's think that a feat taken at 1st level HAS to be useless at high level!

Normally, I don't announce an AC until someone rolls close to it. Then I normally give a "barely missed" or "that's what you needed" comment, then announce the AC.

 

[ergeheilalt]

AC

I'm not sure if its really announcing the AC, or just cluing in on it. It the monster has an ac of 18 and his holding a shield, the shield mod (as I see it) is the last to be factored in. Example: an 8 misses entirely. A 11 the monster dodges out of the way. A 15 clangs of the monsters armor/hide. A 17 clashes with the shield, nearly scoring.

This the way I see it. I'm not sure if this is how the rules support it, but it works for me...

Ergeheilalt

 

[Balsamic Dragon]

I do something similar to this. I give descriptions for the first few rounds, attempting to describe for each attack a different type of bonus that the creature receives (natural armor, armor, dexterity, magic, etc...) Then after a few rounds, if it is a large combat, I will tell them what the AC is to speed things up. I think it is less disruptive to tell the players what an AC number is than to have them attempting to do the math themselves instead of roleplaying or contemplating their next action.

Balsamic Dragon