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Hot Take: Uncertainty Makes D&D Better
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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 8924285" data-attributes="member: 87792"><p>Yes it has. An average first level PC in any class in 5e has a primary stat of 16 and a proficiency bonus of +2 - for +5 to hit. Meanwhile a CR 17 Adult Red Dragon has an AC of 19. Our first level PC of any class needs a mere 14 to hit a CR17 dragon. Against something level appropriate like an orc the orc is AC 13 or 8s to hit.</p><p></p><p>By contrast an average first level PC with a Str of 16 gets no to hit modifier and has a THAC0 of, I think, 20 for a +0 bonus to hit. In 2e the Ancient Red Dragon has an AC of -5 which, pivoting to modern AC values is the equivalent of an AC of 25. Natural 20s or bust. Against a level-appropriate orc, the orc is AC 6 meaning 14 to hit for our first level PC (or 13 for a fighter with weapon specialisation).</p><p></p><p>The 2e characters basically can't hit that dragon and are almost half as likely to hit the orc as the 5e characters. On the other hand it probably takes two hits to bring down the orc in 5e and only one in 2e. </p><p></p><p>The to hit math has significantly changed; hitting is now expected meaning that hits are a whole lot less triumphant. And armour is a whole lot less important. You're right that the game was designed for trained combatants to miss or be parried all the time. It's now designed for them to hit almost all the time; the change basically came in with 3.0 when the impact of stat modifiers changed drastically while armour and especially heavy armour remained almost unchanged and then again in 2014 when they decided to take all the level scaling out of AC in the name of "bounded accuracy" (in 3.5 the adult red dragon had an AC of 29 while in 5e the adult red dragon has a lower AC than a run of the mill CR 1/2 Hobgoblin)</p><p></p><p>I've been leading this charge <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 8924285, member: 87792"] Yes it has. An average first level PC in any class in 5e has a primary stat of 16 and a proficiency bonus of +2 - for +5 to hit. Meanwhile a CR 17 Adult Red Dragon has an AC of 19. Our first level PC of any class needs a mere 14 to hit a CR17 dragon. Against something level appropriate like an orc the orc is AC 13 or 8s to hit. By contrast an average first level PC with a Str of 16 gets no to hit modifier and has a THAC0 of, I think, 20 for a +0 bonus to hit. In 2e the Ancient Red Dragon has an AC of -5 which, pivoting to modern AC values is the equivalent of an AC of 25. Natural 20s or bust. Against a level-appropriate orc, the orc is AC 6 meaning 14 to hit for our first level PC (or 13 for a fighter with weapon specialisation). The 2e characters basically can't hit that dragon and are almost half as likely to hit the orc as the 5e characters. On the other hand it probably takes two hits to bring down the orc in 5e and only one in 2e. The to hit math has significantly changed; hitting is now expected meaning that hits are a whole lot less triumphant. And armour is a whole lot less important. You're right that the game was designed for trained combatants to miss or be parried all the time. It's now designed for them to hit almost all the time; the change basically came in with 3.0 when the impact of stat modifiers changed drastically while armour and especially heavy armour remained almost unchanged and then again in 2014 when they decided to take all the level scaling out of AC in the name of "bounded accuracy" (in 3.5 the adult red dragon had an AC of 29 while in 5e the adult red dragon has a lower AC than a run of the mill CR 1/2 Hobgoblin) I've been leading this charge ;) [/QUOTE]
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