D&D General How did/do you make your THAC0 attacks rolls?

[Bacon Bits]

whenever I hear about people moaning about how bad THAC0 was/is I always wonder "Why didn't they just write themselves a chart?".

I used a THAC0 chart on my sheet and I still loathe THAC0 and descending AC.

Part of the problem is that I should never feel the need to create a chart on my character sheet for something I'm rolling 2 to 3 times a turn. Can you imagine needing to consult a chart for the attack roll in 5e? It's a super cumbersome mechanic for how often it occurs.

 

[billd91]

We used a variety of methods. I rolled the die and subtracted from my THAC0, but I was a lot more comfortable with that computation and wrangling the negative numbers than most of my fellow players. That was a major issue with THAC0 that drove some of my fellows back to using a chart, even though THAC0 was designed to free us from the chart in the first place.

 

[jasper]

Wrote 10 to -10 on the bottom of notebook paper and fill in the chart.

 

[Sacrosanct]

For 2e? Each weapon has its THAC0 value right next to it (along with damage). The modifiers were already accounted for. E.g, if my THAC0 was 16, and I had a total of +4 to hit from various modifiers, I wrote down 12. Then I subtracted my die roll from that and called it out. No need for tables. Just one value for each weapon.

 

[Lanefan]

Player rolls the to-hit die, adds the character's bonuses, and tells me the total. If there's special circumstances I might ask how that total came to be what it is (e.g. if a magic weapon is needed to hit) and-or what was rolled on the die.

I take that total and add it to the foe's AC, factor in anything else the foe might have going for (or against) it, factor in anything the character might have going for (or against) it that the player doesn't know about e.g. an intrinsic effect of the area or an individual curse, compare the end result to a fixed target, and narrate whether a hit's been scored or not.

Note that usually this whole process is much simpler than it sounds when written out.

 

[Zardnaar]

Usually thaco plus modifiers and I'll tell you if you hit.

I use Bab now though for older D&D. I would only use thaco by request or for that ye olde genuine 1 off.

 

[Dausuul]

What method did/do you use to make your combat rolls? In other words, did you adjust your THAC0 by the opponent's AC (as in the rules), or did you subtract your d20 roll from your THAC0 and tell the DM what AC you've hit? Or something else?

My method was "play a wizard, and then your attack rolls don't matter anyway."

 

[Lanefan]

My method was "play a wizard, and then your attack rolls don't matter anyway."

Sure they do - in games that have such, you can still fumble...