Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Mechanical differences between AD&D and Basic?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="rogueattorney" data-source="post: 8394509" data-attributes="member: 17551"><p>THAC0 was not introduced nor even mentioned in the B/X Moldvay/Cook rules. The B/X rules had the same repeating 20s that 1e did. </p><p></p><p>The OD&D Monsters & Treasure Assortments from 1977 had an "attack value," which was what we might call a "THAC9" as it was the number to hit armor-less opponents, which in OD&D was AC9 and that was the first attempt to move away from the charts. </p><p></p><p>The 1e DMG famously had its "To Hit A.C. 0" number in its monster listings, which was a helpful tool rather than a rule as it didn't work against better ACs due to the aforementioned repeating 20s.</p><p></p><p>The term "THAC0" started appearing in late 1e products, again as a helper or mnemonic rather than a rule. THAC0 didn't actually become the rule until 2e came out in 1989. THAC0 was then mentioned in the Rules Cyclopedia (1991), but confusingly, was still being used in the 1e fashion due to still having the repeating 20s. </p><p></p><p>I have a way-too-long and boring essay on the history of AC and the to hit charts from OD&D to 2e if anyone is really interested.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rogueattorney, post: 8394509, member: 17551"] THAC0 was not introduced nor even mentioned in the B/X Moldvay/Cook rules. The B/X rules had the same repeating 20s that 1e did. The OD&D Monsters & Treasure Assortments from 1977 had an "attack value," which was what we might call a "THAC9" as it was the number to hit armor-less opponents, which in OD&D was AC9 and that was the first attempt to move away from the charts. The 1e DMG famously had its "To Hit A.C. 0" number in its monster listings, which was a helpful tool rather than a rule as it didn't work against better ACs due to the aforementioned repeating 20s. The term "THAC0" started appearing in late 1e products, again as a helper or mnemonic rather than a rule. THAC0 didn't actually become the rule until 2e came out in 1989. THAC0 was then mentioned in the Rules Cyclopedia (1991), but confusingly, was still being used in the 1e fashion due to still having the repeating 20s. I have a way-too-long and boring essay on the history of AC and the to hit charts from OD&D to 2e if anyone is really interested. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Mechanical differences between AD&D and Basic?
Top