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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 5709919" data-attributes="member: 3586">I don't think I have, but I can give you a few clues. The first is that it's much, much easier to remember. If you look at 3e, you needed to keep track of the following forms of AC:* normal* vs touch attacks* normal when surprised* vs touch attacks when surprisedand so on an so forth. Monster stats would have "AC, touch, flat-footed". It's a lot to calculate. And it takes up valuable space on statblocks.Consider also the difference in values: in AD&D, a very dexterous character would have a 4 bonus to AC which would be penalised - and that was pretty rare. Often, there'd be no penalty at all. In 3E, the bonus could (and did) get as high as +12 at the higher levels. Another, major factor, is that monster AC does not depend on Dexterity in 4E. It derives purely from level and role (and how the designer wants to tweak it). As heavy armour fighters are also not using Dex/Int to improve their AC, the *only* characters you're actually affecting are the thieves and magic-users of the party.Honestly, by that stage, it's a rule not worth keeping.One effect of the tighter mathematics of 4E is that a +2 bonus is actually significant (especially once you consider that rogues and other creatures have special effects against foes they have Combat Advantage against). It's a penalty for the surprised fighter and thief alike. Just as an additional thing to consider: What if every ability score gave a bonus and there were no penalties. So, a Dex of 3 was a +1 bonus and a Dex of 18 was a +9 bonus. (You just shift the numbers up by 5). Then, losing your Dex bonus during a surprise round would be exceptionally good to the character surprising you...Cheers!</blockquote>

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