Reasons behind Thanc0/AC in 1E/2E

[Calico_Jack73]

In OD&D, very little modified your AC (not Dex, not magic armor, not magic rings, etc), and if your AC was 2, that almost always meant you were wearing plate mail and carrying a shield.

Which is why in 1E AD&D different weapons had bonuses against certain armor classes. I always thought that was weird... it should have been bonuses against certain types of armor instead but now it makes sense.

 

[RFisher]

I've heard that a lot, so it must be a commonly-held opinion, but I don't see it that way. Typically, players had their "row" from the to hit charts written on their sheets; obtaining the number they need to hit doesn't get much simpler than glancing at the character sheet. No calculations required. THAC0 isn't a complicated calculation, but I don't see it as a leap forward in reducing complexity.

If I could do arithmetic fast, I'd probably use THAC0 for monsters when DMing.

A chart is never easier. In some simple cases, it is not noticeably harder.

I agree with the latter statement, but not with the former. I've never quite understood the long standing bad rep that tables have had among RPG gamers. There's a reason that, before electronic calculators & computers, a lot of effort was expended on generating tables of the trigonometric & other functions. Sometimes a table is easier.

Of course, due to my own arithmetic weaknesses, the line for when a table becomes easier for me may be different than for most people.

 

[RFisher]

Actually--come to think of it--I do use THAC0 with classic D&D--just not in play. When a player's THAC0 changes, I just read them the new THAC0 off the the table in the Expert booklet. They write that in the AC zero box on their character sheet & then fill in the rest of the line based off that.

Oh, & another point on tables: Even since seeing the summary of tables in the back of the 1e DMG, I've often thought that RPG rules could be primarily tables, which could make them much easier to understand. (Though, today I guess I'd have to add, "for some people".)

 

[Chaldfont]

This leads me to the question:

Is it THAC0, as in Waco, TX or THAC0 as in "whacko"?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Is it THAC0, as in Waco, TX or THAC0 as in "whacko"?

I always pronounced it as THAC0 = whacko ... does that say something about me?

I still say, even when using d20+modifiers: "I hit AC XX". Old habits die hard, even when I'm no longer using a line copied from a table.

 

[Cadriel]

This leads me to the question:

Is it THAC0, as in Waco, TX or THAC0 as in "whacko"?

According to a little-read note in the 2nd ed PHB, it's "THAY-koh." Actual gamer pronunciation during the '90s was decidedly mixed between the two.

 

[JDJblatherings]

This leads me to the question:

Is it THAC0, as in Waco, TX or THAC0 as in "whacko"?

i only ever heard it pronounced THACK-OH

 

[T. Foster]

I always said it like "whacko," but my experience at cons, game clubs, etc. seemed to indicate about a 50/50 split between "whacko" and "Waco," with an occasional odd duck who would say "thack-zero" (I don't recall ever hearing anyone say "thake-zero," but I'm sure there were folks out there who did).

 

[SuStel]

According to a little-read note in the 2nd ed PHB, it's "THAY-koh." Actual gamer pronunciation during the '90s was decidedly mixed between the two.

Where is this note to be found in the book?

 

[RFisher]

This leads me to the question:

Is it THAC0, as in Waco, TX or THAC0 as in "whacko"?

I've always rhymed it with "whacko".

But then, around here, it's not that uncommon to (intentionally mis-)pronounce Waco that way as well. (^_^)