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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2150834" data-attributes="member: 172">Let's take a look at this:We'll be generous and assume 2e since you are talking about THAC0 (in 1e, it was shorthand in the DMG monster appendix more than a formalized mechanic.)I will also assume that the DM does not disclose the target's AC to the players.Operations:2e:Player knows THAC0. Has pre-figured attack modifiers.Player - Rolls to hit.  -Adds bonuses, giving a modified to-hit numberFrom here, generally my experience was:DM- Subtracts AC from THAC0- Compares results to player's roll.If you had a well heeled player that is not math anxious, DM step one might be unloaded on the player and the player reports AC hit. But you couldn't rely on it (our english and graphic design students weren't as up on this as the physical science and engineering students in our group.)Now in 3e:Player:- Rolls to hit- Adds pre-computed modifierDM- Compares result to AC.As I see it, the 3e method has three (possibly four) points of superiority over THAC0- You don't have  a second computation- You do no subtraction (usually less intuitive for humans, though the operation is identical in computation time for a computer). What was "THAC0 minus AC" in 2e is rolled into one.- You do no double negatives (also potentially confusing for humans.)- You never require the DM to do math, which is a time bottleneck since the DM will have to do it for all players (admitedly, if your players reported AC in 2e, this was not a problem.)Now, I do beleive that there are some potential drawbacks to the 3e method at high levels that aren't taken into account in analyzing a single roll:- Like subtraction, adding pairs of double digit numbers is less easy for humans than adding a single digit number to another single or double digit number.- ITERATIVE ATTACKS. This is the bane of D&D (and the glory of Spycraft, which lacks them). Having multiple separate attack modifiers means that it is not sufficient to have a single modifier on your sheet -- you must have multiple modifiers. A corallary of this is that you must remember which dice roll went with what modifier, and retain/remember your results until the DM has relayed the results. This more than anything adds time to high level combats.</blockquote>

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