Was Thac0 really that bad?

[UngeheuerLich]

Not really... it was somehow even elegant...

roll+AC and compare vs Thac0 was the easiest solution.

13 (rolled) + 4 (AC) = 17 If your Thac0 is 17 or lower, you hit!

 

[foolish_mortals]

that's not too bad. And you only had a 20 number range to deal with, which was nice.

foolish_mortals

 

[The Human Target]

Its an absolutely needless complication that adds nothing to the game and runs counter intuitively to... everything.

 

[Bobbum Man]

Yes.

It was counter-intuitive and required an extra arithmetic step to adjudicate.

Deliberately choosing a system that is unnecessarily cumbersome, outdated and extrinsic when another system accomplishes the same thing in a more streamlined and user-friendly manner is wrong-headed and assbad.

 

[FireLance]

I didn't have any problems with THAC0.

Then again, in my late teens, I made the cut for Math Olympiad training in my country (although I wasn't good enough for the final squad), so my experience may not be universal.

 

[Number48]

Yes.

It was counter-intuitive and required an extra arithmetic step to adjudicate.

Deliberately choosing a system that is unnecessarily cumbersome, outdated and extrinsic when another system accomplishes the same thing in a more streamlined and user-friendly manner is wrong-headed and assbad.

The 2E THAC0 was an improvement from 1E lookup tables. It was at least a small line that went on your character instead of flipping open books. It mainly looks bad because 3E used essentially the same mechanic without the additional math. It is the same mechanic after the day is done, but I still would refuse to play 5E if it was implemented.

 

[Flobby]

Yes.

It was counter-intuitive and required an extra arithmetic step to adjudicate.

Deliberately choosing a system that is unnecessarily cumbersome, outdated and extrinsic when another system accomplishes the same thing in a more streamlined and user-friendly manner is wrong-headed and assbad.

Ditto. And there is no chance in hell it will be adopted again. It is only NOT bad for those of us who enjoy math, which I am not one of.

 

[Li Shenron]

I enjoy math. That's why I prefer a simpler algorithm to achieve the same thing.

 

[Stalker0]

It was a great evolution to the game....that was simply replaced with another evolution.

 

[Harlander]

THAC0 always seemed symptomatic, to me, of the weird jumbledness of 2E. Roll high for this, roll low for that. A high number is better here, but a low number is better there.

For neatness, everything should be one way: roll low or roll high, lower or higher scores are better. A mix is just a bit of a mess.