Who puts the "class" in Armor Class?

[AeroDm]

I've been working a lot on a variant D&D system and was sort of bummed when I realized I'd removed armor class. Then I thought, "hey, what's the deal with 'class' in armor class?" There are a handful of definitions of class that can be stretched so that the term makes sense, but Gygax was a logophile (yeah, I did that) so I'm interested if anyone knows the intention behind the usage.

Any other weird terms that I've been using for decades and never noticed they were weird?

 

[pawsplay]

I've been working a lot on a variant D&D system and was sort of bummed when I realized I'd removed armor class. Then I thought, "hey, what's the deal with 'class' in armor class?" There are a handful of definitions of class that can be stretched so that the term makes sense, but Gygax was a logophile (yeah, I did that) so I'm interested if anyone knows the intention behind the usage.

Any other weird terms that I've been using for decades and never noticed they were weird?

"Leather" "ring" "mail" "plate"

You know, ... classes of armor. In the original rules you could get +/-1 for Dex and a few other modifiers, but basically, the to-hit difficulty was the type of armor you wore. This was then abstracted to a number in order to simplify monster write-ups.

 

[Evilhalfling]

who put the bop in the bop she bop?


Who put the bling in the bling de bing?






























*I may be intoxicated*

 

[howandwhy99]

You must spread some Experience Points around before giving it to pawsplay again.

Yep. You got it in 1.

9 is no armor
7 leather
5 chain
3 plate
standard shield is +1 for in between.

Other types were added in until the whole thing looked better off as a defensive rating and not a descriptor for the "class" of armor.

 

[WheresMyD20]

The term "armor class" goes all the way back to the Chainmail game. In Chainmail, not only is there a numbered armor class, but there is also a numbered weapon class. Cross-indexing weapon class with armor class on a table gives the number that needs to be rolled to score a hit. Certain weapons are more effective against certain armors.

In OD&D, a variant combat system was introduced that cross-indexed armor class with character class and level instead of weapon class. Weapon class was dropped and all weapons were equally effective. In later editions, this system became the standard system rather than a variant.

Supplement 1 reintroduced the weapon vs armor modifiers based off of the tables in Chainmail, although weapons are not given a numbered class but are categorized by type. This would eventually find its way into AD&D 1e more or less as-is and a simplified version would show up as an optional rule in AD&D 2e.

It's important to note that armor class in OD&D is truly a representation of the armor type used (and shield carried) and is determined only by the armor worn and shield used. Dexterity does not modify armor class. Magical armor does not affect armor class, instead it reduces the attacker's chance to hit by effectively reducing his hit dice or levels. For example, an ogre (a 4 hit dice monster) attacking a character wearing +2 armor would attack as if it were a 2 hit dice monster.

In later versions of D&D, dexterity and magic modified armor class directly and the term "armor class" became somewhat of a misnomer, but was still left in the game.

 

[AeroDm]

[Snip/Explanation beginning with Chainmail]

Alright, that makes sense. In chainmail it was a literal grouping (or class) of armors all taking on similar traits when targeted by different groupings (or classes) or weapons. The other explanations I've seen "work" but are less precise usages of the word 'class' than bonus or modifier would have been in their same place. Hence the confusion.

Also, thanks to the folks that ran with the humor tag. Any other weird terms that have slipped under the radar or other explanations for AC?

 

[FireLance]

Any other weird terms that I've been using for decades and never noticed they were weird?

Well, when you think about it, "hit points" should actually mean the opposite of what they mean. However, I guess that "hits-to-kill points" would be quite a mouthful.

 

[pawsplay]

The term "armor class" goes all the way back to the Chainmail game. In Chainmail, not only is there a numbered armor class, but there is also a numbered weapon class. Cross-indexing weapon class with armor class on a table gives the number that needs to be rolled to score a hit. Certain weapons are more effective against certain armors.

You can actually see another strand of this family of combat mechanics in Rolemaster. Arms Law was originally a sourcebook for D&D, basically. Arms Law was a bunch of tables, one for each weapon, with a column for each armor type.

 

[pawsplay]

Well, when you think about it, "hit points" should actually mean the opposite of what they mean. However, I guess that "hits-to-kill points" would be quite a mouthful.

"Hit points" makes sense if you realize that in older games, damage was 1 point. So 3 "hit points" meant you had to get hit three times.

 

[Croesus]

I've been working a lot on a variant D&D system and was sort of bummed when I realized I'd removed armor class. Then I thought, "hey, what's the deal with 'class' in armor class?" There are a handful of definitions of class that can be stretched so that the term makes sense, but Gygax was a logophile (yeah, I did that) so I'm interested if anyone knows the intention behind the usage.

Any other weird terms that I've been using for decades and never noticed they were weird?

My understanding is that both armor class and hit points came from a miniatures game for ship to ship battles. They were terms applied to battleships and the like. Gygax and friends simply adapted the terms to their proto-RPG rules in Chainmail (as mentioned above).

The D&D rules grew directly out of various other games, so the terminology doesn't always make much sense when approached fresh. Oh well...