Why must numbers go up?

[Ariosto]

Shouldn't this be "right flank or rear, assuming shield on the left arm"?

That's per PHB page 36 -- but not per DMG page 70.

Flank Attacks: All flank attacks negate any defender armor class addition for shield.

If you have tried, or watched, fighting on foot with weapon and shield, perhaps recollection will suggest that the shield is held up to one's front. Assuming the shield is on one's left arm, one's torso is either also facing the front or turned to the right. So, it might actually be a bit easier to block to the right flank than to the left.

You've got three "front" squares or hexes (or positions if not using a grid). Depending on the size of your shield, it counts against from one to three attacks per round.

I don't know whether this is mentioned in the AD&D books, but a cavalryman normally would be fighting to a flank of his horse. They would have different "front" facings, except for instance in a charge with lance.

 

[Ariosto]

If you're in a close-ordered phalanx with big shields, then you get additional coverage from your neighbor to the left. So, a clash of lines might end up turning about an axis as each tries to shift to its right and past the opponent's left flank.

 

[ExploderWizard]

If you're in a close-ordered phalanx with big shields, then you get additional coverage from your neighbor to the left. So, a clash of lines might end up turning about an axis as each tries to shift to its right and past the opponent's left flank.

This is extremely common at LARP events I have attended. The advancing lines will swirl in a big circle like a huge flock of birds. The whole battle line becomes a dog chasing its tail.

 

[Hussar]

A task can be virtually impossible without making it rigidly numerically so.

An AD&D man at arms against an ancient red dragon is such a situation. Yeah he might be able to score a lucky shot but victory (unless the dragon falls asleep out of boredom) is pretty much impossible.

There are impossible tasks of course. Needing a magic weapon to score damage is one example.

Higher numbers just for the sake of higher numbers is pointless. If the difficulty of attaining a success remains a constant then there is no real improvement taking place.

But, you're taking an extreme position here. The man at arms fails, not because he can never hit the dragon, but, because the dragon will kill him at almost any point in time.

Take it out of combat for a second. What you stated was that no task should have a difficulty outside the range of the dice. What about climbing? Or swimming? Or trying to convince someone of something?

There are all sorts of situations out there that are just outright impossible. No, you cannot scale a flat wall in full plate. Maybe someone who is amazingly strong and an expert climber can, but, by and large, lots of people can't.

So, you set the DC beyond what a person could be expected to have, and that super climber guy gets to give it a shot.

I very much disagree that all tasks should fall within the range of a given die roll. There are all sorts of tasks that should fall well outside that range.

 

[ExploderWizard]

But, you're taking an extreme position here. The man at arms fails, not because he can never hit the dragon, but, because the dragon will kill him at almost any point in time.

Take it out of combat for a second. What you stated was that no task should have a difficulty outside the range of the dice. What about climbing? Or swimming? Or trying to convince someone of something?

There are all sorts of situations out there that are just outright impossible. No, you cannot scale a flat wall in full plate. Maybe someone who is amazingly strong and an expert climber can, but, by and large, lots of people can't.

So, you set the DC beyond what a person could be expected to have, and that super climber guy gets to give it a shot.

I very much disagree that all tasks should fall within the range of a given die roll. There are all sorts of tasks that should fall well outside that range.

Impossible tasks are perfectly fine. A man who can lift 500 lbs. at the extreme simply cannot lift that 800 lb object no matter what he rolls. I'm certainly not suggesting that he be given a chance.

When formerly impossible tasks all suddenly start to become the everyday norm simply because the one attempting it is now level X and the universe would like to have this guy keep his chances of accomplishing anything meaningful on an even sliding track the game world loses credibility.

 

[Fifth Element]

When formerly impossible tasks all suddenly start to become the everyday norm simply because the one attempting it is now level X and the universe would like to have this guy keep his chances of accomplishing anything meaningful on an even sliding track the game world loses credibility.

Depends on what 'X' is and what you mean by "everyday norm". If you're talking about a 30th-level epic hero, then yes, he should be able to do stuff that "normal men" couldn't even fathom. We're talking like demigod, Herakles-level stuff here. "Everyday" for level 30 is "impossible" for a dirt farmer.

He can't do otherwise-impossible things "just because" he's level 30. He can do them because he's freaking Herakles. Or some other equivalent. You get my drift.

 

[Hussar]

Impossible tasks are perfectly fine. A man who can lift 500 lbs. at the extreme simply cannot lift that 800 lb object no matter what he rolls. I'm certainly not suggesting that he be given a chance.

When formerly impossible tasks all suddenly start to become the everyday norm simply because the one attempting it is now level X and the universe would like to have this guy keep his chances of accomplishing anything meaningful on an even sliding track the game world loses credibility.

This doesn't even work in the real world either though.

Ten years ago, I would have zero chance of speaking Japanese. However, having lived in Japan for the past several years, I can now hold a pretty decent conversation.

People's capabilities change. I spent a number of years learning Tae Kwon Do. Before I did that, I would have zero chance of doing a lot of the things I can do fairly easily now. And there are a number of things I can sometimes do with a great deal of difficulty that would have been outright impossible before.

You're basically saying that no one can become an expert.

 

[ExploderWizard]

This doesn't even work in the real world either though.

Ten years ago, I would have zero chance of speaking Japanese. However, having lived in Japan for the past several years, I can now hold a pretty decent conversation.

People's capabilities change. I spent a number of years learning Tae Kwon Do. Before I did that, I would have zero chance of doing a lot of the things I can do fairly easily now. And there are a number of things I can sometimes do with a great deal of difficulty that would have been outright impossible before.

You're basically saying that no one can become an expert.

Not at all.
You learned a new language over time. You actually got more proficient at speaking it. If you were living in 4E Japan you would start out struggling with the language and after ten years you would still be struggling because somehow after all that time and learning, you would routinely encounter all new words, and concepts every day. You wouldn't feel as if you had really mastered anything unless you visited a primary school class so that you could have a conversation with 7 year olds without struggling.

People's capabilities do indeed change. A world on a moving track that keeps the successful use of these capabilities more or less at the beginner level simply makes those advances an illusion.

 

[Ariosto]

A world on a moving track that keeps the successful use of these capabilities more or less at the beginner level simply makes those advances an illusion.

Oh, heavens, yes! I have little sympathy for AD&D DMs who to similar effect routinely penalize Thief functions on deeper levels of the dungeons. Even with monsters on average getting tougher, the other classes do not so find their advances negated.

Still, one at least has the option of operating on different levels. The "modern" thing is to remove that option and make everything conform to a homogenized expectation.

 

[Hussar]

Not at all.
You learned a new language over time. You actually got more proficient at speaking it. If you were living in 4E Japan you would start out struggling with the language and after ten years you would still be struggling because somehow after all that time and learning, you would routinely encounter all new words, and concepts every day. You wouldn't feel as if you had really mastered anything unless you visited a primary school class so that you could have a conversation with 7 year olds without struggling.

People's capabilities do indeed change. A world on a moving track that keeps the successful use of these capabilities more or less at the beginner level simply makes those advances an illusion.

But, this is exactly how it works in the real world. You start out learning a language, and gain a basic understanding. Perhaps you can read, perhaps not. You can get by. Some time later, your proficiency expands to the point where you can go beyond basic conversation and actually engage someone on a specific topic. Still later, you can participate in a complicated conversation in a crowded room with several speakers speaking at the same time, such as at a party or in a crowded bar. After that, you could get to the point where you could learn new skills in that new language - such as taking a history class in another language at a university.

So, yup, I could absolutely pwn conversation at the elementary level, but, I'm still going to struggle with a university lecture on Jung in Japanese.

How is this not pretty much exactly how challenges scale in any system with scaling challenges?