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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Brennen" data-source="post: 4691259" data-attributes="member: 553">I think the argument isn't that THAC0 and BAB calculations are mathematically equivalent isn't really the point.  It's the basic premise, the starting parameters, of THAC0 that initiates confusion in some players. Start at 10 and decrease my AC value as it gets better?  And I can go negative? Whaaa?I'm sure this has its roots in some wargame resolution table. But just the idea that "increasing the amount of protection I'm wearing" = "an increase in the value of the number that represents the amount of protection I'm wearing" is a straight-forward, intuitive approach. For THAC0, many people get stuck on "why does it work that way?"And boiling down the comparison to THAC0 vs. BAB ignores the fact that these are both integral parts of their respective game systems, and additional confusion was caused by the way THAC0 worked with respect to the rest of the system. I add my Strength bonus and magic weapon bonus to my attack roll but subtract my Dex bonus and magic armor bonus from AC. So a bonus is a subtraction... except when it's not? You need me to make a Str check? Okay. 20! Awesome! What? I blew it? I thought 20 was the best thing you could roll?With 3E and beyond, there's no need to mentally switch gears (or dice) when going from Saving Throws to Attacks to Hide in Shadows to Attribute Checks. This fact means that overall, 3E should play faster. However, in practice, I think that it then occasionally loses some momentum due to the many additional bonus/penalty/options which crop up in play that didn't in previous editions, which players and DM alike need to track.</blockquote>

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