Suggestion: Option to recalculate THAC0 and 2nd ed AC to Attack Bonus and 3rd ed Armor

AendaeronBluescale

Hello,

what about a display option for players that recalculates AD&D values to their D&D 3rd ed variant?
THAC0 of 20 = 0 AB
THAC0 of 19 = 1 AB
THAC0 of 18 = 2 AB
and so on.

2nd ed AC of 10 = 10 Armor 3rd ed
2nd ed AC of 9 = 11 Armor 3rd ed
2nd ed AC of 8 = 12 Armor 3rd ed
and so on.

For some, especially newer players, THAC0 and 2nd ed AC can become too confusing.

ZanathKariashi

Not really opposed to it, as long as it's just an option, and would at least make it easier to describe bonuses and penalties for newbies.

karl_maulder

I've never really understood how some ppl find the 2nd ed rules difficult to figure out. It's simple math everybody by the age of 7 should understand. Rather than add numbers(3E) you subtract.

Jarrakul

@karl_maulder, the problem isn't that the math is hard (it's really not), it's that it's unintuitive. It takes people an unnecessarily long amount of time to figure out what's going on, especially when the game does a terrible job explaining it to them.

My one potential problem with the proposed option is how it could screw up communication between players. That's probably less serious than players being just plain confused about how the system works, so I say go for it anyway. That said, call the two armor class systems something different so that we don't get even more confusion on that front.

AendaeronBluescale

I've changed the title and definition of 3rd ed AC to avoid confustion.

riyahhassett

I wish 3rd and 4th edition never happened.

HeroicSpur

I never really got to grips with 3E, but funnily enough never had a problem with 2E -must have got used to it over the various Infinty Engine games.

Whatever the situation regarding ease of access and simplicity, I think there's a major practical hurdle -which is perhaps nigh insurmountable. Namely, every reference to THACO and AC would need to be adjusted accordingly, all the items, all the descriptions, all the helps, everything, otherwise you would have a jumble of Armour/AC, and THACO/AB -which is even more confusing.