AC modifiers
Jarrakul
Member Posts: 2,029
So, right now, each character has a base AC and a bunch of AC modifiers against each of the four attack types. For example, I have an IWDEE character with a -11 base AC, -4 vs. crushing, -4 vs. piercing, -8 vs. missile, -2 vs. slashing. Which actually illustrates the feature I'd like to have. This character, and many others, has a modifier in the same direction for every attack type. A simpler and more transparently informative version would, imo, simply add the shared component to the base. See below for an example:
Current version:
AC: -11
Modifier vs. crushing: -4
Modifier vs. slashing: -2
Modifier vs. piercing: -4
Modifier vs. missile: -8
Suggested new version (subtracted shared components):
AC: -13
Modifier vs. crushing: -2
Modifier vs. slashing: 0
Modifier vs. piercing: -2
Modifier vs. missile: -6
Alternatively, if you want a more complicated version, it may make sense to display the base AC as the mean of the four actual ACs. This would provide a more accurate measure of defensive strength for players who aren't inclined to dig through the record screen, at the expense of some more complicated numbers. An example of this would be as follows:
Suggest new version (mean AC):
Aggregate AC: -15.5
AC vs. crushing: -15
AC vs. slashing: -13
AC vs. piercing: -15
AC vs. missile: -19
Thoughts?
Current version:
AC: -11
Modifier vs. crushing: -4
Modifier vs. slashing: -2
Modifier vs. piercing: -4
Modifier vs. missile: -8
Suggested new version (subtracted shared components):
AC: -13
Modifier vs. crushing: -2
Modifier vs. slashing: 0
Modifier vs. piercing: -2
Modifier vs. missile: -6
Alternatively, if you want a more complicated version, it may make sense to display the base AC as the mean of the four actual ACs. This would provide a more accurate measure of defensive strength for players who aren't inclined to dig through the record screen, at the expense of some more complicated numbers. An example of this would be as follows:
Suggest new version (mean AC):
Aggregate AC: -15.5
AC vs. crushing: -15
AC vs. slashing: -13
AC vs. piercing: -15
AC vs. missile: -19
Thoughts?
3
Comments
Yeah, @dunbar, that's the danger of the aggregate system. Notably, the current system has the opposite problem, which causes just as many problems (since the relevant judgement is one of comparison between ACs). I think it'd end up being an improvement overall, but whether it's the best possible system is... more debatable.