|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 12:57:21 GMT -6
Post by Necropraxis on Oct 24, 2012 12:57:21 GMT -6
In my game, AC 2 is literally the best armor class that any monster or character can ever have.
I see negative armor classes as early as Supplement I, however.
So I'm curious, does anyone else here play "3 LBB only" such that AC 2 is the best AC, or is it more common to backport the lower AC numbers from Greyhawk and/or AD&D?
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 13:28:10 GMT -6
Post by inkmeister on Oct 24, 2012 13:28:10 GMT -6
I agree with your approach; AC tops out at 2. Magical bonuses subtract from the hit dice of the attacker. This last point is controversial for me; I interpreted it to mean that you subtract hit dice in the sense that if the attacker has 5 hit dice, and the defender has +1 armor, the attacker will attack as if he or she had only 4 hit dice. Thus, in some cases, a magical bonus won't affect a particular monster's attack. The other interpretation I'm aware of is that you subtract the bonus from the attacker's d20 hit roll; this makes sense in light of what future editions did. I don't favor this interpretation (though Mike Mornard and other's seem to have confirmed that meaning); to me this is no different than just lowering one's AC number.
In short, I agree, AC2 is the best armor rating.
|
|
zeraser
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 184
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 13:38:33 GMT -6
Post by zeraser on Oct 24, 2012 13:38:33 GMT -6
For me, AC 2 is the best armor class that a person (as in "charm person") can achieve; certain enemies like dragons that have super-tough defenses might get down to 0, but no negative numbers. However, under my house rules, a low AC is not necessarily optimal: It hinders characters' attempts to jump, climb, balance, etc. (as in Searchers of the Unknown) and diminishes the wages of their special attacks (a house rule whereby players who are willing and able to narrate something situational and cool that their characters do in battle can add their AC to a to-hit roll; they deal their HD in bonus damage if successful but are automatically hit by all enemy attacks in the next round if unsuccessful).
Not that you asked about any of that.
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 14:19:19 GMT -6
Post by talysman on Oct 24, 2012 14:19:19 GMT -6
AC 2 is pretty much the best possible armor, but I kind of reserve AC 1 and AC 0 for some tougher defenses. Not for monsters. Haven't actually implemented it yet, but I'm thinking AC 1 is an actual solid sphere/container, no openings, completely surrounding something. You might theoretically be able to damage what's inside by jostling it within the container, so it gets an AC 1. AC 0 might be the same thing, but it moves of its own accord and dodges blows. Or maybe I'll use AC 0 for attacks on gaseous forms or aimed psychic attacks. Haven't really decided.
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 14:25:45 GMT -6
Post by Finarvyn on Oct 24, 2012 14:25:45 GMT -6
I just let the plusses "stack" so that if "Plate & Shield" is AC 2 then "Plate +1 and shield" is AC 1 and "Plate +1 and shield +1" is AC 0.
I control this mostly by being careful how powerful the magic items are which can be found by players. While Greyhawk boasts some +5 weapons and armor, I tend to stick to the M&M charts which top out at +3.
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 16:12:20 GMT -6
Post by waysoftheearth on Oct 24, 2012 16:12:20 GMT -6
I generally do as per Fin, except that multiple magical adjustments do not stack. Only the greatest adjustments applies.
I also try out various house rules in my different games to see how they go.
I'm okay with negative ACs in principle, (as per Greyhawk which goes down to -3 or thereabouts from memory), but in practice I don't think I can recall any PC ever reaching a negative AC.
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 16:19:16 GMT -6
Post by blackbarn on Oct 24, 2012 16:19:16 GMT -6
I'm using LBB only, and AC2 is the best. If I import something with a lower AC I will likely change it to AC2. Tougher monsters will have more HP, they probably don't need lower AC's as well to be a challenge.
|
|
zeraser
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 184
|
Best AC
Oct 24, 2012 18:46:54 GMT -6
Post by zeraser on Oct 24, 2012 18:46:54 GMT -6
Tougher monsters will have more HP, they probably don't need lower AC's as well to be a challenge. That may be; assuming that PCs typically top out at 8 HD, I guess that gives them more or less a 50/50 shot to hit a 2 AC opponent at the high end - seems fair.
|
|
Alex
Level 3 Conjurer
Posts: 92
|
Best AC
Oct 25, 2012 12:57:46 GMT -6
Post by Alex on Oct 25, 2012 12:57:46 GMT -6
I'm running a dungeon on my friend Jimm's campaign world so while doing so I defer to using his house rules so that PCs can move between our respective dungeons. However for my own gaming I created a rules document with all my interpretations of what is in the '74 box set and in my document AC 2 is the best there is. Nowhere do M&M/M&T/U&WA ever show an AC lower than 2 nor say that bonuses change the AC (except for missile range modifiers adding to target AC instead of attack roll*), and there is no modification to AC based on Dexterity. I thought this was a non-standard interpretation since all later editions go with the same approach as Greyhawk, but seeing the responses here I feel more like it's the norm if you only play Books 1-3.
* for which I rule that AC 9 is the worst possible. The modifier in this case seems to represent the penetration power of the missile. Those who are not wearing armor are no more likely to be hit at short than long range, but those in heavy armor get less protection from it at close range as the penetration power of the missile (+2) helps get to the soft being inside.
|
|
|
Best AC
Oct 25, 2012 13:16:12 GMT -6
Post by talysman on Oct 25, 2012 13:16:12 GMT -6
Since I use Target 20 for attack rolls, I find it easier to accommodate magic armor by adding the bonus to the target number (20.) So:
Normal armor is hit on 20+; +1 armor is hit on 21+; +2 armor is hit on 22+.
The last digit equals the armor bonus, in other words.
|
|