I want to make a D&D Basic character cause I'm bored and I've found the PDF. There's one thing I don't understand and that's how you find out what your THAC0 is. So I was wondering if any of you people know how to do that.
The current system in 5th edition is much simpler and doesn't require anything more than the most basic maths during a fight.
Every character will have an armor class (like before) but now the higher the armor class, the better. As an example, a fighter in full plate, with a shield would be AC (armor class) 20.
Every character also has a bonus that their attacks are made at, usually their relevant ability bonus plus their proficiency bonus. As an example, a rogue might attack with a shortsword with +4 bonus from their dexterity and +3 bonus from their proficiency, giving an overall attack bonus of +7.
To attack, the rogue rolls a d20 and applies their +7. If the total is equal to or greater than the AC of the target, then it's a hit.
The thing is, when we played back then, it was just how it was. We didn't think anything of it, we just used the rules because they were "the rules".
Things are WAY easier to use and understand now even though sometimes it feels like a rip off when a caster has the same chance to hit something as a fighter.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Modern AC is similar but simpler as you are just adding not adding and subtracting and trying to meet or beat their AC number.
THAC0 worked like this if you had a THAC0 score of 10 and rolled a 12 then you can hit something with at up to -2 armor
In general the numbers don't convert to well to 5E now as the original change happened from 2nd to 3rd from THAC0 to AC And numbers got crunched a bit in 5e.
I never thought THAC0 was all that complicated. Sure, the 3e attack bonus concept is smoother, but back in the day I made sheets that had room for adjusted THAC0 on the weapons table (e.g. if you had THAC0 16 and +2 to hit from Strength, +1 from weapon specialization, and another +2 from your magic weapon the sheet would say "11"). Then you just subtract the d20 from the adjusted THAC0 to see the lowest AC you hit (so if I roll a 13, that's 11-13 = -2). Functionally the same as rolling d20+attack bonus, except addition is a little faster.
I thank everyone for the answers but I wanted to know how to find out what your THAC0 is. Say I had a lvl. 1 fighter, how would I find out what his THAC0 is?
I thank everyone for the answers but I wanted to know how to find out what your THAC0 is. Say I had a lvl. 1 fighter, how would I find out what his THAC0 is?
It would be anything but a "1".
AC nowadays is calculated by higher number being better. AC 10 means you need a "10" or better. So if you have a +2 to-hit and roll an 8, you hit!
So you don't have a personal THAC0 anymore, you just have target numbers.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
So in short, THAC0 is great, but we have forgotten how to calculate your THAC0. You can try the 1st Ed, AD&D and 2nd D&D facebook groups, you know they know how to do it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
And do not forget that +1 Platemail (or any armor for that matter) made your AC lower comparing now to then I really never figured out how they did all that math. If they started with ascending AC instead of waiting till 3rd edition I think they would have had more players. I know as I lost players due to system complexity.
I thank everyone for the answers but I wanted to know how to find out what your THAC0 is. Say I had a lvl. 1 fighter, how would I find out what his THAC0 is?
A 1st-level anything had a THAC0 of 20. This was then lowered based on your level: 1/level for Warriors (fighters, paladins, rangers), 2/3 levels for Priests (clerics, druids), 1/2 levels for Rogues (thieves and bards), and 1/3 levels for wizards (mages, illusionists, other specialists). There was a lookup table but it was based on a formula.
Monsters started out at THAC0 21 and dropped 2 per 2 HD. This was a remnant of the 1e attack table where monsters and fighter-types changed their matrix in two-level increments.
Base THAC0 wasn't calculated, it was dependent on your level, much as BAB in 3e and Prof bonus in 5e. In the 1e and 2e books there was a chart that would indicate your THAC0 for a given class for a given level.
To calculate what you need to hit a given AC based on your THAC0 (remembering that AC went from higher to lower the better it was) you subtract the AC of the target from your THAC0. So if your THAC0 is 18, and the target's AC was 2 (a good AC!) you would need to roll a 16 or higher to hit (18 - 2 = 16).
If you don't know the target's AC, you can easily determine what you can hit with any given roll by subtracting your roll from your THAC0, so if you rolled a 16, you'd know you can hit an AC of 2 or lower. (18 - 16 = 2).
For example: If my THAC0 is 18, my rolls vs AC would be: 1 vs AC 17 or lower (remember that a Higher AC means easier to hit!), 2 vs AC 16, 3 vs AC 15... etc to 10 vs AC 8, 11 vs AC 7, and so on.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I thank everyone for the answers but I wanted to know how to find out what your THAC0 is. Say I had a lvl. 1 fighter, how would I find out what his THAC0 is?
Sorry, are you asking how to get THAC0 for a 5e character? Or are you making a 1e/2e character?
In 5e AC starts low and goes high. A normal person with no armour and no Dex bonus has an AC of 10. An AC of 0 in 1e/2e would be the equivalent of AC 20 in 5e, so you'd be calculating your THAC20 not THAC0. A 1st level fighter with Prof of +2 would have a THAC20 of 18.
I want to make a D&D Basic character cause I'm bored and I've found the PDF. There's one thing I don't understand and that's how you find out what your THAC0 is. So I was wondering if any of you people know how to do that.
What's a THAC0?
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
Hi there NeccoBob,
THAC0 hasn't been used since 2nd edition AD&D!
The current system in 5th edition is much simpler and doesn't require anything more than the most basic maths during a fight.
Every character will have an armor class (like before) but now the higher the armor class, the better. As an example, a fighter in full plate, with a shield would be AC (armor class) 20.
Every character also has a bonus that their attacks are made at, usually their relevant ability bonus plus their proficiency bonus. As an example, a rogue might attack with a shortsword with +4 bonus from their dexterity and +3 bonus from their proficiency, giving an overall attack bonus of +7.
To attack, the rogue rolls a d20 and applies their +7. If the total is equal to or greater than the AC of the target, then it's a hit.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
To Hit Armor Class 0 - The math majors version of hitting something
THAC0. Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.
How complicated could it have been? BAHAHHAHAAA!
The thing is, when we played back then, it was just how it was. We didn't think anything of it, we just used the rules because they were "the rules".
Things are WAY easier to use and understand now even though sometimes it feels like a rip off when a caster has the same chance to hit something as a fighter.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Well, THAC0 was in turn waaaaay easier than 1st edition AD&D attack roll charts!
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
I loved THAC0, i had it charted for easy lookup.. i need to roll a 14 to hit an AC of -2
The chart where having a negative AC was a good thing... ahh, the good old overly complicated days of D&D.
http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/SRD:THAC0
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
Was it really easier? At least you could look at the chart and not do too much math...
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Modern AC is similar but simpler as you are just adding not adding and subtracting and trying to meet or beat their AC number.
THAC0 worked like this if you had a THAC0 score of 10 and rolled a 12 then you can hit something with at up to -2 armor
In general the numbers don't convert to well to 5E now as the original change happened from 2nd to 3rd from THAC0 to AC And numbers got crunched a bit in 5e.
I never thought THAC0 was all that complicated. Sure, the 3e attack bonus concept is smoother, but back in the day I made sheets that had room for adjusted THAC0 on the weapons table (e.g. if you had THAC0 16 and +2 to hit from Strength, +1 from weapon specialization, and another +2 from your magic weapon the sheet would say "11"). Then you just subtract the d20 from the adjusted THAC0 to see the lowest AC you hit (so if I roll a 13, that's 11-13 = -2). Functionally the same as rolling d20+attack bonus, except addition is a little faster.
I thank everyone for the answers but I wanted to know how to find out what your THAC0 is. Say I had a lvl. 1 fighter, how would I find out what his THAC0 is?
It would be anything but a "1".
AC nowadays is calculated by higher number being better. AC 10 means you need a "10" or better. So if you have a +2 to-hit and roll an 8, you hit!
So you don't have a personal THAC0 anymore, you just have target numbers.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
So in short, THAC0 is great, but we have forgotten how to calculate your THAC0. You can try the 1st Ed, AD&D and 2nd D&D facebook groups, you know they know how to do it.
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
And do not forget that +1 Platemail (or any armor for that matter) made your AC lower comparing now to then I really never figured out how they did all that math. If they started with ascending AC instead of waiting till 3rd edition I think they would have had more players. I know as I lost players due to system complexity.
A 1st-level anything had a THAC0 of 20. This was then lowered based on your level: 1/level for Warriors (fighters, paladins, rangers), 2/3 levels for Priests (clerics, druids), 1/2 levels for Rogues (thieves and bards), and 1/3 levels for wizards (mages, illusionists, other specialists). There was a lookup table but it was based on a formula.
Monsters started out at THAC0 21 and dropped 2 per 2 HD. This was a remnant of the 1e attack table where monsters and fighter-types changed their matrix in two-level increments.
Base THAC0 wasn't calculated, it was dependent on your level, much as BAB in 3e and Prof bonus in 5e. In the 1e and 2e books there was a chart that would indicate your THAC0 for a given class for a given level.
To calculate what you need to hit a given AC based on your THAC0 (remembering that AC went from higher to lower the better it was) you subtract the AC of the target from your THAC0. So if your THAC0 is 18, and the target's AC was 2 (a good AC!) you would need to roll a 16 or higher to hit (18 - 2 = 16).
If you don't know the target's AC, you can easily determine what you can hit with any given roll by subtracting your roll from your THAC0, so if you rolled a 16, you'd know you can hit an AC of 2 or lower. (18 - 16 = 2).
For example: If my THAC0 is 18, my rolls vs AC would be: 1 vs AC 17 or lower (remember that a Higher AC means easier to hit!), 2 vs AC 16, 3 vs AC 15... etc to 10 vs AC 8, 11 vs AC 7, and so on.
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Sorry, are you asking how to get THAC0 for a 5e character? Or are you making a 1e/2e character?
In 5e AC starts low and goes high. A normal person with no armour and no Dex bonus has an AC of 10. An AC of 0 in 1e/2e would be the equivalent of AC 20 in 5e, so you'd be calculating your THAC20 not THAC0. A 1st level fighter with Prof of +2 would have a THAC20 of 18.
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
THAC0 dosen't exist in 5e. If you're asking how to convert 5e to 2nd ed THAC0 it is 21 - attack bonus
Well, that's almost true...