Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General How Does The Dice Rolling Work?

LoL, NO. Lets just start with the absurdity of AC in the days of THAC0. So I equip a shield and that raises my AC? Nope. AC is an inverse, so the better yours is, the lower the number? Yep. So the best I can get is 0? Nope, we can go into negative numbers! Well I rolled a 14, does that hit? Ok, take the 14 and you were using a dagger +2 so add 2. Now we are at 16. Ok so did I hit? Well you were swinging at an invisible target so thats a -4. Ok so 12...did I hit. Well The orc was wearing armor of ridiculousness that gave him an AC of -3. So you started with a THAC0 of 12 which means a roll of 12 or higher is a hit. Ok so I hit because my modified roll was a 12, right? Well no because now we have to subtract the orc's delta from AC 0 from your THAC0 so 12 - a -3 and - - =+ so 12+3 = 15 so you need to roll a 15...you missed.

Yeah that system was AMAZING. One of the few things I DON'T miss about AD&D 2e.

Oh and when I DM'd I just translated this for people. If the orc has an ac of -3 and you have a thac0 of 12 then you need a 15. So your roll plus modifiers. I guess the problem would come if someone always thought "I need to roll 12, right?"

And I agree advantage is sooo much easier for new players but it also sooo much more powerful than your standard buff and there so many ways to get advantage . . .

But anyway, the days of Thac0 are gone. (until WotC lets us have 2nd ed srd)

For people with no D&D background, the way they implemented it makes more sense. There is a number and I roll a D20 to beat it. The problem is us DnD people think it's backasswards. Then if you look in the log it is even more confusing and hard to verify if it was done correctly. IMO Keep it as is but make sure all checks/rolls/etc are in the log and much more clear. We DnD people should build a bridge and get over it to make it more accessible to a wider audience.

I'm not particularly invested either way. I don't mind the reduction in target number as a way of dealing it, but I wouldn't care if they left the DC the same and added the modifiers after, either.

That's probably better, because there actually is a difference in effect, though. If a check has enough modifiers to it, the "target" could be be reduced as far down as 1, in which case you could pass it even with a natural 1, which by the rules is an automatic failure.

I actually encountered one check with a target of 1, and that was where I rolled my first natural 1 (in dialogue), and passed the check. It was the tutorial for using the Illithid tadpole, so the check was easy on purpose, but it still exposed a potential weakness.