GameBanshee Forums

Hi,

In an old post I read an explanation on rolling dice, THAC0, AC etc. Does this really matter in the game because you never know what the AC or THACO of the enemy is do you? I mean, what do you do with all this knowledge in BG? I'm not really thinking about all the calculating, I just try to keep my AC and THACO as low as possible etc and getting good weapons, lots of saving throws etc. but that's all I do with all the AD&D rules knowledge. Since AD&D is new to me and I get my knowledge out of the manual, I wonder. Can I do more with all that info?? Or better, what use is all the AD&D info from the manual in the actual game, what kind of advantage can I get by knowing all that?

Thnx

Not much advantage to the knowledge, really. Just know that lower AC is better, lower ThAC0 is better, higher hit points are better, etc. I don't think there is much you can do to sqeeze advantage out of the knowledge. The whole AD&D rules conversion thing is really just a structure for the game, and they let you know everything you need to know.

You can calculate your opponent's AC and maybe ThAC0 if you really want to. Go to the options screen and turn on the dice rolls - that will show you what the numbers really are on the attack rolls. If your ThAC0 is 1 and you roll a 11 and miss, you know the guy has an AC of -11 or better. If you roll a 12 and hit, you know his AC is -11. Similarly, if your AC is -9 and your opponent rolls a 4 and hits you, then you know his ThAC0 is damned impressive: -5 or better.

What does that gain you? I dunno. Might show you that your opponent isn't just getting in a few lucky hits at the beginning and that he will hit you every time. Might also show you that you don't have a chance of hurting the guy unless you roll a 20. But how often are the fights so very one-sided? And what actions can you take? Maybe back off a fighter who is going to get thrashed and nail the guy with spells instead - I suppose that could be an advantage. Kinda minor, though.

It means a little more in the Pen-and-paper games because everyone makes their own rolls and does their own math and such. Since the computer does it for you, it doesn't mean much.

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: smaug chow ]

Please move this non-BG2 specific discussion down to the main RPG category. This topic is closed.