Ironworks Gaming Forum - two questions

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THACO. What the heck is it? I've had the game for months and i still dont know what it is.

and...my theif has a x3 in backstabing, does that mean he gets to strike at a target 3 times until he leaves the shadows?

THAC0 is to hit at armor class 0 it just means the lower it is the more likely you are to hit a person. Backstabbing is a theif comes out of the shadows and does immediant damage because the attacked cannot see him, Backstabbing x3 means it will take the damage from backstabbing and multiply x3 my backstabdamage is x5

This helped me understand it

Quote:

THAC0 means exactly what it’s an acronym for: To Hit Armor Class 0. It is one of the most important stats a character can possess if he ever plans to enter hand-to-hand or ranged combat (and what adventuring soul doesn't?), because a poor statistic means less connected attacks, thus giving your opponent more time to strike at you. In D&D, all attack rolls are made with a 20-sided die, and the resulting number is then compared to your THAC0 and the opponent’s armor class.

All character classes start out with a base THAC0 of 20, which means that you need to roll a 20 on a 20-sided die in order to successfully strike an opponent with an armor class of 0. To calculate what you need to hit a different armor class, you just take your character’s THAC0 and subtract your opponent’s armor class. So, for example, a character with a THAC0 of 17 attacking a Hobgoblin with an armor class of 6 would need an 11 [17 - 6] or better on a 20-sided die to wound his foe. If your opponent has a negative armor class, the same rules apply, but remember that subtracting a negative number is, in effect, adding the positive. So, if that same Hobgoblin had a -2 armor class, you’d need a 19 [17 - (-2)] or better to successfully hit. Now, also keep in mind that no matter how good or how bad an opponent’s armor class is, a 20 on a 20-sided die always hits and a 1 always misses.

Many variables can affect a character’s THAC0. Depending on what class you are, your THAC0 will decrease at a certain rate as you increase in level, with warriors decreasing the fastest and mages decreasing the slowest. To see a table of THAC0s up to level 20, check out the Calculated THAC0s table above.

Increasing in level is not the only thing augmenting your THAC0. Things such as strength bonuses (melee attacks), dexterity bonuses (ranged attacks), and magical weapons can all affect it as well. For the purpose of an example, let’s use a third level warrior with a strength of 18(00) and a dexterity of 16. First of all, due to his level, this warrior would have a base THAC0 of 18, and because of his exemplary strength, he gets a +3 attack roll bonus to his melee attacks (including thrown weapons). Again, we do a bit of subtraction here; 18 - (+3) is 15, so this warrior possesses a THAC0 of 15 when attacking in hand-to-hand combat with a nonmagical weapon.

Now, let’s take this same warrior and put him in ranged combat with a long bow. Since his strength has no bearing on how accurate his attack is via a ranged weapon like this one, we now look at his dexterity. A dexterity of 16 gives him a +1 bonus to ranged attacks, so his THAC0 would instead be 17 [18 - (+1)]. Pretty simple.

Another modifier to THAC0 is magical weapons, and because of the nature of magical items in D&D, one weapon can possess multiple bonuses. For an easy example, let's say our warrior above with the base THAC0 of 18 finds himself a shiny Long Sword +2. Magical weapon modifiers are no different than strength or dexterity bonuses, so we simply use the same formula: 18 - (+2), giving our good warrior a THAC0 of 16. For a tougher example, let's imagine this warrior instead looted himself a Long Sword +3: Frostbrand. This powerful weapon confers a +3 bonus on most creatures, but a huge +6 against fire-based monsters, such as Fire Elementals. Now, our warrior has a THAC0 of 15 [18-(+3)] against most opponents, but a THAC0 of 12 [18-(+6)] against a fire-based creature. Take into account his crossbow, and you'll find yourself with several different THAC0s for one character.

This information I found at http://www.gamebanshee.com/dnd/information/2ethac0.php

[ 07-17-2002, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Sharkannon ]

I think i get it, but what about lore...?

I know lore affects your ability to Identify things (without the need for a spell).. not sure what else

if you have a high enough lore, you have heard of certain magical items and know what they do.

anyway, the one thing i want to know is what the two numbers after the 18 on a high stat do.

I'd like to know what the number after the 18 in stats (eg.18/54) is aswell! I've always wondered since I played Baldur's Gate five years ago!

Only strength can have a percentile score, like 18/35. Basically, any other character can only have a maximum strength of 18. Fighters, rangers, and paladins, however, can have this percentile strength, showing they're even more powerful. The higher the percentile, the better your "to hit" and damage bonuses.

It breaks down like this:
STR 18 = +1 to hit, +2 damage
STR 18/01 - 18/50 = +1 to hit, +3 damage
STR 18/51 - 18/75 = +2 to hit, +3 damage
STR 18/76 - 18/90 = +2 to hit, +4 damage
STR 18/91 - 18/99 = +2 to hit, +5 damage
STR 18/00 = +3 to hit, +6 damage

Percentiles also affect your carrying capacity, open doors, etc.

Strength spells cast on fighter-types increase strength by these percentile ranks, so a fighter with STR 17 getting 3 bonus strength points from the spell would have 18/51 strength for the duration of the spell. Other classes get a max of 18 strength from the spell.

1st and 2nd edition D&D used these percentiles for strength, and later introduced the cavalier class, which had percentiles in dexterity and constitution, as well. 3rd edition eliminated the percentiles, as well as eliminated the cap for potential strength (a 1st level half-orc thief in 3e can have a 20 strength, and the rules give ratings for a 45 strength!).