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Using
The Combat Tables:
Find the level of the attacker
on the appropriate chart and matrix that with the armor class of the defender.
The resulting number or
greater must be rolled on a d20 for a successful hit.
Penalties && bonuses
may modify either the die roll or the number needed to hit,
as long as one method is
used consistently. <1> <2>
<3>
Question: Will the
new attack matrix (AC system)
in the DMG
work with the MM?
Answer: Yes, it will.
All D&D <[sic?]>
material that says AD&D is meant to be
used together.
You will have no trouble
playing the monsters with the attack tables found in the DMG.
(Note: THACO numbers have
been included in the MM, in the NO.
OF ATTACKS field)
Q. Why, in combat, are all
the 'to hit' rolls
the same, regardless of
the weaponry
used? (Basic/Advanced)
A: The D&D games are
intended to be
adventure games, no simulations
of
the detailed hack and slay
of combat.
The emphasis is on the adventure,
not
mere killing. However, the
AD&D
rules do have a set of optional
modifiers for the 'to hit'
rolls.
(Imagine #1)
| c = CLERIC, druid, monk | f = FIGHTER, paladin, ranger, and 0-level halflings and humans | mu = MAGIC-USERS and illusionists | t = THIEVES and assassins | m = MONSTER | Psionic |
eg.
IF
url = ct.htm
target = #c6
THEN
<>
ATTACK MATRICES FOR MISSILE AND MELEE COMBAT, CLERICS AFFECTING UNDEAD, PSlONlC COMBAT
I. Attack Matrices for Dwarves,
Elves, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Halflings, Half-Orcs, and Humans
A. Clerics,
Druids, and Monks
B. Fighters,
Paladins, Rangers, and 0 Level Halflings and Humans
C. Magic-Users
and Illusionists
D.
1. Thieves and Assassins
2. Assassins' Table for Assassinations
II. Attack Matrix for Monsters
III. Matrix for Clerics Affecting Undead
IV. Matrices for Psionic
Combat
A.
Psionic vs. Psionic in Mental Combat
B.
Psionic Attack upon Defenseless Psionic
C.
Psionic Blast Attack upon Non-Psionic Creature
D.
Psionic Attack Ranges and Damage Adjustment
Opponent
Armor Class Description (If Armor is Worn):
| Armor Class | Type of Armor |
| 2 | Plate mail + shield |
| 3 | Splint
or banded mail + shield /
plate mail |
| 4 | Chain
mail + shield /
splint or banded mail |
| 5 | Scale mail + shield/chain mail |
| 6 | Studded leather or ring mail + shield/scale mail |
| 7 | Leather
or padded armor
+ shield/studded leather or ring mail |
| 8 | Leather or padded armor |
| 9 | Shield only |
| 10 | None |
AC below 10 is not
possible except through cursed items. Armor
class above 2 is easily
possible due to magical bonuses and dexterity
bonuses. To determine a
"to hit" number not on the charts, project upwards
by 1's (5% increments),
repeating 20 six times before continuing
with 21 (cf. MATRIX
I.A.).
I.A. ATTACK MATRIX FOR CLERICS, DRUIDS, AND MONKS
<* See PROGRESSION ON THE COMBAT TABLES>
Missiles: -5 at long range, -2 at medium range.
I.B. ATTACK MATRIX FOR FIGHTERS, PALADINS, RANGERS, BARDS, AND 0 LEVEL HOBBITS && HUMANS
<* Natural 20 required, at least.>
Missiles**: -5 at long range, -2 at medium range.
* Note: Half-elves use the
attack matrix as elves do,
while
non-player character half-orcs use the attack matrix for monsters.
Dwarves,
elves and gnomes are never lower than 1st level (unlike halflings and humans,
which may be of 0 level).
Bards
fight at their highest level of fighter experience.
<disambiguate the * in
the half-elf/half-orc note with the * for N20+N in the tables above>
<for now, I just put
the whole THACO column in bold. however it is done, it might not be a bad
idea to highlight this column, somehow>
<as
well, a note about the use of the 20N+ notation, when recording THACO,
might be useful>
Special
Note Regarding Fighters' Progression: This table [was redesigned] to
allow fighters to advance
by 5% per level of experience attained, rather
than 10% every 2 levels,
if you believe that such will be helpful in your
particular campaign. If
you opt for a per level advancement in combat
ability, simply use the
table but give a +1 "to hit" bonus to fighters who
attain the second level
of experience shown in each group of 2 levels, i.e.
1-2, 3-4, etc. [already
done!]
You may, of course, elect
not to allow per level combat advancement.
<the per level advancement is the one shown above>
Optional Rule: Where
a fighter of extremely high level or
with many bonuses "to hit"
actually requires a negative score
to hit his or her targer,
then at the GM's option, the negative
score may be converted into
a positive and applied as additional
damage to the automatic
hit. Thus, for example, a 20th level
fighter with 19 STR and
a +5 sword attacking an AC2 dragon
would require a roll of
-8 to hit it; the character would be
allowed to modify his or
her damage roll by +8.
- OSRIC
I.C. ATTACK MATRIX FOR MAGIC-USERS AND ILLUSIONISTS
<* Natural 20 required, at least.>
Missiles**: -5 at long range, -2 at medium range.
** Normal, not magical. <>
I.D.1 ATTACK MATRIX FOR THIEVES AND ASSASSINS
<* Natural 20 required, at least.>
Missiles**: -5 at long range, -2 at medium range.
a
Thieves and assassins double [x2] damage from a surprise back stab.
b
Thieves and assassins triple [x3] damage from a surprise back stab.
c
Thieves and assassins quadruple [x4] damage from a surprise back stab.
d
Thieves and assassins quintiple [x5] damage from a surprise back stab.
THE FORUM
The rules of the AD&D®
game state that as a
character's level increases,
his skill to hit an
opponent also improves,
manifested by the figures
on page 74 of the Dungeon
Masters Guide.
But do not the injuries
received by a player
character decrease that
character's ability to hit?
Surely a <Hero>
on the verge of death
would not be able to fight
an opponent as well as
a perfectly healthy 2nd-level
fighter. This could
also apply to damage (which
might be lessened by
a weak blow, caused by injuries).
I propose that a system be established whereby
the existing system (roll
d20 ?to hit?) would be
modified by the character?s
percentage of hit
points (# of hit points/total
hit points), checked
against page 74 of the Dungeon
Masters Guide.
As one might imagine, this
system might get
lengthy, so this modification
might be made at the
first two 33% changes (66%
of character?s original
hit points = -1 penalty
?to hit?; 33% of original
hit points = -2 penalty),
and at 25% of the
original hit points, when
the character?s amount
of energy and strength starts
to decrease rapidly,
the penalty ?to hit? would
be -3. After this, as
the character is suffering
extensively, the penalty
would be an extra point
per every 5% below 25%
(-4 at 20%, -5 at 15%, etc.).
Kurt G. Barringhaus
N. Little Rock, Ark.
I.D.2. ASSASSINS' TABLE FOR ASSASSINATIONS*
Level of the Intended Victim
| Level
of the Assassin |
0-1 | 2-3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 | 10-11 | 12-13 | 14-15 | 16-17 | 18+ |
| 1 | 50% | 45% | 35% | 25% | 10% | 1% | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2 | 55% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 15% | 2% | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3 | 60% | 55% | 45% | 35% | 20% | 5% | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4 | 65% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 25% | 10% | 1% | --- | --- | --- |
| 5 | 70% | 65% | 55% | 45% | 30% | 15% | 5% | --- | --- | --- |
| 6 | 75% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 35% | 20% | 10% | 1% | --- | --- |
| 7 | 80% | 75% | 65% | 55% | 40% | 25% | 15% | 5% | --- | --- |
| 8 | 85% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 45% | 30% | 20% | 10% | 2% | --- |
| 9 | 95% | 90% | 80% | 70% | 55% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 5% | --- |
| 10 | 99% | 95% | 85% | 75% | 60% | 45% | 35% | 25% | 10% | 1% |
| 11 | 100% | 99% | 90% | 80% | 65% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 15% | 5% |
| 12 | 100% | 100% | 95% | 85% | 70% | 55% | 45% | 35% | 20% | 10% |
| 13 | 100% | 100% | 99% | 95% | 80% | 65% | 50% | 40% | 25% | 15% |
| 14 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 90% | 75% | 60% | 50% | 35% | 25% |
| 15 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 85% | 70% | 60% | 40% | 30% |
*Or attacks on helpless opponents by any character class (see COMBAT section). <>
The percentage shown is that
for success (instant death) under near optimum
conditions.
You may adiust slightly
upwards for perfect conditions
(absolute
trust, asleep and unguarded, very drunk and unguarded, etc.).
Similarly, you must deduct
points if the intended victim is wary, takes precautions, and/or is guarded.
If the assassination is
being attempted by or in behalf of a player character a complete plan of
how the deed is to be done should be prepared by the player involved,
and the precautions, if
any, of the target character should be compared against the plan.
Weapon damage always occurs
and may kill the victim even though "assassination" failed.
Q. Can assassins
assassinate monsters
or are they restricted to
humans alone?
A. Assassins are
generally restricted to
assassinating humans, and
demi-humans
such as elves or dwarves.
We suggest that assassins
should be
allowed to kill humanoids
in this manner, but with
a reduced
chance of success.
Assassinating
monsters should not be allowed.
Our reasoning
behind this is simple.
Assassination is the art
of killing by
attacking a single vital
point of a
creature. Assassins
would have
detailed knowledge of these
points
on a human or demi-human,
and
could make a reasonable
stab at
guessing where such points
are on a
humanoid creature. It is
not reasonable
to assume that an assassin
would have a similarly detailed
knowledge
of monster anatomy.
(Imagine #8)
Q: Do assassins have
to roll to hit
when attempting assassination?
A: This question sparked
considerable
controversy among the sages.
Gaming
groups should choose whichever
of the
two following rulings is
most appropriate
and desirable for the campaign
and PCs:
1. Assassination is not a
melee tactic; it
cannot be performed against
a surprised
PC or NPC during a regular,
played-out
battle. In order to perform
an assassination,
an assassin PC must turn
over an
exacting plan for the act
to the DM, who
evaluates the plan and rolls
the dice on the
Assassins'
Table For Assassinations on page
75 of the DMG. No
"to hit" roll is required;
the roll on the table merely
condenses all
of the various die rolls
together into one
package for fast results.
2. Assassination is a melee
tactic but can
only be used against surprised
opponents
and cannot be combined with
backstabbing;
a "to hit" roll is thus
required
Players Handbook,
page
29) unless the
victim is helpless (see
the DMG, page 70).
If the attack hits, the
DM rolls on the
assassination chart to see
if the assassin
kills the victim outright.
If the assassination
fails, the victim still
suffers normal
weapon damage. Poison can
be used with
an assassination attack.
(139.67)
Quote, by CombatWombat51:
Ok, one more question
In the assassin's matrix in the DMG, the footnote says that assassins should
plan out their assassination.
That gives me the impression
that the percentage chance of success is based more on the whole event
of assassination, rather than on a single attack roll.
But in the PHB, it
simply says that an assassin can attempt to assassinate a victim whenever
the assassin has surprise.
Lastly, the footnote in
the DMG says that certain modifiers should be incorporated.
Could you give me some examples
of what types of modifiers for what types of circumstances should be used?
Play of an assassin where
a kill was to be made by the PC was meant to require both a written plan
delivered to the DM and then full expanation and roleplay on the part of
the player where called for in the situation.
If those were properly done,
the DM would ajudicate the chance for surprise more favorably.
The base chance for surprising
an intended victim being 2 in 6 for the unsuspecting sort, as low as 1
in 20 for someone on guard.
Modifiers are many and rather
self-evident, but most apply only in the context of a planned assassinationas
noted above.
Of course, if the assassin
is normally around the intended victim, that gives a bonus to surprise
chance, and a greater one if the assassin is a trusted person.
The attack roll might be a check for successfully insinuation of poison into the victim's food or drink, slipping a deadly scorpion into the subject's boot or bed, etc.
The straight d% chance roll is meant mainly for the assassin striking by surprise in chance meeting of the intended victim.
Writing rules for roleplay
was something that just wasn't done at the time the DMG was published.
Frankly, I fondly assumed
that sort of thing would be understood by the readers...
Quote:
Thanks very much,
Rick, who feels like a giant
fan boy 
Welcome, and what sort of
giant?
Cheers,
Gary
II. ATTACK MATRIX FOR MONSTERS (Including Goblins, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, and Orcs)
Note: Any plus above +3 equals another hit die; i.e. 6+6 equals 7 hit dice.
<* Natural 20 required, at least.>
Missiles: -5 at long range, -2 at medium range.
CREATURES
STRUCK ONLY BY MAGIC WEAPONS
Despite special defenses
which protect certain creatures from attacks by
non-magical weapons, these
monsters can be effectively hit by attackers
as follows:
Attacker Must Have The Following
| Defender Is Hit By Weapon | Hit Only By | OR | Hit Dice Of * |
| +1 or better | +1 or better | - | 4 + 1 or more |
| +2 or better | +2 or better | - | 6 + 2 or more |
| +3 or better | +3 or better | - | 8 + 3 or more |
| +4 or better | +4 or better | - | 10 + 4 or more |
* This does not apply to characters of any sort.
This provides for magical
properties and sizes of the attacking monster.
Thus, massive hill giants
can effectively attack most creatures, and all
other types of giants can
affect everything save a few gods.
Q: Will ?to hit? bonuses
from
strength or weapon specialization
allow a character to hit
monsters
that are hit only by silver,
iron, or
magical weapons?
A: Nonmagical bonuses
of any sort never
allow a character to harm
a creature
which is harmed only by
magical or special
weapons.
(139.67)
Q. Do monks need magick
weapons to hit
creatures harmed only by
+1 or better
enchanted weapons -- or
can they
use open hand attacks?
A. There are only
2 cases in which
the pre-requisite of a magick
weapon
to hit something is relaxed.
The 1st
of these is the case of
a massively
strong monster hitting a
creature
that would normally only
be hit by a
magick weapon (Dungeon
Masters
Guide p75 'Creatures
struck only by
magickal weapons').
This applies only
to monsters. The 2nd
is the
special ruling in the case
of the
barbarian
class, which allows them,
and them alone, a similar
ability.
Monks do therefore require magickal
weaponry to hit creatures that can
only be struck by such weaponry,
despite their bare-handed combat
ability.
(Imagine #7)
III. MATRIX FOR CLERICS AFFECTING UNDEAD, et al.
| Level of Cleric | Skeleton | Zombie | Ghoul | Shadow | Wight | Ghast | Wraith | Mummya | Spectreb | Vampirec | Ghostd | Liche | Special**f |
| 1 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | T | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 20 | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | D | D | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 20 | - | - | - |
| 7 | D | D | D | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 20 | - | - |
| 8 | D* | D | D | D | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 |
| 9-13 | D* | D* | D | D | D | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 |
| 14+ | D* | D* | D* | D* | D | D | D | T | T | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 |
* Number affected is 7-12 rather than 1-12.
** Evil creatures from lower
planes such as minor demons, lesser devils, mezzodaemons, night hags, from
1-2 in number.
(As a rule of thumb, any
creature with armor class of -5 or better, 11 or more hit dice, or 66%
or greater magic resistance
will be unaffected.)
a
A paladin of 1st or 2nd level can be turned by an evil cleric.
b
A paladin of 3rd or 4th level can be turned by an evil cleric.
c
A paladin of 5th or 6th level can be turned by an evil cleric.
d
A paladin of 7th ar 8th level can be turned by an evil cleric.
e
A paladin of 9th or 10th level can be turned by an evil cleric.
f
A paladin of 11 th or higher level can be turned by an evil cleric.
Question: Can evil Clerics turn good creatures such as Lammasu and Shedu?
Answer: According
to page 66 of the DMG,
“ . . . A Cleric of the
opposite alignment may attempt to negate the
effects of a Cleric who
has affected undead or other creatures.” This
would seem to indicate that
such turning or control is possible, but as
with a paladin’s being turned,
it should only happen between chaotic
evils and lawful goods and
chances of success should be roughly
equivalent to the paladin
turning system. — JW
Procedure: A d20 is
rolled,
and if the number shown
is matched or exceeded by the die roll the undead are turned.
From 1-12 (or 7-12 or 1-2)
undead (or evil creatures from lower planes) are affected:
1. Evil clerics cause
the creatures to take neutral or friendly attitude according to a reaction
dice score.
Neutral
undead will ignore the cleric and his or her party; friendly ones will
follow the cleric and join the adventure.
2. Good clerics cause
the creature to move directly away from his or her person,
and stay
as far away as possible for not less than 3 nor more than 12 rounds,
moving
at full speed for the duration if at all possible.
The turned
undead will be able to come back again, but they are subject to further
turning by the cleric.
Failure to scare the number
shown, or greater, means the turning was unsuccessful.
No further attempt by the
cleric can be made with respect to the particular undead,
and they may proceed to
attack or otherwise operate unconstrained.
T: This symbol indicates automatic turning - whether to influence by an evil cleric or actual driving away by a good cleric.
D: This symbol indicates the cleric has automatically brought the undead into friendly status (evil cleric) or destroyed or damned them (good cleric).
-: No effect upon the undead is possible where a dash is shown.
The progression on the table
is not even.
A variable increment of
5% appears - 19, 20.
It is included to reflect
two things.
First, it appears to allow
lower level clerics a chance to turn some of the tougher monsters.
It disappears (at 4th level)
and reappears again only when the clerics have reached a high level (8th
and up).
This reflects the relative
difficulty of these clerics when faced with turning away the worst of evil
creatures,
but also allows the table
to have them completely destroy the weaker undead.
If for some reason you must
have an exact progression,
follow the columns for levels
1, 2, and 3, correcting to the right from there --
and thus rather severely
penalizing the clerics of upper levels,
but by no means harming
play balance.
[Row] 4 will then read,
top to bottom: T, 4,7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 20.
Do not otherwise alter the
table as it could prove to be a serious factor in balance -- weakening
or strengthening clerics too greatly.
<?
color the asterisks on the natural 20s?>
<there should be a consistent
notation for THACO.
THACO20(n-2)?
n = the first natural 20
on the tables
-2 = the first natural 20,
in this example, hits a -2>
THE FORUM
The DMG’s combat
charts have a problem: for
every blow, one must look
up the precise chance
among five tables and the
appropriate level and
AC, and then further adjust
it for magic weapons,
surprise, etc. Moreover,
it’s almost impossible
for the DM to hide a monster’s
AC (and
should players know, as
soon as they swing, that
the evil fighter’s chainmail
is +3?), unless he
simply rolls the die himself
. . . which leaves
players both alienated from
the battle and completely
in the dark. Shouldn’t a
combatant know
how good his swing was,
but not his foe’s exact
degree of protection, and
so be able to slowly
“feel out” the enemy’s defenses?
My solution is to take the
combat charts and
reduce them to a plus to
hit — just as is done
with strength, magic weapons,
etc. This is done
by finding the appropriate
chart and the right
level/HD, and subtracting
the number required
to hit AC: 10 from 11. For
example, the fighter
chart would yield “0, +1,
+3, +5, +7, +9, +11, 3,
+15, +17” from left to right,
unless you use the
(excellent)
chart on p. 48 of DRAGON #80.
Players can attack by simply
rolling d20,
subtracting this
number and other plusses and
announcing the resulting
number to the DM. If it
is less than or equal to
the monster’s AC, the
character hits. The DM can
either do the same
[for monsters], or (if he
believes a monster’s
modified roll should be
as invisible as its AC) he
can ask for or keep records
of the characters’ ACs
and simply announce a hit
or a miss.
Actually, the charts are
weighted to give weak
combatants some chance at
a very tough foe, by
listing 20 six times before
going on to 21. This
converts to giving any adjusted
combat roll of 1
or less an extra +5 to hit.
Or you can say a natural
1 always hits (and a natural
20 always misses?)
and keep both sides on their
plate-armored toes.
If it seems wrong to subtract
a “plus,” think of
it as indicating a benefit
and a minus meaning a
penalty, just as magic armor
does. Or subtract all
ACs from 21, so a higher
AC number means
better protection, and say
that a high roll —
adding plusses and “improving”
20’s as in the
paragraph above — is a hit.
I hope this system makes
it easier for all those
suffering heroes to down
their foes with less
mental fumbling, or at least
die more quickly
when their own luck runs
out.
Ken Hughes
Ann Arbor, Mich.
(Dragon #84)
orgcandman wrote:
3) Why weren't any combat
rules, saves, to-hit, etc.. included in the player's
handbook?
-Aaron
3) Players should be concentrating
on enacting the role of their in-game persona.
not looking at charts and
tables to study probabilities.
The game form is about that,
not combat simulation 
Cheers,
Gary
The AD&D
combat system came from OD&D,
and OD&D came from the original
Chainmail medieval military miniatures rules.
The armor protection system
in the latter rules was progressively higher the better the armor, so the
current D20 approach is not a new concept.
For the rest, I do believe
that using THAC0 was as complicated as the to hit system in D20, so it
is more a matter of personal preference that not in my thinking.
I can use either method,
but I rather like t6he old one better, as I do the old saving
throw tables.
Cheers,
Gary
ADQ: Why do super-powerful monsters
(such as Demogorgon or Asmodeus) strike
as 16+ HD creatures? This gives them
a worse chance "to hit" than a 17th-level
fighter. They have had thousands upon thousands
of years of fighting experience
with others of their ilk, far more than
any fighter characters. I know the Game
is tipped towards humans, but this seems
too much.
ADA: First of all, neither Asmodeus
nor
Demogorgon should ahve to resort to hand-to-hand
combat to deal with mortals. Their
other abilities more than make uyp for
any
lack of combat skills.
Secondly, both can be
considered demigods, <correction: lesser gods>
according to the DDG.
Note
that even the greater gods listed in that
work are rarely given class-equivalents
higher than 18th level, though they too
have obviously been fighting & casting
spells for thousands of years. After a
point,
further development of human skills is
a
waste of Time, for there are far better
ways
for a deity to handle problems.
Properly run, an encounter
with either
Asmodeus or Demogorgon should be more
than a match for a party of high-level
characters,
superior human fighting skills notwithstanding.
Consider the at-will abilities,
MR, and immunities of those
opponents, + their ability to teleport
<without error>
away from any situation they don't like,
and they're awfully tough as they are.
(Polyhedron #30)
<1: Linking
to the combat tables>
<2:
THACO#(#n#) see the
THACO note.
for example (theoretical)
THACO 20n = a 0-level human needs a Natural 20
(20n) to hit an AC0 opponent.
For more difficult opponents,
follow the link.
Some kind of a format should
be established.>
<3:
ok, this should be done for all npc clerics, assasins, characters>