|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 9:18AM
#1
|
|
|
I'm trying to be a 2nd Edition DM lately and it's kind of hard for me to understand a few details. Previously I learned that if there is just "1" written in "Spell Duration", it shows the penalty that affects the initiative roll. I thought it was 1 round simply.
Well now there is another problem. I was reading the "Chapter 9" in "Dungeon Master Guide" and on page 76 there is "Table 38" which shows Calculated THAC0s and Creature THAC0s. Under "Creature THAC0s", there are statements like "1/2 or less", "1-1", "1+", "2+" etc. and I did not understand what these mean eventhough there is an explanation says:
"Creatures do not have character classes and levels, so they calculate THAC0s differently, basing it on the Hit Dice of the creature. Table 39 lists the THAC0 number for monsters having various numbers of Hit Dice. When a creature has three or more points added to its Hit Dice, count another die when consulting the table."
Can anyone please explain me the issue in detail?
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 9:34AM
#2
|
|
|
My AD&D may be a bit rusty but if I recall correctly all monsters had the same size HD (d8?) but some monsters had fractional HD and some had a listed number of HD plus bonus hitpoints. A very weak creature may only have 1/2 HD which means you'd roll the d8 and then divide in half. The bonus hitpoints are there to make a creature tougher but not increase its THACO and Saving Throws as much as just giving them that many more HD would do.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 9:51AM
#3
|
|
|
Indeed, they have hitpoints like d6, 2d6 or d6+1 but I do not think that the THAC0s of a 1d6 HD creature and a 1d12 HD creature are the same.
I guess there is a parallel relation between the hitpoints and THAC0s but I still couldn't figure it out.
(I'll look for the creature THAC0s in Monster Manual and compare them to this table now)
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 11:18AM
#4
|
|
|
Ok guys, I think I figured out the problem. As Steven said, hit dies are all d8 when it comes to creatures. So "1/2 or less" means "1d8/2 or less" hitpoints or "2+" means "2d8+X" hitpoints. You take THAC0 as 20 if the hit die is 1d8, 15 if the hit die is 5d8+2.
The additional rule is, if you have more than 3 as a plus (like 3d8+4), you take the higher THAC0 (in this case 4+ instead of 3+ so it's 17).
Hope it's not so complicated and it's helpful.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 1:41PM
#5
|
|
|
Don't mix up your editions too much, it just confuses things.
One of the things I liked about 3e over 2nd was that mosters had "rules" similiar to PC type and there were differences between the various types beyond just special abilities. In AD&D a fairy and a dragon both used the same HD which is a little like saying that a Wizard and a Barbarian should use the same HD type.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Mar 06, 2012 - 5:29PM
#6
|
|
|
All monsters in 2e Had d8 for Hit dice. Thus, Hit Dice for monsters ALWAYS means a d8.
Particularly weak monsters had 1/2 HD...kobolds, in core. Goblins had 1-1 HD...1-7 hit points.
Monsters did not get con bonuses, just bonus hit points. Orcs had a straight d8. Hobgoblins were 1+1 HD, or 2-9 hit points. Gnolls were 2 HD.
Extra hit points weren't all that important until daemons came along in the Monster Manual II with bonus hit points (remember them mezzodaemons with 10+40 hd? Awesome how many hp they had).
Hobgoblins are more dangerous then orcs because they had 1 more hit point and hit at +1 better...so they bullied orcs around.
Generally, Monsters had a TH of +1 per hit dice, rounding up. so 1+1 =2, 2+1=3, etc. They were basically equal to fighters, but never got bonuses from strength.
This wasn't as big a problem in 1 and 2E because armor classes didn't tend to reach much beyond 0 to -2. Sure, you could optimize and head for a -10 (30 in 3e), but you didn't NEED it anywhere near as much. It wasn't until 2E really optimized dragons that you saw multiple creatures with AC's -8 or lower. Imagine a 3E Orcus running around with an AC of....26....
===Aelryinth
Fighter vs Warblade analysis http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19573526/Analyzing_the_Fighter_vs_The_Warblade
The Lockdown F/20 iconic build http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19856162/A_little_Lock_build_for_you
|
|
|
