tim (10/22/82)
I stick to my statement that the idea of armor class is almost wholly nonrepresentational. What AC does for you is this: the better your armor, the longer you will survive combat. This is all right in a miniatures game like Chainmail, in which you don't identify with any given unit to a very great extent, but in an FRP game you want a less abstract system. It is just as easy to hit someone wearing armor, but the armor has the potential to make the hits less damaging. The difference between the two is very real. For instance, suppose someone is attacking you with a dagger while you're in full plate. Although you'll get hit fairly often, that dagger will almost never do any damage worth noticing. However, if your foe has a big sword, you'll get hit about as often, but you'll take at least some damage from most hits. In AD&D, you'll get hit infrequently with either, but both weapons will do their normal damage when they hit. This is obviously unrealistic, although it might average out to the same thing in the long run. In an FRP game, though, you want a closer match between what happens in the game and how your players perceive things. On another subject: To the person who asked about the parrying rules on their AD&D combat wheel, I believe that the wheel was in error. The Players Handbook states that you may use your strength bonus to parry, not your weapon's magical bonus. This obscure and fairly useless rule is near the back, after all the spells. The procedure for parrying which you described is close to the way a Defender sword works, but not quite. Tim Maroney unc!tim