Thac0 and Armor?

[Star★Dive]

Can someone explain armor class to me? It seems like my AC gets lower when I use armor, and I see Thac0 on the sheet, no clue what this means. I don't have a manual for the game, got it on sale, but the stat calculations aren't making any sense to me. My rogue literally has 6 AC, default 10, and a dex of 18, so he gets -4 AC? This... Seems wrong somehow...

[Marlhead]

to hit AC 0 = thac0

Hits are calculated with a dice roll of 20 (d20).

Monster hac AC 0, you have thac0 of 10, you can hit the monster %55. (rolling 20 will cause a critical, depending on your proficiency of style 19 and 20) Because when the dice is rolled, 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 will result in a hit (11 out of 20).

So, if monster has AC -1 but your thac0 is 10 again, you can hit the monster %50.

Lower AC hardens chances to get hit. Lower thac0 increases the character's chances to hit. Shortly, lower is better.

You can enable Dice Rolls as feedback in the options to check out how much you are missing on which dice rolls, if you have literally no clue why are you missing so much. Frankly, if you are missing on dice rolls of 15 and above, I'd say you are going for something out of your league.

[NDiamond]

For me, the easy way of THAC0 and Armor Class is

ToHit = (THAC0 - AC)

Example ... your THAC0 is 20. You have no str mod. Your opponent has AC8. 20 - 8 = 12, so you need to roll a 12 or higher to hit (melee, dex mod for most ranged)

2nd example ... your base thaco is 15, your str mod is +2 to hit, and you have a non specialized weapon +2. Your opponest has ac 5. 15 - 5 = 10. 10 - 2 = 8. 8 -2 = 6. You need to roll a 6 or higher to hit.

Hope those examples help

James

[Star★Dive]

Originally posted by NDiamond:

Hey, thanks for the reply, though I should probably state I've abandoned my playthrough, and given up on the game. I no longer care about taco, or whatever its called. I appreciate your feedback, but games as convoluted as this, I believe have no place in my library. The thread is over a year old since my first post, and I have no plans to return to this game anytime soon, or anytime in the foreseeable future. Maybe in another 25 or 30 years I'll look back and try again (if I remember, and am in the mood to give it another shot - who knows maybe a remastered/cleaned up version will be out by then.) I'm sorry you had to take the time to post this information, as I sincerely believe you meant it with good will to help understanding. As previously stated however, I've moved on. I wish you the best, and please continue to help and support others, as this game was way over my head, but is likely very enjoyable to others willing or wishing to learn.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Stardive:

Maybe in another 25 or 30 years I'll look back and try again (if I remember, and am in the mood to give it another shot - who knows maybe a remastered/cleaned up version will be out by then.)

Keep in mind that this is an "enhanced edition" already, but the rules adapted from D&D tabletop RPG won't ever change. Theoretically, the story content (and lore) alone is good enough to justify creating a remake with completely different rules, but I have strong doubts that will ever happen.

Your best bet would be to return to the games as long as you can still get accustomed to the ancient graphics and animations. Typically, that can take around two hours, and provided that you don't play modern 3D games inbetween.

The game's huge PDF manual isn't bad, but you could visit the IWD Wiki ( https://icewinddale.fandom.com/wiki/THAC0 ) which links the Baldur's Gate Wiki for good explanations, such as:

https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/THAC0
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Armor_Class

Keep in mind, it's not rocket science!

[jjs82x]

Wooo Hoo! Now this thread is one and a half years old; but I still feel the need to chime in.

First off, Stardive, this is an ~OLD~ niche game (dungeon crawl) in a niche genre (cRPG), so no hard feelings from me if you don't want to play: almost everyone agrees with you. However it is a beautiful and immersive dungeon crawl with a sizable cult following.

THAC0 (pronounced "Thac-Oh," even though the 'O' is really a zero) is throw to hit Armor Class (AC) zero (AC0). Better armor gives a lower number. IIRC, naked humans have armor class 10 (or maybe it is 20); and I ~do~ remember that AC0 is quite respectable (full plate only gets you down to AC3). THAC0 also decreases as you get better at hitting things. Most characters startout at THAC0 = 20 and decrease from there.

Once you understand that seemingly arcane setup, the rest is easy. THAC0 - AC = what you need to roll on a 20-sided dice to hit. So, if you have a THAC0 of 15 and your target has an AC of 8, you need to roll (15-8) = 7 or higher (on a 20-sided dice) to get a hit.

Even if your THAC0 is too high and your target's AC so low that THAC0 - AC is greater than 20, a dice roll of 20 will always yield a hit against your target (unless your weapon is "ineffective" or "unusable").

[ZirzoR]

Originally posted by Stardive:

Snip...

Sad to see you go my friend.

But Thac0/AC isn't really that complicated, you just had to figure out that lower is better, same with AC.

Because you subtract the THAC0 from the AC, and then the dice roll has to be higher then that number for you to hit if the THAC0 is lower then the AC, then you instead add to the die, nothing more too it really. (You dont even have to think about it in normal gameplay, only when you want to min/max)

But hey, maybe some day you'll come back. (I suggest BG1/BG2 over Icewind dale tho)