So after going through a few monster books (OD&D, 1E, 2E, 3E, and Pathfinder), I've come to the conclusion I'm definitely going to simplify armor class. First and foremost I'm just not finding a reason to have any armor class better than AC 0[20], heck even AC 2[18]. As far as difficulty is concerned I'm really starting to appreciate that difficulty in Dungeons & Dragons should almost entirely be derived from hit points/hit dice. A lot of guys on the OD&D boards have said that, and I'm starting to agree. (Not withstanding difficulty from traps, environment, tactics, etc. Speaking purely mechanically). It provides plenty of room for variety, progression, and gives an easy way of gauging difficulty.
As I said in my last post, this also simplifies monster creation and conversion. There are now four main armor types: None, Light, Medium, and Hard/Heavy; correlating to Unarmored, Leather, Chain mail, and Plate Mail. Unarmored is obvious, Leather works for most fur and hide, and Plate Mail is great for tough metallic scales, and the like. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any creature that has similar natural defenses to chain mail, but quit simply it provides a decent option for heavy hide, or softer natural scales. Not a perfect system, but simple and good enough for me.
Creatures that are particularly agile, dexterous, fast, or perhaps very small, can get a +1 (ascending AC), similar to the players' ability due to a 15+ in Dexterity. Those with an ability to fly are granted a +1, with a combat modifier of -4 to attacking flying creatures with ranged weapons when the creature has not attacked you. Enchanted creatures, or those described as naturally/magically unable to be struck are at another +1. I don't think I want to go any higher than +1 for any armor class abilities. This caps the maximum armor class at AC 1[19]. This goes in line with the whole armor class as degree, and the best armor class is 1st class armor.
This also means every creature can be struck by anyone. I prefer my campaign world to be a little more grounded. If it exists you can kill it. That's also because it can kill you. This has a myriad of other benefits to the game. You can keep the attack matrices lower, since every character already has a minimum 10% chance of hitting the toughest creature. When you make the natural progression of attack ability lower, it now makes +1's from other sources far more meaningful. Now your +1 to hit from Strength actually is remarkable. That +1 sword? That's really useful now.
I also think this puts less of an emphasis on how well you can hit your enemy, and more on how hard you hit them, and other more interesting factors of battle, like who and in what order. No missing is the big deal, and not hitting. I know some guys may agree with that, but I'm kind of tired of playing AD&D games where you tediously roll and miss most rounds in combat. I prefer faster, lethal combat. I personally don't care if players can hit a monster every turn, that's exactly why we have hit points that increase with level. It's supposed to be how long you last in combat, and therefore how long you can be out adventuring. Finally, I think having a Fighter that has a 95% chance of hitting is enemy is exactly what the Fighter is supposed to be.
I probably had more to say, but I may have forgot some points, however there really isn't much to say on the matter, other than it's what I like and makes the game play the way I want it to. One final thought though is player Armor Class. Now with this system it makes player and monster AC function much more similarly than before, since they are based on similar principles. However if you consider the players' abilities to get AC bonuses from other places, such as magical armor, training in special techniques, and as reward for role playing, players can potentially get a much higher AC than monsters. I'm okay with this.
While I don't want my players to be superheroes, I think letting them have this one avenue to increase survivability is fine. After all they are routinely facing creatures with much higher hit dice, and therefore much higher to-hit abilities. This also means players who prefer to focus on increasing their defenses a truly different option.
That's all for now guys, stay Zen.
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