Bounded Accuracy, of a sort

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TheNobleDrake
Cold-Blooded Diabolist
Posts: 525
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:36 am

Bounded Accuracy, of a sort

Post by TheNobleDrake »

I never really thought it needed a name, but the D&D Next playtest gave me one to use for it, so I am going with that: Bounded accuracy.

Basically, for those not aware of the meaning, it is a system in which there is a maximum possible to-hit and a related maximum possible AC - my favorite example being the THAC0 and AC of AD&D 2nd Edition. AC could only exist in the range of 10 (worst) to -10 (best), and each class (including monsters) had a best possible THAC0 number (warriors 1, clerics 8, rogues 11, and wizards 14). That held true except for in some rare cases of a PC or monster having a worse AC than 10 because of a pronounce lack of ability to defend itself (usually a PC with a Dexterity score far below average and no armor).

I like the idea, and have decided to apply it to my DCC games.

I've decided to keep the same basic width of range for AC: 10 (technically 5, because I put in modifiers for Ability scores less than 3 which stop at -5) is the worst possible AC, and no combination of factors can get you an AC higher than 30.

I've slightly changed attack modifiers in respect, since in AD&D the highest possible AC that could be hit depended upon your class rather than every class being able to hit a -10 AC without a natural 20 based only their class-based to-hit ratings.

What I did was to extend the level charts for each class out to a 22+ level range, at which point all benefits of gaining a level other than HP and spells end (everything having reached its "bounds") so that the class-based attack bonuses max out as follows:

Cleric & Thief - max out at level 21 with a +15 attack bonus, following the same pattern of bonus increases established in the DCC core book.
Warrior - max out at level 21 with d10+15 attack bonus, following a pattern of simply +1 per level once d10+1 is reached.
Wizard - max out at level 20 with +10 attack bonus, following the pattern established in the DCC core book.

...and I posted all of that here simply because I wanted to share, see what people think - for example, would you prefer playing in that style or are you more a fan of unlimited expansion of to-hit and AC numbers? - and because I like to get feedback on my house-rules but have a group of players that are not prone to give any more detailed feedback than "sounds cool," and just keep playing (a blessing overall, but a curse when it comes to me trying to gauge whether my alterations are actually improving anything besides my own enjoyment).
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