To State or Not to State the Armor Class

I feel as if I might have addressed this topic online before, perhaps on Google+, but since I can find no record of it (and Google+ is dead), I am returning to it here. As a referee of whatever edition or reinterpretation of D&D you prefer, do you declare the armor class of the monsters (or non-player characters) that the player characters face, or do you let the players figure it out for themselves and just tell them when their rolls miss or hit?

My method is this: When the player characters first encounter a foe, I describe the foe. The players can assess the level of threat posed by the foe based on what they know from previous experience, research, rumor, and observation, but until they actually attack that foe they can only estimate what the armor class might be. Once they declare an attack, I tell them the armor class. Because why wouldn't I?

I'm sure there are those who argue that stating the armor class subverts immersion, but to them I say forcing the players to keep track of their rolls each round to calculate the enemy's armor class subverts immersion more. If you are that concerned about the danger to immersion caused by stating the armor class, why don't you remove the danger entirely by simply making the players' attack rolls for them and letting them know whether they hit? It is not unknown for some referees to use this technique. They say it's all in the service of immersion. I think it deprives players of some of the thrill of playing the game. When the referee rolls for the players and never rolls in the open, how is anyone to know that any roll is ever fair, and how is anyone able to gauge what the odds are of doing anything? Anything or everything could be the result of DM/GM fiat, and at that point are you even playing a game or are you just taking a virtual tour?

I like my players to have an idea of the risk involved. It adds tension. It adds drama. It increases the psychological reward. It lets them know that they are playing the game as active participants and are not merely pawns of the referee. It doesn't "break" the game to let the players know an opponent's armor class. If anything, it lends the players a bit of confidence that the referee is fair, and that's a good thing.

The Flavors of D&D I Prefer

No one asked, but these are currently my favorite editions and variations of That Game in alphabetical order.

• Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set & Expert Set (Erol Otus cover art) a.k.a. B/X D&D
• Dungeons & Dragons Original a.k.a. OD&D
• Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG a.k.a. DCC RPG
• Knave
• Macchiato Monsters
• Swords & Wizardry White Box

Honorable Mention goes to the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (a.k.a. AD&D 1e) for the additional spells, magic items, monsters, and modules.

When You Cannot Miss

The more I game the more I appreciate minimalist role-playing games. Simpler rule systems can be learned and taught quickly, are easily internalized, and free us to concentrate on what many of us enjoy most: creative problem-solving and playing roles. Much of this is achieved by reducing certain concepts to abstractions. For example, encumbrance becomes slot management; wealth becomes an attribute; attacks always hit.

Attacks always hit? Yes, in certain minimalist role-playing games and their derivatives, all attacks are successful and one needs only to roll damage (if the damage isn't already a static value). The intention, I believe, is to make combat quicker (a laudable goal if one has played certain ponderous combat systems) and more lethal (to encourage the pursuit of trickery, retreat, or diplomacy). I'm always in favor of quicker combat resolution in a role-playing (as opposed to war-gaming) context, and non-combat options ought to be uppermost in mind for many reasons, but "attacks never miss"? For me, that immediately breaks immersion—in what universe does no one ever miss?—and makes combat less interesting. I see combat as another form of problem-solving (or, in many cases, problem-causing) where creativity ought to be rewarded. I won't bother to extrapolate on the type of society that would exist where anyone can always attack anyone else with unnerring accuracy and no one possesses the instinct or ability to dodge (other than to say it would resemble nothing in reality or fiction), but I would suggest that perhaps a better way to discourage combat (if that is the aim) would be to make it more grounded in reality. Increase the damage potential. Increase the recovery time. Increase the difficulty or reduce the efficacy of medical treatment. Add lingering health problems from injuries. Make attacks more challenging to avoid, but don't make them impossible to avoid. All of these are logical ways to make players think harder about whether to fight without breaking the willing suspension of disbelief.

Any game is anyone's game, but I prefer rules that elicit the response, "That makes sense."

Knave Second Edition Crowdfunding in Progress

The Kickstarter project for the second edition of Ben Milton's retro-D&D-compatible role-playing game, Knave, has had an explosively big start and it's easy to see why. I'm backing it. Are you?

Your Dungeon Tour Table: Epilogue

This year's Random Generator Month was the most productive since I started the tradition. Your Dungeon Tour Table ended as a 1d30 table, and I think part of the reason is that this was the first Random Generator Month in which I was guided by a procedure: creating an integrated random dungeon generator inspired by that found in the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide Appendix A. If you start with the Occasional Checks table, it actually leads you to the tables you need as you map an original dungeon. It was a fun exercise, and I plan to put it to the test very soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to give it a try and share your observations in the comments.

Table: Dungeon Rationale (Your Dungeon Tour Table)

Depending on your point of view, the rationale behind the existence of this dungeon may be the most important factor of dungeon design or the least important. At any rate, it's the final table of this dungeoneering tour. Or you could make it the first.

This is the thirtieth table of Your Dungeon Tour Table.

Dungeon Rationale

Roll 1d30

1. It is a standard dungeon haunted by those who perished in it.
2. It is a standard dungeon currently operating as such. What are you doing here?
3. It is an abandoned dungeon infested with monsters who burrowed from below.
4. It is an abandoned dungeon occupied by monstrous invaders.
5. It is the product of a mad wizard's mind.
6. It is a network of tunnels belonging to a secret cult that delved too deep.
7. It is an abandoned mine that accidentally struck the subterranean domain of something inimical to surface dwellers.
8. It is the practical joke of a godling.
9. It is a gigantic spacecraft that crashlanded.
10. It is an amusement park of the ancients.
11. It is a network of tunnels being used by several criminal factions.
12. It is a shopping mall of the ancients.
13. It is a former menagerie of diverse monsters who now roam freely.
14. It is a natural history museum of the ancients.
15. It is an obstacle course for assassins.
16. It is an isolated utopian/dystopian complex built to survive an apocalypse.
17. It is a subterranean shrine to evil gods.
18. It is a metaphor for our relationship with Death. (Metaphysics optional.)
19. It is a market connecting traders of the underearth to nocturnal traders of the surface.
20. It is an illusory environment created by the minds of bulging-headed aliens.
21. It is a nightmare dimension constructed by shadow demons.
22. It is the virtual world of a fantasy video game.
23. It is a playset for juvenile gods or juvenile godlike aliens.
24. It is an underground city forgotten by the city above it.
25. It is a weird manufactory staffed by elves, dwarves, or cyclopes.
26. It is the ancient labyrinth of a lost civilization.
27. It is a viable subterrestrial ecosystem.
28. It is a twisted behavioral science experiment conducted by powerful beings.
29. It is a game show with fabulous prizes!
30. It is an incomprehensible game played by the gods.

N.B. The result of this table may or may not conflict with the result of the Dungeon Ambience table, in which case you may choose one to override the other, roll again, or mash them together.

Table: Dungeon Ambience (Your Dungeon Tour Table)

What would you say is the overall atmosphere of this dungeon?

This is the twenty-ninth table of Your Dungeon Tour Table.

Dungeon Ambience

Roll 1d20

1. Ancient Cretan
2. Ancient Egyptian
3. Castle Wolfenstein
4. Catacombs Romanesque
5. Diablo
6. Ermagerd Trmb erv Herrers
7. Fifties Bomb Shelter
8. Golden Axe
9. Hammer Horror
10. Haute Fantasy
11. Hilarious House of Frightenstein
12. Krull
13. McDungeonland
14. Medieval European
15. Nineteenth Century Funhouse
16. Phantom of the Sewer Beneath the Opera
17. Renaissance
18. Renaissance Faire
19. Tim Burton's Spooky Something-or-Other
20. Universal Horror

Table: Passage Tricks (Your Dungeon Tour Table)

Trick or retreat!

This is the twenty-eighth table of Your Dungeon Tour Table.

Passage Tricks

Roll 1d12

Ah! The old...

1. Appear-to-disappear-but-actually-get-teleported-elsewhere trick!
2. Appear-to-disappear-but-actually-get-disintegrated trick!
3. Appear-to disappear-but-actually-get-phased-into-the-Ethereal-Plane trick!
4. Passage-floor-that-tilts-into-a-chute-leading-down-one-level trick!
5. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-hungry-crocodiles trick!
6. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-water-and-a-giant-octopus-puppet trick!
7. Swinging-pendulum-scythes-blocking-the-way-ahead trick!
8. Illusionary-floor-concealing-a-transdimensional-wormhole trick!
9. Illusionary-floor-concealing-a-chute-leading-down-one-or-more-levels trick!
10. Sliding-wall-that-blocks-any-retreat trick!
11. Sliding-walls-that-block-any-advance-or-retreat trick!
12. Sliding-walls-that-shift-back-and-forth-creating-an-atmosphere-of-unease trick!

#GetSmart

Table: Passage Traps (Your Dungeon Tour Table)

Oh, it's a trap alright.

This is the twenty-seventh table of Your Dungeon Tour Table.

Passage Traps

Roll 1d12

Ah! The old...

1. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-spikes trap!
2. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-snakes trap!
3. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-acid trap!
4. Trapdoor-covering-a-pit-filled-with-ping-pong-balls trap!
5. Poison-darts-that-shoot-out-of-the-walls-when-you-step-on-the-wrong-tile trap!
6. Spikes-that-pop-out-of-the-walls-as-they-start-closing-in-on-you trap!
7. Cage-that-falls-on-you-when-you-take-something trap!
8. Giant-boulder-that-crushes-you-when-you-take-something trap!
9. Snare-that-suspends-you-upside-down-and-releases-a-swarm-of-flying-piranhas trap!
10. Flypaper-covering-the-entire-floor trap!
11. Corridor-filled-with-zombies-pretending-to-be-normal-corpses trap!
12. Corridor-lined-with-living-statues trap!

#GetSmart

Table: Chambers (Your Dungeon Tour Table)

What nature of chamber is this?

This is the twenty-sixth table of Your Dungeon Tour Table.

Chambers

Roll 1d12

1. Typical everyday subterranean chamber. (See room.)
2. Torture chamber. (95% chance of TORTURE!)
3. Teleportation chamber. (30% chance of controlling the destination.)
4. Study chamber. (75% chance of useful information.)
5. Not your typical everyday subterranean chamber. (See room, but add a twist.)
6. Just another word for room.
7. Echo chamber. (100% chance of echoes if a sound is made.)
8. Chamber of horrors. (60% chance the horror is real.)
9. Chamber music chamber. (50% chance of music.)
10. Bedchamber. (25% chance of 1d8 sleepers.)
11. Anti-antechamber. (10% chance of 1d4 aunties; 0% chance of other exits.)
12. Actual antechamber to another room or chamber.