DDOCentral

What happened to my ThAC0? What the hell is a ThAC0?

My sons wants to play Dungeons & Dragons.  I, like a fool, offer to teach him.  I used to play back in the 70’s and 80’s, so I knew the Original game up through 2^nd Edition.  This should be easy.  I’m sure that this new 5^th Edition is just an extension or expansion of the game I know.

Wrong.  The first thing I realize is that almost all the core rules have changed from my halcyon days of Advanced D&D.

Where’s my attack matrix? How can a fighter and a wizard have the same chance to hit something?  Where’s my 18/00 Strength? So, ThAC0 is completely gone now?  Wait, Armor Class is reversed too?  What do you mean; I don’t get more XP for having a high requisite stat?  What my Saving Throw vs. Death? vs. Polymorph?…

Encounters, the building blocks of adventures. The time when your players and their characters are tested. There are random encounters, but this isn’t about that. This is about one of the many steps you will put your players through as they slowly work through their adventure.

When many Dungeon Masters (myself included) build encounters, they see it as a step towards the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG). Any BBEG worth their weight in salt doesn’t let any adventurer walk on up and attempt to Murder them. No. They surround themselves with various tiers of soldiers and lackeys, so the BBEG only has to stop their Master Plan if they are dealing with a legitimate threat. And that’s the whole thought process there.

My question to you is: What purpose in the story does this encounter hold? Also, what are the stakes, for everyone involved?

Let’s walk through an encounter, beginning…