Post/Author/DateTime	Post
maraa08 04-13-08, 05:20 PM	I am new to D&D and am having a little trouble understanding combat. Can anyone explain it to me straight out? And if so could you explain some stuff, such as AC (i know its your armor but anything else?) or how you know if you hit or not? thank you everyone, i need this explained for me, a DM, so that i can explain it to my players as well lol. We are all new to the D20 system.
kinevon 04-13-08, 05:36 PM	Simple combat: D20 roll plus your modifiers to hit compared to the targets AC: If the attack total is equal to or higher than the target's AC, you hit and do damage. AC: 10 plus any modifiers from armor (both basic for the armor type plus any magical enhancements) plus shield (again, both basic for shield plus any magical modifiers) plus Dex modifier (remember that heavier armor caps the amount of Dex modifier that can be applied). As you get more experienced, you will find that there are certain feats that can either improve AC through improving the character's ability with a shield or armor (e.g. Shield Specialization, Heavy Armor Optimization) or that allow the character to trade attack bonus for AC (e.g. Combat Expertise). Some basic examples: Wizard, Dex 14, no armor, has an AC of 10 base + 0 armor + 0 shield + 2 from Dex, so his AC normally is 12, 10 when flat-footed (caught by surprise). Fighter, Dex 8, full plate armor, large wooden shield, has an AC of 10 base + 8 armor + 2 shield -1 from Dex, so his AC is 19, 19 when flat-footed (Dex penalties stay in effect when flat-footed) Ranger, Dex 16, chain shirt, no shield, has an AC of 10 base + 4 armor + 0 shield + 3 from Dex (heavier armor could reduce that Dex bonus, but chain shirt allows up to 4 points from Dex), so his AC is 17, 14 when caught flat-footed. Most attack actions go against a character's normal AC, being weapon attacks of one sort or another. Some attacks go against a character's touch AC, which is usually going to just be the base AC (10) + Dex modifier.