TOPIC: What is that monster's AC OR Why does my +18 miss?

Lordoftherealm wrote: Lol. Whatever, it is a game...

I think "lol whatever it is a game" is entirely a fair thing to feel personally, and kudos for those with such an attitude.

As long as we all agree that when paying $50 for an adventure, it's not unreasonable that others might have a desire for (if not expectation of) fair and enjoyable/balanced gameplay mechanics.

Nobody is perfect and there's always room for improvement, yes. Just thought I'd make sure everyone was on the same page here; it's a game, it's fun, it's designed, run, and played by people (whom will have different expectations and experiences among them), and it's entirely possible to provide feedback and critique even on things we like.

Hell, I'm often more critical about things I like. Constructive criticism is the best way for them to improve and continue to deliver even better experiences for even more people.

I try to make unobtrusive reminders of certain details that DMs may have forgotten without trying to be an ass about it. For instance, I always announce my own crits but that's because I'm using Io's bow which has an unusual crit range. I make sure whoever's sundering makes sure to say something about the AC effect as the DM is finishing his damage calculation. It should be quick and low key, a light reminder is all you really need if the DM legitimately forgot. You get into trouble when you start to actively argue about it and NO ONE WINS in that situation. At that point, you're better off with the sheer amount of time wasted to just ignore it and get another round of combat in.

Right Eric? That is what _we_ learned this year, right?

True. Never waste a minute of precious combat time arguing about 2 bonus damage that you didn't get. Shrug it off and get in another round of combat. If you're seriously vexed, take it up with an AC in the exit room.

Well I guess it depends on how much damage your not getting by not saying something to the DM. I mean I have a +13/15 with bard to hit and slide for puck+17, +21 with bard. So when I slide both my pucks and land on a 9, I expect him to really check to make sure I hit or not. More so when we run on normal or hardcore. Nightmare I would just shrug and attempt to slide better.

I normally will calculate my to hit based on Bard's song, Bulls Str, Bless going and if they slide my puck back I'll ask them if <insert number here> hits. If they say no, I move on, if they say "what?" and look at the sheet they normally determine that I hit. I only do this on Nightmare where I know my build can actually miss from time to time.

Clearly it's a tradeoff, and the DM should be calculating your hit and damage stats correctly. It's fine to point that out.

If arguing about it is going to cost you precious time, then moving on the next round is probably better. Depends on how much damage you're missing out on, how long it takes to fix the problem, and how much damage your party can do in a full round of combat.

I wish DMs would just announce the totals they are calculating:

Druid... 16, Miss!
Dwarf Fighter... 33, Hit!

And so on.

Then, as a player, if you know your hit bonus and the number you slid on, you can see if the DM forgot bardsong, bless, potion bull's strength, etc., etc.

Good point. We had a couple of cases of "Did that really miss?" because we knew our bonuses were high. A couple of times it really was an AC over 30, but a couple of times, it was the result of a math error, or using the wrong column or row on the party card. If we knew the AC, it would be easy to know if we'd hit or not, and a good parity check for the DM.

Jason Brown wrote: Good point. We had a couple of cases of "Did that really miss?" because we knew our bonuses were high. A couple of times it really was an AC over 30, but a couple of times, it was the result of a math error, or using the wrong column or row on the party card. If we knew the AC, it would be easy to know if we'd hit or not, and a good parity check for the DM.

That happened to us a few times too, especially in the first couple of rounds of combat before the DM became more familiar with our party card, where he/she would count it as a miss before checking with the bonus to verify. But, I realize that the combat DMs are under a lot of pressure to keep things moving along to give the party enough time to succeed, and they sometimes take shortcuts to do so.

That said, I don't want the DM to share with the group the exact amount needed to hit the monster because that would in my mind break the fourth wall. Nor do I want the DM to have to take the time to add the total to hit bonus for each character and announce it, as that would take additional time, which is already short.

Matthew Hayward wrote: I wish DMs would just announce the totals they are calculating:

Druid... 16, Miss!
Dwarf Fighter... 33, Hit!

And so on.

Then, as a player, if you know your hit bonus and the number you slid on, you can see if the DM forgot bardsong, bless, potion bull's strength, etc., etc.

We just figure it out the AC on the slide.

I didn't miss once in 6 runs. Then again I have a +24 to hit... and a great bumper that slides after me!

Matthew Hayward wrote: I wish DMs would just announce the totals they are calculating:

Druid... 16, Miss!
Dwarf Fighter... 33, Hit!

And so on.

Then, as a player, if you know your hit bonus and the number you slid on, you can see if the DM forgot bardsong, bless, potion bull's strength, etc., etc.

+ like.

Matthew Hayward wrote: I wish DMs would just announce the totals they are calculating:

Druid... 16, Miss!
Dwarf Fighter... 33, Hit!

And so on.

Then, as a player, if you know your hit bonus and the number you slid on, you can see if the DM forgot bardsong, bless, potion bull's strength, etc., etc.

If a slide misses but it relatively close, I often make a mention of that.

Or if a slide just barely hits, I will say something about it.