So what is the benefit of having someone take a negative to their attack verse you just gaining more AC? With nothing to deny your AC besides shield bonus it seems pointless. Can someone explain it to me?
Example:
First level fighter, +3 str, two weapon fighting style.
Would normally hit on a 5+
First level blade dancer, +3 dex, swashbuckling +1 AC, Hide.
Would normally have AC of 7.
The fighter will hit the blade dancer when he rolls a 12+ or 45% of the time.
Cast shimmer to reduce opponets attack throw to 7+, meaning he hits on 14+ or 35% of the time.
Instead let us increase the blade dancers AC by 2, for a total of 9. Which means the fighter hits on a 14+, or 35% of the time.
Seems pointless in the long run and adds more math to get wrong.
It is true that there is no mechanical difference between +2 AC and -2 to hit for the opponent.
I don’t see how it really adds more math to get wrong, given the core ACKS mechanic being that you apply your AC as a penalty anyway. But if you prefer to phrase it as +AC, there’s definitely nothing stopping you.
In the original B/X, Displacer Beasts imposed a -2 penalty to hit on attackers due to their displacement field. Shimmer was created to originally intended to be the spell that a caster could use to replicate Cloaks of Displacement, so it was written up the same way.
[quote="Aryxymaraki"]
It is true that there is no mechanical difference between +2 AC and -2 to hit for the opponent. I don't see how it really adds more math to get wrong, given the core ACKS mechanic being that you apply your AC as a penalty anyway. But if you prefer to phrase it as +AC, there's definitely nothing stopping you.
[/quote]
Its a problem I've noticed in larger groups when a lot of different moddifers are being thrown around. Also we do the advantage hits AC. We have 7 people in ours right now and in combat it will go something liket his a lot of times:
"I rolled a 5, so advantage 1"
"Miss."
"Did you count the charge?"
"Don't forget Bless!"
"Ok advantage 4."
"Hit."
The more bonuses/penelties from more places people start to forget or are not paying attetion to. And the stranger the bonus/penelty the easier it is to forget. DM can easily remember my spell gives me +2 AC because thats a normal thing, its just a bit harder to remember that it reduces attacks by 2. Even more so when you are trying to keep track of six other people and the monsters they are fighting.