Update: I was using the following models: deepseek-r1:7b and llama3:latest (7b)

DeepSeek-R1 came out generally over the weekend, and a lot was talked about the cost to generate such a complete and capable model. I am happy to see that it is an open model that I could easily download and use with Ollama; it seems to generate good responses for general questions. But being a gamer, I wanted to test its knowledge using a question based on an old rule within the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition (D&D 2E) ruleset.

Explain in simple terms the ad&d rule for thac0

THAC0 stands for To Hit AC 0. The rule is a way to calculate what you need to roll on a twenty-sided die to hit your target in the game. But to better explain, and to be more illustrative, here's the llama3 response to the above prompt.

Understanding Thac0 in AD&D

Thac0 is a crucial concept in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) that determines the minimum armor class number your character can hit with an attack. It reflects the effectiveness of your attacks against enemies based on your character's stats and the enemy's armor class.

Key Components:

1. Armor Class (AC): This is a measure of how protected an enemy is, with higher numbers indicating greater protection. For example, a +0 means you can't hit them without armor, while a +5 requires a very strong attack to land.

2. Strength Modifier: This reflects your character's strength relative to the game's standards (determined by equipment and gear). A positive modifier means you're stronger, making it easier for you to hit enemies with lower ACs. A negative modifier makes it harder to hit, even against weaker enemies.

Calculation Formula:

Thac0 = 20 - (Character's Strength Modifier) - (Opponent's Armor Class)

• Example 1:
  Character has a strength modifier of +3; enemy has an AC of 15.
  Thac0 = 20 - 3 - 15 = 2.
  A roll on your attack die equal to or higher than 2 will result in a hit.

• Example 2:
  Character has a strength modifier of -2; enemy AC is 10.
  Thac0 = 20 - (-2) - 10 = 12.
  This results in a much harder time hitting the opponent unless you compensate with other means.

Impact on Strategy:

• Lower Thac0: Easier to hit, especially if your character has a high strength modifier or the enemy has low AC.

• Higher Thac0: More challenging to hit, typically due to a weaker character (low strength modifier) or a highly armored enemy.

Considerations:

• Attack Rolls: Success depends on rolling equal to or higher than the calculated Thac0. This is your attack roll compared against this value.

• Other Factors: While Thac0 is a key factor, other aspects like equipment quality, character class, and special abilities also play roles in combat effectiveness.

Conclusion:

Thac0 significantly influences combat strategy by affecting how often you can successfully hit enemies based on your stats and the enemy's armor. Lowering this number through better strength or equipment can make battles more favorable, while higher values present greater challenges. Understanding Thac0 is essential for effective character deployment in AD&D.

Now, as you can probably expect based on the above, DeepSeek failed hard with this question, which shows that the data it was trained with was considerably limited, and thus its ability to answer questions like this one will be reflected accordingly.

Alright, so I'm trying to understand this AD&D rule called Thac0. From what I gather, it's something related to how characters attack each other in Dungeons & Dragons games. Let me see if I can break this down.

First off, there's a mention of "Thac0" and that it's the minimum armor class number your character can hit with their attack. Okay, so armor class (AC) is like a measure of how protected a character is, right? The higher the AC, the harder it is for an attacker to pierce through. So if you have a higher AC, you're more armored and thus less vulnerable.

Then there's this formula given: Thac0 = 20 - (character's strength modifier) - opponent's armor class. Hmm, that sounds like some kind of calculation based on your character's stats and the enemy's AC. Let me see if I can make sense of it with an example.

Suppose my character has a strength modifier of +3, which means they're pretty strong. The opponent has an AC of 15. Plugging those numbers into the formula: Thac0 = 20 - 3 - 15 = 2. So their Thac0 is 2. That probably means that to hit this opponent, I need to roll a number on my attack die equal to or higher than 2.

But wait, how exactly does this translate into actual gameplay? Is it as simple as rolling a d20 and hitting if the result meets or exceeds the Thac0? It seems so. If my character's attack rolls a 2 or higher, they hit; otherwise, they miss.

Now, I'm thinking about what a lower Thac0 means versus a higher one. A lower number would make it easier to hit because you're subtracting less from that initial 20. So if your character has a high strength modifier or the enemy has a low AC, their Thac0 drops, making it easier to hit.

On the flip side, a higher Thac0 means it's tougher to hit since you're subtracting more—either because your character isn't as strong (lower strength modifier) or the enemy is better armored (higher AC). So getting a high Thac0 makes your attacks less effective against them.

Let me try another example to see if I got this right. If my character has a strength modifier of -2 and the opponent's AC is 10, then Thac0 = 20 - (-2) - 10 = 12. That means they have a much higher Thac0, so it would be harder for me to hit them unless I compensate somehow.

But wait, what if my character has no strength penalty? Let's say the modifier is 0 and the opponent still has AC 10: Thac0 = 20 - 0 - 10 = 10. So they're even less likely for me to hit them compared to the previous example.

This makes sense because a lower AC means it's easier to pierce through, so if my character is weaker (strength modifier negative), their effectiveness against an enemy with higher AC also decreases.

I'm starting to see how this rule impacts strategy in the game. If you're fighting enemies that have high AC and your characters aren't very strong, you might need to find ways to bypass or reduce the Thac0 somehow, maybe by using better equipment or finding weaknesses in the armor.

But I'm still a bit fuzzy on how exactly the attack rolls determine if it's a hit. Is there more to it than just rolling equal to or higher than the Thac0? Are there other factors involved, like critical hits or special abilities?

Also, does the Thac0 change based on something else, like the type of weapon used or the character's class? The original explanation didn't cover that, but maybe in more detailed rules, there are additional variables.

I wonder how this compares to modern D&D games. Does AD&D have any unique aspects here, or is Thac0 similar across different editions?

Another thing I'm curious about is the history of this rule. Why was it introduced in the first place? Was it part of an effort to balance certain playstyles or mechanics within the game?

It's also making me think about how important stats like strength are in the game. If you can boost your strength through better equipment, you could lower your Thac0 and make it easier to hit enemies.

But I'm not entirely sure if this is all there is to Thac0. Maybe there's more complexity in higher-level rules that weren't mentioned here. For example, does attacking from a distance affect the calculation? Or does it involve any other modifiers like penalties for being behind cover?

Overall, understanding Thac0 seems crucial for effective combat strategy in AD&D. It affects how often you can successfully hit your enemies and thus influences how the battle unfolds.

Maybe I should look into some example battles to see how Thac0 impacts outcomes based on different character stats and enemy ACs. That might help solidify my understanding of how it all works together.

I'm still a bit confused about how exactly the attack rolls interact with Thac0, like whether there are other modifiers or if it's purely based on that calculation. It would be helpful to have more examples or maybe some tables showing different scenarios and their outcomes.

In summary, I now know that Thac0 is a measure of minimum armor class your character can hit, calculated using the formula: 20 minus your strength modifier minus the opponent's AC. Lowering this number makes it easier to hit, while raising it makes it harder. However, there are still some uncertainties about how exactly attack rolls determine success and other factors that might influence combat dynamics.

This response was long, rambling, and extremely unhelpful. I really wish these models had an escape route built in so they could simply say that they weren't trained on data that includes an answer to that question instead of just making things up. As we rely more and more on AI models, it becomes increasingly important that we understand gaps in history and knowledge within these models and whether any censorship was applied before training. I feel that this is probably one of the larger risks as we move into the AI age.