In every other wargame I’ve played that uses a Combat Results Table, the table is always oriented in such a way that the roll parameters are on one axis, and then the die roll result is on the other, and then the intersections of the rows and columns have the corresponding result.

Example:

Here we have Victory Point Games’s Battle for Moscow. When you engage in combat, you derive the ratio of the attacker’s total strength versus the defender’s total strength to get the odds column, and then you roll your d6 to get the die roll’s row, and then you look up the result as the intersection of the row and column.

For example, if the 56th Panzer Corps with an attack strength of 9 attacks the 3rd Army with a defense strength of 3, then that gives us an odds ratio of 3:1. If the d6 die roll is a 2, then the intersection of the intersection of the 3rd column with the second row gives us a result of “DR”, which in this game means “Defender Retreats”.

And you see this layout repeated in a lot of other games:

Here’s GMT Games’s Normandy 44

And here’s Avalon Hill/Multi-Man Publishing’s Advanced Squad Leader

I bring this up because I realized that D&D’s attack “matrices” are not laid out like this.

This is what the Basic/Expert Set’s attack tables look like:

And this is what the AD&D 1st Edition’s attack tables look like:

It’s laid-out the other way around: the character level is on one axis, and then the AC is on another axis, and then the roll needed to hit is the intersection.

As a player, this is counter-intuitive because you don’t know what the enemy’s AC is!

It was in this spirit that I decided to try and reformat the attack tables to make them more in keeping with design that’s been handed down to us from years of technical writing in wargames.

As a proof of concept, I took the attack table from Judges Guild’s Ready Ref Sheets (1978), which was written for OD&D (1977):

And reformatted them into the table below:

d20 roll / Character Level Ftr 1-3 / Clr 1-4 / MU 1-5 Ftr 4-6 / Clr 5-8 / MU 6-10 Ftr 7-9 / Clr 9-12 / MU 11-15 Ftr 10-12 / Clr 13-16 / MU 16+ Ftr 13-15 / Clr 17+ Ftr 16+ 1 miss miss miss miss 9 6 2 miss miss miss miss 8 5 3 miss miss miss 9 7 4 4 miss miss miss 8 6 3 5 miss miss 9 7 5 2 6 miss miss 8 6 4 1 7 miss miss 7 5 3 0 8 miss 9 6 4 2 + 9 miss 8 5 3 1 + 10 AC 9 7 4 2 0 + 11 AC 8 6 3 1 + + 12 AC 7 5 2 0 + + 13 AC 6 4 1 + + + 14 AC 5 3 0 + + + 15 AC 4 2 + + + + 16 AC 3 1 + + + + 17 AC 2 0 + + + + 18 AC 1 + + + + + 19 AC 0 + + + + + 20 + + + + + +

If you were, for example, playing as a level 5 Fighter, you’d look at the second column because that corresponds to your character level, and then you’d make your d20 roll, and if you got an 11, you’d look at the 11th row, and find that you’d hit anything with AC of 6 or worse. And you can declare that to your DM in the same way that in an ascending AC system such as 3rd Edition’s, you can say “I rolled a total of 16, so I hit it if it has an AC of 16 or worse”

If you also had a +1 weapon, then you simply “shift down” to the next row – you rolled an 11, but you shift down to row 12 and declare that you’d hit anything with an AC of 5 or worse.

If you were playing with Greyhawk rules and thus have a +1 to-hit from your 16 Strength, then you can take that into account as well – you rolled an 11, but you down to row 12 for the +1 weapon, and then row 13 for the high Strength bonus, and declare that you’d hit anything with an AC or 4 or worse.

In a way, this also side-steps the need for “mental math”, since you can just start from your natural roll, and then count-up and count-down the rows according to your modifiers, without having to perform the summing operation of +2 weapon, +1 Strength, -2 cover, +1 bless. It’d be unwieldy in a post-TSR game, but most old-school games don’t really reach two-digit modifiers

If you’re still with me up to this point and want to use this in your game, I’ve written up these new attack tables for OD&D, B/X Sets, and AD&D 1st Edition. Other OSR games are going to vary in small ways, but these should cover almost all of them.

(if you’re reading this and you’d like to see a similar treatment done for your current OSR game of choice, whether it’s Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, or Iron Falcon, let me know in the comments, and I’ll do a deep-dive and put out some charts that match those games exactly)

OD&D (1977)

Player attack table: (this is identical to the one above, but I’ve repeated it here for the sake of clarity)

d20 roll / Character Level Ftr 1-3 / Clr 1-4 / MU 1-5 Ftr 4-6 / Clr 5-8 / MU 6-10 Ftr 7-9 / Clr 9-12 / MU 11-15 Ftr 10-12 / Clr 13-16 / MU 16+ Ftr 13-15 / Clr 17+ Ftr 16+ 1 miss miss miss miss 9 6 2 miss miss miss miss 8 5 3 miss miss miss 9 7 4 4 miss miss miss 8 6 3 5 miss miss 9 7 5 2 6 miss miss 8 6 4 1 7 miss miss 7 5 3 0 8 miss 9 6 4 2 + 9 miss 8 5 3 1 + 10 AC 9 7 4 2 0 + 11 AC 8 6 3 1 + + 12 AC 7 5 2 0 + + 13 AC 6 4 1 + + + 14 AC 5 3 0 + + + 15 AC 4 2 + + + + 16 AC 3 1 + + + + 17 AC 2 0 + + + + 18 AC 1 + + + + + 19 AC 0 + + + + + 20 + + + + + +

Monster attack table:

d20 roll / Monster Hit Dice Up to 1 HD 1 HD + 1 HP 2 to 3 HD 3 to 4 HD 4 to 6 HD 7 to 8 HD 9 to 10 HD 11+ HD 1 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 8 2 miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 7 3 miss miss miss miss miss miss 8 6 4 miss miss miss miss miss 9 7 5 5 miss miss miss miss 9 8 6 4 6 miss miss miss 9 8 7 5 3 7 miss miss miss 8 7 6 4 2 8 miss miss 9 7 6 5 3 1 9 miss 9 8 6 5 4 2 0 10 AC 9 8 7 5 4 3 1 + 11 AC 8 7 6 4 3 2 0 + 12 AC 7 6 5 3 2 1 + + 13 AC 6 5 4 2 1 0 + + 14 AC 5 4 3 1 0 + + + 15 AC 4 3 2 0 + + + + 16 AC 3 2 1 + + + + + 17 AC 2 1 0 + + + + + 18 AC 1 0 + + + + + + 19 AC 0 + + + + + + + 20 + + + + + + + +

D&D Basic and Expert sets (1981 / 1983), also compatible with Rules Cyclopedia (1991)

Player attack table:

d20 roll / Character Level Normal Man Ftr 1-3 / Clr 1-4 Ftr 4-6 / Clr 5-8 / MU 1-5 Ftr 7-9 / Clr 9-12 / MU 6-10 Ftr 10-12 / Clr 13-16 / MU-11-15 Ftr 13-15 1 miss miss miss miss miss miss 2 miss miss miss miss miss 9 3 miss miss miss miss miss 8 4 miss miss miss miss 9 7 5 miss miss miss miss 8 6 6 miss miss miss 9 7 5 7 miss miss miss 8 6 4 8 miss miss 9 7 5 3 9 miss miss 8 6 4 2 10 miss 9 7 5 3 1 11 AC 9 8 6 4 2 0 12 AC 8 7 5 3 1 + 13 AC 7 6 4 2 0 + 14 AC 6 5 3 1 + + 15 AC 5 4 2 0 + + 16 AC 4 3 1 + + + 17 AC 3 2 0 + + + 18 AC 2 1 + + + + 19 AC 1 0 + + + + 20 AC 0 + + + + +

Monster attack table:

d20 roll / Monster Hit Dice Up to 1 HD 1+, up to 2 HP 2+, up to 3 3+, up to 4 4+, up to 5 5+, up 6 6+, up to 7 7+, up to 8 8+, up to 9 9+, up to 11 1 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 2 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 3 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 7 4 miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 7 6 5 miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 7 6 5 6 miss miss miss miss 9 8 7 6 5 4 7 miss miss miss 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 8 miss miss 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 9 miss 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 AC 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 11 AC 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 + 12 AC 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 + + 13 AC 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 + + + 14 AC 5 4 3 2 1 0 + + + + 15 AC 4 3 2 1 0 + + + + + 16 AC 3 2 1 0 + + + + + + 17 AC 2 1 0 + + + + + + + 18 AC 1 0 + + + + + + + + 19 AC 0 + + + + + + + + + 20 + + + + + + + + + +

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1st Edition

Attack table for Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, Bards, and level-0 Halflings and Humans

d20 roll / Character Level Level 0 Level 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17+ 1 miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 7 5 3 2 miss miss miss miss miss 10 8 6 4 2 3 miss miss miss miss miss 9 7 5 3 1 4 miss miss miss miss 10 8 6 4 2 0 5 miss miss miss miss 9 7 5 3 1 -1 6 miss miss miss 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 7 miss miss miss 9 7 5 3 1 -1 -3 8 miss miss 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 9 miss miss 9 7 5 3 1 -1 -3 -5 10 miss 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 11 AC 10 9 7 5 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 12 AC 9 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 13 AC 8 7 5 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -9 14 AC 7 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 15 AC 6 5 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -9 + 16 AC 5 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 + 17 AC 4 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -9 + + 18 AC 3 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 + + 19 AC 2 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -9 + + + 20 AC 1 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 + + +

Attack table for Clerics, Druids, and Monks

d20 roll / Character Level Level 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 13-15 16-18 19+ 1 miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 2 miss miss miss miss 10 8 7 3 miss miss miss miss 9 7 6 4 miss miss miss 10 8 6 5 5 miss miss miss 9 7 5 4 6 miss miss 10 8 6 4 3 7 miss miss 9 7 5 3 2 8 miss 10 8 6 4 2 1 9 miss 9 7 5 3 1 0 10 AC 10 8 6 4 2 0 -1 11 AC 9 7 5 3 1 -1 -2 12 AC 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -3 13 AC 7 5 3 1 -1 -3 -4 14 AC 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -5 15 AC 5 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -6 16 AC 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -7 17 AC 3 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -8 18 AC 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -9 19 AC 1 -1 -3 -5 -7 -9 -10 20 AC 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 +

Attack table for Thieves and Assassins

d20 roll / Character Level Level 1-4 5-8 9-12 13-16 17-20 21+ 1 miss miss miss miss miss 9 2 miss miss miss miss 10 8 3 miss miss miss miss 9 7 4 miss miss miss 10 8 6 5 miss miss miss 9 7 5 6 miss miss 10 8 6 4 7 miss miss 9 7 5 3 8 miss miss 8 6 4 2 9 miss 10 7 5 3 1 10 miss 9 6 4 2 0 11 AC 10 8 5 3 1 -1 12 AC 9 7 4 2 0 -2 13 AC 8 6 3 1 -1 -3 14 AC 7 5 2 0 -2 -4 15 AC 6 4 1 -1 -3 -5 16 AC 5 3 0 -2 -4 -6 17 AC 4 2 -1 -3 -5 -7 18 AC 3 1 -2 -4 -6 -8 19 AC 2 0 -3 -5 -7 -9 20 AC 1 -1 -4 -6 -8 -10

Attack table for Magic-Users and Illusionists

d20 roll / Character Level Level 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21+ 1 miss miss miss miss 10 2 miss miss miss miss 9 3 miss miss miss 10 8 4 miss miss miss 9 7 5 miss miss miss 8 6 6 miss miss 10 7 5 7 miss miss 9 6 4 8 miss miss 8 5 3 9 miss 10 7 4 2 10 miss 9 6 3 1 11 AC 10 8 5 2 0 12 AC 9 7 4 1 -1 13 AC 8 6 3 0 -2 14 AC 7 5 2 -1 -3 15 AC 6 4 1 -2 -4 16 AC 5 3 0 -3 -5 17 AC 4 2 -1 -4 -6 18 AC 3 1 -2 -5 -7 19 AC 2 0 -3 -6 -8 20 AC 1 -1 -4 -7 -9

Monster Attack Table:

d20 roll / Monster Hit Dice Up to 1 HD -1 HP 1 HD -1 HP 1 HD 1+ HD 2 to 3+ HD 4 to 5+ HD 6 to 7+ HD 8 to 9+ HD 10 to 11+ HD 12 to 13+ HD 14 to 15+ HD 16+ HD 1 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 7 6 2 miss miss miss miss miss miss miss 10 8 7 6 5 3 miss miss miss miss miss miss 10 9 7 6 5 4 4 miss miss miss miss miss miss 9 8 6 5 4 3 5 miss miss miss miss miss 10 8 7 5 4 3 2 6 miss miss miss miss 10 9 7 6 4 3 2 1 7 miss miss miss miss 9 8 6 5 3 2 1 0 8 miss miss miss 10 8 7 5 4 2 1 0 -1 9 miss miss 10 9 7 6 4 3 1 0 -1 -2 10 miss 10 9 8 6 5 3 2 0 -1 -2 -3 11 AC 10 9 8 7 5 4 2 1 -1 -2 -3 -4 12 AC 9 8 7 6 4 3 1 0 -2 -3 -4 -5 13 AC 8 7 6 5 3 2 0 -1 -3 -4 -5 -6 14 AC 7 6 5 4 2 1 -1 -2 -4 -5 -6 -7 15 AC 6 5 4 3 1 0 -2 -3 -5 -6 -7 -8 16 AC 5 4 3 2 0 -1 -3 -4 -6 -7 -8 -9 17 AC 4 3 2 1 -1 -2 -4 -5 -7 -8 -9 -10 18 AC 3 2 1 0 -2 -3 -5 -6 -8 -9 -10 + 19 AC 2 1 0 -1 -3 -4 -6 -7 -9 -10 + + 20 AC 1 0 -1 -2 -4 -5 -7 -8 -10 + + +