Hit or Miss

Simple Attack Management for Game Masters!

By Carl Davis

Available for Windows (32-bit)

Overview

Hit or Miss is a simple utility designed to make the life of a Game Master (GM) just a bit easier. It allows a GM to enter a player party's Armor Class (AC) information (Note: it can be used with other systems as well by entering any "base" to-hit information) and the bonuses of monsters on the attack.. Then the GM only need click on an "attack" button to see if a monster could hit any of the characters. This speeds the efficiency of encounters greatly by automating the hit or miss decision.

Hit or Miss has a number of nice features for Game Masters (GM):

Allows information to be entered for 8 characters
Has a field to note each monsters to-hit bonuses and to track it's hit points
Supports multiple Die types (d4 to d100) for to-hit rolls
Supports multiple mechanisms to determine a hit (roll lower than, greater than, based on AD&D 1st edition AC)

Learning the MdN system

If you've been around RPG's for a while you've seen the terms like "d6" and "5d8" many times and know what they mean. For those who don't, here is a quick primer.

The number and kind of dice to roll can be easily expressed using the format "MdN". In this phased "M" represents the number of dice to roll and "N" represents the number of sides the die should have. For example, "3d6" represents roll three six-sided die and adding the values together (which gives a range between 3 and 18).

Using the Program

The figure below shows the main screen. Each element on the screen is also described.

Name	A spot where you can enter each character's name for easier tracking during combat
AC	Area where you enter the character's Armor Class. If you a using a different style of system, this would be where you enter the required hit value that's needed for the character.
Hit	A red circle next to a character indicates they've been hit.
Bonus	The to-hit bonus or penalty for each an attacking creature.
Hit Points	A location to track current hit-points of a creature. It's not connected to anything, just a spot to "jot" their scores
Attack button	Click this button to have the creature attack. The attack generates a single value with is compared to every character (as GM you would pick who the attack was actually against).
Hit Die to Roll	Defines the die type to roll. Standard types are supported (d4,d6,d10,d12,20,d100)
Hit Calculation	Defines how a "hit" is determined. "Roll Greater than AC": This uses the AC as a base number that needs to be rolled over for a hit. The die value is added to a creature's bonus. If this score is greater than the AC the creature scores a hit. This is the method used by Wizards of the Coast's new Dungeon and Dragons 3rd edition. Roll Less than AC". This uses the AC as base number that needs to be rolled under for a hit. The creature's bonus is subtracted from the die roll. If this total is less than the AC, the creature scores a hit. "Hit based on AC 0" This uses the venerable To Hit AC 0 (THAC0) concept from Wizards of the Coast's AD&D 1st and 2nd Editions. The creature's "bonus" value is used as the creatures THAC0 score. The difference between AC0 and the character's AC is subtracted from this value to yield the final roll required. The die roll is compared to this value; if greater the creature hits.
Roll Result	The value of the last attack roll. This gives you the ability to see how well or poorly the last roll was (ideal for those who love fumbles on "1" and critical hits on "20").

Licensing

This version (1.0) is available to all to download and non-commercial use without cost. However, I retain the copyright and may offer an enhanced retail version later. Until that time, you are welcome to share this version. However, if you maintain a website, I'd prefer you provide a link to my site for users to obtain the latest program.