Regardless of how I decide to handle to hit rolls (to-hit tables, BAB, THAC0, etc. as discussed in this post yesterday) in Lords & Wizards, I know how I will be tying level to the to-hit hit. I’ll give these numbers as BAB because they are easier to list in a post without having to do an HTML table. Fighters will have a to-hit bonus of 100% of their level. That is a fighter’s to-hit bonus will be equal to their level. Semi-Fighters will have a to-hit bonus of 75% of their level (rounding .5 and higher up). Specialists will have a to-hit bonus equal to 50% of their level (rounding .5 and higher up). Mage classes will have a to-hit bonus of +0 in physical combat, for magical combat, they will have a to-hit bonus equal to 50% of their level (rounding .5 and higher up).

Semi-Fighters include classes like ranger, paladin, monk, and cleric. Specialists include classes like thief, assassin, and priest. Mages include classes like magic-user and illusionist. Clerics in my game are clerical warriors. Priests have more spells but have much more limited combat abilities. A 14th level fighter would have a to-hit bonus of +14. A 14th level character in a semi-fighter class would have a to-hit bonus of +11. A 14th level character in specialist class would have a to-hit bonus of +7. A 14th level character in a mage class would have a to-hit bonus of +0 in physical combat (but +7 for targeting spells).

This should help ensure that the Fighter class is the best at fighting. Even fighter sub-classes like paladins and rangers pay for their extra abilities by not being quite the combat monster that a fighter is. Mages simply aren’t good at physical combat as they don’t have time to train — and this system makes that very clear.