Questions tagged [armor-class]
For questions about Armor Class (AC), the mechanical abstraction of how difficult it is to hit and cause damage to an opponent in D&D and related RPGs.
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What is the highest possible AC?
Assuming you are level 20, and have access to any magic item, how high can you get AC (permanently or for a set duration)?
Constraints:
Magic items are those on the tables in the D&D 5th ...
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How do I explain to an AD&D player that items that increase Armor Class in D&D 5e are overpowered?
Context:
I have recently started a campaign with a new player that comes from an AD&D background. He wishes to convert and import his character to the campaign. We did this once, and I helped him ...
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Mathematically, is a +2 bonus to AC better than attackers having disadvantage?
Mathematically speaking, I'm trying to determine if Bracers of Defense (AC+2) is better than a Cloak of Displacement, which causes all attackers to have disadvantage on attack rolls against you.
If ...
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How does Mage Armor interact with Unarmored Defense?
If a character with the Unarmoured Defence class feature casts Mage Armour, what is their AC? Do they choose which 'base' AC they take, or do they stack somehow? Is there rules text that explains ...
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Does natural armor stack with unarmored defense?
In D&D 5E, does natural armor stack with Unarmored Defense? We have a level 2 player character who wild shaped into an animal. The player said they could stack its natural armor with Unarmored ...
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How does a DM deal with a PC with an abnormally high Armor Class?
One of the Fighters in my party has an AC of 21 at level 5. He wears chainmail which gives an AC of 16, has the Defense Fighting Style which gives a +1 to AC when wearing armor, and a +2 shield (found ...
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Can someone decide to be hit?
In this question, I asked about whether a character could willingly not use their shield or Dex bonus on certain attacks due to wanting to be hit. This raises the greater question-
Can someone decide ...
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Can you lower your AC on purpose?
For roleplaying reasons I would like to make a NPC appear weaker than it actually is. When the players first fight it, it should seem to have a very low AC and miss many attacks.
Is this possible in ...
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What rules or guidelines are there about when to allow a party to acquire plate mail?
I have heard it said that 5e does not balance its encounters with respect to magic items; in other words it does not consider possession of magic items when defining appropriately challenging ...
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What is the history of vampires having high natural armor class?
Based on this question to Order of the Stick #1002 featuring combat between the main protagonist and a vampire, I wonder what is historical motivation for D&D vampires being tough to hit, not ...
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What is the highest AC possible for a sorcerer?
What is the highest Armor Class achievable for a Sorcerer with the Sorcerous Origin of Draconic Bloodline?
Player's Handbook Chapter 6 variant rules included. (Multiclassing, Feats, etc.)
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Does rolling AC to oppose an Attack Roll impact game balance?
I really like the concept of rolling d20 against each other during ability checks like grappling, etc. I want the same thing for normal attacks, so the defender would also roll a d20 + (AC-10).
Would ...
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What is the lowest possible AC?
This is a direct, somewhat silly, opposite question to What is the highest possible AC? .
I’m wondering what is the lowest possible Armor Class a Player Character can get at any point in time, “...
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Can you benefit from the Defense fighting style while not using armor AC calculation?
Let's assume a Lizardfolk fighter, with the Defense fighting style, wearing leather armor. Lizardfolk, per Volo's p. 113, get Natural Armor:
You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren't wearing ...
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What exactly is "base AC"?
The phrase "base AC" appears in the D&D 5E basic rules exactly once, in the description of the Mage Armor spell. This says:
The target’s base AC becomes 13 + its
Dexterity modifier.
But if ...
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