I have a tortle Barb. He gets his 17 plus con. (It clearly states that dex doesn't apply to tortles for ac) But he only get the con added while raging.
I have a tortle Barb. He gets his 17 plus con. (It clearly states that dex doesn't apply to tortles for ac) But he only get the con added while raging.
That's ok, but it's not RAW - you're playing it as homebrew, getting yourself more AC than the race was balanced for.
Tortle as standard is AC17, and barbarian is 10+dex+con, and RAW you have to choose which one you want, so you pick the highest. Adding con to your tortles AC when raging is even more homebrew (unarmoured defence isn't only while raging).
Ic. I just couldn't find where is specified that it was one or the other. And I don't want to discourage my player, as this is the whole reason he picked this race/class combo to play. He read it the same as many of people here, where he could add the con mod.
*UPDATE* PHB pg14 section 5. last sentence under "Armor Class"
"if you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use."
Your Armor Class (AC) represents how well your character avoids being wounded in battle. Things that contribute to your AC include the armor you wear, the shield you carry, and your Dexterity modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however.
Without armor or a shield, your character’s AC equals 10 + his or her Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield, or both, calculate your AC using the rules in the Equipment section. Record your AC on your character sheet.
Your character needs to be proficient with armor and shields to wear and use them effectively, and your armor and shield proficiencies are determined by your class. There are drawbacks to wearing armor or carrying a shield if you lack the required proficiency, as explained in the Equipment section.
Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use.
It should be one or the other RAW... Barbs are not meant to not get hit... We are meat shields, if you want to avoid damage play a fighter, monk, or rogue IMHO. But either way, I see no reason why a Tortle couldn't just use the natural 17 then use a shield and try to get some Bracers of Defense. I know it says "no armor" but Tortles still have arms and they should fit fine. Max AC of 21 isn't too shabby for anyone.
It should be one or the other RAW... Barbs are not meant to not get hit... We are meat shields, if you want to avoid damage play a fighter, monk, or rogue IMHO. But either way, I see no reason why a Tortle couldn't just use the natural 17 then use a shield and try to get some Bracers of Defense. I know it says "no armor" but Tortles still have arms and they should fit fine. Max AC of 21 isn't too shabby for anyone.
Bracers of Defense and a Shield do not stack. You get the 2 AC from the bracers only if you are wearing no armor and using no shield.
It should be one or the other RAW... Barbs are not meant to not get hit... We are meat shields, if you want to avoid damage play a fighter, monk, or rogue IMHO. But either way, I see no reason why a Tortle couldn't just use the natural 17 then use a shield and try to get some Bracers of Defense. I know it says "no armor" but Tortles still have arms and they should fit fine. Max AC of 21 isn't too shabby for anyone.
Bracers of Defense and a Shield do not stack. You get the 2 AC from the bracers only if you are wearing no armor and using no shield.
Oh wow, I had no idea. Welp, 19 AC isn't too bad either!
Definitely not 17+dex+con, that makes as much sense as including dex with plate mail.
just do 17+con
Why add a score?
A Tortle's natural armour is effectively giving them free splint armor at 1st-level, minus the Strength requirement, minus the Stealth disadvantage, minus susceptibility to heat metal, shocking grasp and similar (that affect metal), and minus any other penalties for wearing "proper" heavy armour, such as losing the benefits of Martial Arts on a Monk or Rage on a Barbarian.
Just like heavy armour, you use the natural AC only until you have something better to replace it with, i.e- unarmored defence, or you can boost it with a shield, bracers of defense etc. if you prefer/don't have that option.
A base AC of 17 is extremely good for tier 1, solid for tier 2, and it's pretty good for tier 3 as well, which most campaigns don't make it to either at all, or for very long. Plus it enables all kinds of cool builds you can't really do any other way, e.g- I played a Tortle Swords Bard who was able to build around good Strength and Charisma, because I simply didn't need Dexterity for defence.
" played a Tortle Swords Bard who was able to build around good Strength and Charisma, because I simply didn't need Dexterity for defence."
Nice I have Swamp Druid/Cleric that I love playing because my dex is so low. But I love being able to watch the fighting play out and then do some healing or buffing depending upon what is needed.
Building a Tortle barbarian on DnD Beyond AC stays set to 17 regardless of DEX and CON. Idk if that's how the rules are supposed to work or if it needs to be fixed.
That is how it is supposed to work. It is a singular way to calculate AC
Natural Armor
Your shell provides you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You can’t wear light, medium, or heavy armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.
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It would be too much advantage. Your barbarian would be practically impossible to hit. This is very well designed.
Not really.
I've never encountered a forum where I got this many "talking to a wall" impressions as this one...
But isn't the point of the high AC is that the tortle gets hit but he just doesn't take any damage. I don't believe they are known for their high dex
AC represents both, which is why both light and heavy armor exist, and why harder objects have a higher AC.
I have a tortle Barb. He gets his 17 plus con. (It clearly states that dex doesn't apply to tortles for ac) But he only get the con added while raging.
That's ok, but it's not RAW - you're playing it as homebrew, getting yourself more AC than the race was balanced for.
Tortle as standard is AC17, and barbarian is 10+dex+con, and RAW you have to choose which one you want, so you pick the highest. Adding con to your tortles AC when raging is even more homebrew (unarmoured defence isn't only while raging).
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Ic. I just couldn't find where is specified that it was one or the other. And I don't want to discourage my player, as this is the whole reason he picked this race/class combo to play. He read it the same as many of people here, where he could add the con mod.
*UPDATE* PHB pg14 section 5. last sentence under "Armor Class"
"if you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use."
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It should be one or the other RAW... Barbs are not meant to not get hit... We are meat shields, if you want to avoid damage play a fighter, monk, or rogue IMHO. But either way, I see no reason why a Tortle couldn't just use the natural 17 then use a shield and try to get some Bracers of Defense. I know it says "no armor" but Tortles still have arms and they should fit fine. Max AC of 21 isn't too shabby for anyone.
Bracers of Defense and a Shield do not stack. You get the 2 AC from the bracers only if you are wearing no armor and using no shield.
Oh wow, I had no idea. Welp, 19 AC isn't too bad either!
imagine that but multiclassed with a cleric. 23 ac plus that of shield.
FoxfireInferno speaks the truth
I think that they's just add the CON for barb or WIS for monk and not the dex number because the natural armor states that dex is not added
had a polymorphed giant ape use rock throw on my tortle Barbarian
just do 17+con
Why add a score?
A Tortle's natural armour is effectively giving them free splint armor at 1st-level, minus the Strength requirement, minus the Stealth disadvantage, minus susceptibility to heat metal, shocking grasp and similar (that affect metal), and minus any other penalties for wearing "proper" heavy armour, such as losing the benefits of Martial Arts on a Monk or Rage on a Barbarian.
Just like heavy armour, you use the natural AC only until you have something better to replace it with, i.e- unarmored defence, or you can boost it with a shield, bracers of defense etc. if you prefer/don't have that option.
A base AC of 17 is extremely good for tier 1, solid for tier 2, and it's pretty good for tier 3 as well, which most campaigns don't make it to either at all, or for very long. Plus it enables all kinds of cool builds you can't really do any other way, e.g- I played a Tortle Swords Bard who was able to build around good Strength and Charisma, because I simply didn't need Dexterity for defence.
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" played a Tortle Swords Bard who was able to build around good Strength and Charisma, because I simply didn't need Dexterity for defence."
Nice I have Swamp Druid/Cleric that I love playing because my dex is so low. But I love being able to watch the fighting play out and then do some healing or buffing depending upon what is needed.
Building a Tortle barbarian on DnD Beyond AC stays set to 17 regardless of DEX and CON. Idk if that's how the rules are supposed to work or if it needs to be fixed.
That is how it is supposed to work. It is a singular way to calculate AC
Natural Armor
Your shell provides you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You can’t wear light, medium, or heavy armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.