So I am in a group and a player made a dragon born monk and took the dragon hide feat. DM ruled it stacked with monk's unarmed defense. I wondered at feasibility and tried to make it on here to see. It didn't work and found one thread that said they couldn't stack. As a DM for another group that includes some of the same people, I want to understand why since I can't find the rule.
Per the PHB, "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."
Dragon Hide Feat: "While you aren’t wearing armor, you can calculate your AC as 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit."
Monk Feature: "Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier."
Two different methods of calculating AC, so the player must choose which one applies. Chances are the Dragon Hide is the most bang for the buck, but not necessarily. Both can reach AC 20, but Dragon Hide gets there quicker.
That said, this could be a house-rule the DM decided upon for whatever reason and you should perhaps discuss it with them.
I think what happens is people can't find the rule so think about it and it makes sense to them that, using your example, the dragon born with the tougher hide should gain some sort of AC benefit, even though they generate their AC from the Monks unarmored defense features.
One of the great things about 5th edition is the progression - a lot of things that could stack up and get crazy out of control in previous editions of the game are not allowed to stack in that manner in 5e.
Hold up, the dragonhide feature affects the characters Base AC, making it a 13, the unarmored defence of the monk comes from their training making their wisdom apply to their AC because of (mental fortitude?) this. Dex is always there because it's you trying to avoid the hit. I think because of this, natural armor plus intense training, the AC bonus comes from two different origin sources (mind and body) that it SHOULD stack.
Edit- also as an argument for, the monk ability is lost if using a shield and the dragonhide isn't. So you could negate one ability without negating the other by giving the monk a shield he would be exceptionally inclined to use (Captain America build)
So I am in a group and a player made a dragon born monk and took the dragon hide feat. DM ruled it stacked with monk's unarmed defense. I wondered at feasibility and tried to make it on here to see. It didn't work and found one thread that said they couldn't stack. As a DM for another group that includes some of the same people, I want to understand why since I can't find the rule.
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ModeratorPer the PHB, "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."
Dragon Hide Feat: "While you aren’t wearing armor, you can calculate your AC as 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit."
Monk Feature: "Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier."
Two different methods of calculating AC, so the player must choose which one applies. Chances are the Dragon Hide is the most bang for the buck, but not necessarily. Both can reach AC 20, but Dragon Hide gets there quicker.
That said, this could be a house-rule the DM decided upon for whatever reason and you should perhaps discuss it with them.
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D&D Beyond FoundersHi Calnar,
This is a rule that often confuses people and entire groups.
Here's a link to the section - it's in the step-by-step character creation chapter - not somewhere you'd often think to go reference a rule.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/step-by-step-characters#ArmorClass
I think what happens is people can't find the rule so think about it and it makes sense to them that, using your example, the dragon born with the tougher hide should gain some sort of AC benefit, even though they generate their AC from the Monks unarmored defense features.
One of the great things about 5th edition is the progression - a lot of things that could stack up and get crazy out of control in previous editions of the game are not allowed to stack in that manner in 5e.
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Hold up, the dragonhide feature affects the characters Base AC, making it a 13, the unarmored defence of the monk comes from their training making their wisdom apply to their AC because of (mental fortitude?) this. Dex is always there because it's you trying to avoid the hit. I think because of this, natural armor plus intense training, the AC bonus comes from two different origin sources (mind and body) that it SHOULD stack.
Edit- also as an argument for, the monk ability is lost if using a shield and the dragonhide isn't. So you could negate one ability without negating the other by giving the monk a shield he would be exceptionally inclined to use (Captain America build)
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/09/20/how-does-tortle-natural-armor-and-unarmored-defence-work/
That reinforces that rule that you only pick one type of armor bonus, not stack them.