My friends and I have been playing for a few months with the D&D 5th ed, I have tried to find the answer around the forum, by consulting the Sage Compendium, and Jeremy's answers but i'm still confused. Are AC bonus stackable if they came from different spells?, For example Shield Of Faith (+2 AC) and Warding Bond (+1 AC) if i cast both spells on my companion he gets +3 to AC, or the higher bonus rule applies because the source of the bonus is of the same type, i.e. spell.
Bonuses stack. Calculations don’t stack. For example, if you find a magic item that gives a flat AC of 12 and another one that gives a flat AC of 13, your AC using both of them is 13. On the other hand a +2 bonus, a calculation of 13, and a +1 bonus all stack to give you an AC of 16.
If you have more than one thing that says "Your AC is....", pick the best
If you have more than one thing that says "You get +..... to your AC" you add them all together.
Correct. Not sure if you can get same bonus from same item though. Your GM might not allow wearing two Cloaks of Protection.
You're right, from the same object, for example, two rings of protection , you got only one bonus, in the same way you can't roll an extra d4 if you are doubly blessed
You can use multiple items if they are different kinds of items. +1 ring and +2 ring is just +2, so give the +1 ring to someone else. +1 ring and +2 cloak is +3.
I am less certain of this, but I think two different spells would stack, but the same spell cast twice would not.
The effects of different spells add together while the durations of those spells overlap. The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect--such as the highest bonus--from those castings applies while their durations overlap, or the most recent effect applies if the castings are equally potent and their durations overlap.
For example, if two clerics cast bless on the same target, that character gains the spell's benefit only once; he or she doesn't get to roll two bonus dice.
Your example seems valid but, probably not effective. Shield of Faith is concentration and Warding Bond causes you to take damage every time your protected target does.
You can use multiple items if they are different kinds of items. +1 ring and +2 ring is just +2, so give the +1 ring to someone else. +1 ring and +2 cloak is +3.
I am less certain of this, but I think two different spells would stack, but the same spell cast twice would not.
I think its more about the fact you can't attune to a second item that is a the same type as the first.
You can use multiple items if they are different kinds of items. +1 ring and +2 ring is just +2, so give the +1 ring to someone else. +1 ring and +2 cloak is +3.
I am less certain of this, but I think two different spells would stack, but the same spell cast twice would not.
I think its more about the fact you can't attune to a second item that is a the same type as the first.
This is correct. The way I have always instructed my players is to figure AC using two categories: formulas, and bonuses. Every player may only use one formula to calculate AC, however bonuses stack on top of said formula. Example:
Barbarian who has +4 DEX and +5 CON (fast and sturdy, nice! ) w/ Unarmored Defense is considering equipping a set of shiny +2 Scale Mail (because what barbarian needs stealth, anyway), or just sticking it out unarmored. In this case there are two conflicting formulas when the armor is equipped so the better of the two is used.
10 + DEX(4) + CON(5) = 19 vs. 14 + DEX(2, because Max 2) + 2(Bonus from enchantment) = 18. Looks like, regardless of how shiny this armor is the math doesn't add up in favor of it. Perhaps the paladin could find a use for it.
Regardless of what our barbarian chooses (hopefully to remain unarmored and going forward we will pretend that is the case), if that barbarian then attunes to the dusty (trusty?) old Cloak of Protection and Ring of Protection our AC goes up again by +2 (1 from each), because these fall into the bonuses category. The rule forbidding multiples of the same item to simultaneously be attuned prevents our barbarian from using two rings or wearing multiple cloaks (it gets cold sometimes so I wouldn't blame him/her/it, though) so the max this way is +2.
Update on our current AC situation:
Formula used - Unarmored Defense giving us 19
Bonuses - +2 from fancy magic items for a total of 21!
Now we have spells and features. Some spells give a character a new formula for their AC, such as Mage Armor, Barkskin, or Stoneskin among others. Other spells, however, simply provide bonuses. It is these bonuses that we want to stack! Having that druid who showed up randomly cast Barkskin on our barbarian would be a waste, given that our current formula is better. Still using our faithful barbarian, attuned to the cloak and ring, let's have our paladin friend instead cast Shield of Faith. Note that in the spell description it specifically states "...grants it a +2 BONUS to AC..." which means this spell falls into our bonus category. Jackpot! Now our barbarian has an AC of 23! (Billy Mays voice:) But wait, there's more! What happens if our barbarian has the feat Defensive Duelist? Well, as a reaction, our barbarian can increase his AC by an amount equal to our Proficiency Bonus (<--- right there, it says bonus!), which again falls in that bonus category we love. Final results:
Formula gives us 19 (10+DEX+CON), item bonuses totals to 21 (19+2), Shield of Faith gets us to 23 (19+2+2), and defensively dueling with that rapier (don't assume all barbarians wield big clubs!) temporarily gets our AC up to a minimum of 25 (19+2+2+at least 2).
To recap, a character gets one formula to start off with when calculating AC. Then you stack up bonuses that exist only as bonuses, separate from their own formula.
Hi all,
My friends and I have been playing for a few months with the D&D 5th ed, I have tried to find the answer around the forum, by consulting the Sage Compendium, and Jeremy's answers but i'm still confused.
Are AC bonus stackable if they came from different spells?, For example Shield Of Faith (+2 AC) and Warding Bond (+1 AC) if i cast both spells on my companion he gets +3 to AC, or the higher bonus rule applies because the source of the bonus is of the same type, i.e. spell.
Thanks in advance
Bonuses stack. Calculations don’t stack. For example, if you find a magic item that gives a flat AC of 12 and another one that gives a flat AC of 13, your AC using both of them is 13. On the other hand a +2 bonus, a calculation of 13, and a +1 bonus all stack to give you an AC of 16.
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If you have more than one thing that says "Your AC is....", pick the best
If you have more than one thing that says "You get +..... to your AC" you add them all together.
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Correct. Not sure if you can get same bonus from same item though. Your GM might not allow wearing two Cloaks of Protection.
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You're right, from the same object, for example, two rings of protection , you got only one bonus, in the same way you can't roll an extra d4 if you are doubly blessed
You can use multiple items if they are different kinds of items. +1 ring and +2 ring is just +2, so give the +1 ring to someone else. +1 ring and +2 cloak is +3.
I am less certain of this, but I think two different spells would stack, but the same spell cast twice would not.
Correct. From the basic rules/PHB:
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
Your example seems valid but, probably not effective. Shield of Faith is concentration and Warding Bond causes you to take damage every time your protected target does.
I think its more about the fact you can't attune to a second item that is a the same type as the first.
This is correct. The way I have always instructed my players is to figure AC using two categories: formulas, and bonuses. Every player may only use one formula to calculate AC, however bonuses stack on top of said formula. Example:
Barbarian who has +4 DEX and +5 CON (fast and sturdy, nice! ) w/ Unarmored Defense is considering equipping a set of shiny +2 Scale Mail (because what barbarian needs stealth, anyway), or just sticking it out unarmored. In this case there are two conflicting formulas when the armor is equipped so the better of the two is used.
10 + DEX(4) + CON(5) = 19 vs. 14 + DEX(2, because Max 2) + 2(Bonus from enchantment) = 18. Looks like, regardless of how shiny this armor is the math doesn't add up in favor of it. Perhaps the paladin could find a use for it.
Regardless of what our barbarian chooses (hopefully to remain unarmored and going forward we will pretend that is the case), if that barbarian then attunes to the dusty (trusty?) old Cloak of Protection and Ring of Protection our AC goes up again by +2 (1 from each), because these fall into the bonuses category. The rule forbidding multiples of the same item to simultaneously be attuned prevents our barbarian from using two rings or wearing multiple cloaks (it gets cold sometimes so I wouldn't blame him/her/it, though) so the max this way is +2.
Update on our current AC situation:
Formula used - Unarmored Defense giving us 19
Bonuses - +2 from fancy magic items for a total of 21!
Now we have spells and features. Some spells give a character a new formula for their AC, such as Mage Armor, Barkskin, or Stoneskin among others. Other spells, however, simply provide bonuses. It is these bonuses that we want to stack! Having that druid who showed up randomly cast Barkskin on our barbarian would be a waste, given that our current formula is better. Still using our faithful barbarian, attuned to the cloak and ring, let's have our paladin friend instead cast Shield of Faith. Note that in the spell description it specifically states "...grants it a +2 BONUS to AC..." which means this spell falls into our bonus category. Jackpot! Now our barbarian has an AC of 23! (Billy Mays voice:) But wait, there's more! What happens if our barbarian has the feat Defensive Duelist? Well, as a reaction, our barbarian can increase his AC by an amount equal to our Proficiency Bonus (<--- right there, it says bonus!), which again falls in that bonus category we love. Final results:
Formula gives us 19 (10+DEX+CON), item bonuses totals to 21 (19+2), Shield of Faith gets us to 23 (19+2+2), and defensively dueling with that rapier (don't assume all barbarians wield big clubs!) temporarily gets our AC up to a minimum of 25 (19+2+2+at least 2).
To recap, a character gets one formula to start off with when calculating AC. Then you stack up bonuses that exist only as bonuses, separate from their own formula.
Happy hunting, fellow adventurers.