Somewhat confused by what seems to be a cap on AC bonuses?
Am I correct in thinking that; no matter where the bonus comes from, be it proficiency, Dex, or the magic bonus of the armour itself, the total bonus added to AC cannot be more than 2?
The only 2 rules I can think of that you might be getting confused is: 1) that you can only benefit from 1 shield (which gives +2). 2) Wearing medium armor caps AC bonus from Dexterity at 2 (unless you use the medium armor master feat to raise it to 3).
AC can definitely be higher than 12. There are +3 magic armors that give an extra 3 AC compared to their non-magic equivalents. Most armors provide more than a +2 to AC and stack with shields for another +2. The shield spell gives +5 for a turn. Barbarians and monks add a second ability score in addition to DEX. Some races have +3 or more to their AC. Just... So many examples.
Somewhat confused by what seems to be a cap on AC bonuses?
Am I correct in thinking that; no matter where the bonus comes from, be it proficiency, Dex, or the magic bonus of the armour itself, the total bonus added to AC cannot be more than 2?
No. I'm not sure where you are getting that idea, could you cite the rule?
Light armor has no limit to the bonus that can be added due to dexterity, medium armor can add a maximum of +2 to AC due to dexterity while heavy armor doesn't add any bonus for dexterity. Magical armor can typically come with modifiers to the AC of +1, +2 and +3 (+3 is considered legendary).
A shield can also be equipped and this adds +2 to AC. However, shields can also be magical and again typically +1, +2 or +3.
Shields and armor can be worn at the same time and these bonuses all stack. A +2 breastplate on a character with 16 dexterity and a +1 shield would have an AC of:
14 (breastplate) +2 (from dexterity - 16 dexterity has a +3 but medium armor is capped at +2 from a dexterity bonus), +2 from magic, +2 for the shield, +1 for the magic of the shield for a total AC in this example of 21.
P.S. Proficiency has no effect on the AC itself, it affects what can be done while wearing the armor. For example, a spellcaster wearing armor they are not proficient with can not cast spells.
SNIP! ... Wearing medium armor caps AC bonus from Dexterity at 2 (unless you use the medium armor master feat to raise it to 3).
Charlie Brown Voice: THAT'S IT!
Thx! That rule got stuck into my head. I was trying to figure out a friends AC, and became confused about proficiency. I forgot about the requirement of Light Armour.
Oh, link for reference. I had given her an "Elven Chain" shirt in the game, but in my head that was Light armour. It's not in the system here, and I started to wonder where I went wrong. Link for reference...
Yea, I know. I'm an old AD&D guy who's bumbling his way through games I designed for my two friends. New to 5e, is me. Our recently finished campaign was the Caves of Chaos, as rewritten by me, but still with the treasure and magic items of the original module... which is given out in flippin' bucket loads of gold and treasure. Really, you could retire to a pocket dimension for the rest of your life.
And so, yes, it's messed up. We literally played only last week, and it was a year since I left off last time... and had them running into Cave B as 80 skeletons and zombies are chasing them, the Dark Priest guiding his undead army at them to protect the secret of the caves! It was sooo epic. My players used oil and fire, good strategy. They grew as players! I was so proud, I leveled them. Level 5 baby! :D
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
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Somewhat confused by what seems to be a cap on AC bonuses?
Am I correct in thinking that; no matter where the bonus comes from, be it proficiency, Dex, or the magic bonus of the armour itself, the total bonus added to AC cannot be more than 2?
No. Not at all.
The only 2 rules I can think of that you might be getting confused is: 1) that you can only benefit from 1 shield (which gives +2). 2) Wearing medium armor caps AC bonus from Dexterity at 2 (unless you use the medium armor master feat to raise it to 3).
AC can definitely be higher than 12. There are +3 magic armors that give an extra 3 AC compared to their non-magic equivalents. Most armors provide more than a +2 to AC and stack with shields for another +2. The shield spell gives +5 for a turn. Barbarians and monks add a second ability score in addition to DEX. Some races have +3 or more to their AC. Just... So many examples.
No. I'm not sure where you are getting that idea, could you cite the rule?
Light armor has no limit to the bonus that can be added due to dexterity, medium armor can add a maximum of +2 to AC due to dexterity while heavy armor doesn't add any bonus for dexterity. Magical armor can typically come with modifiers to the AC of +1, +2 and +3 (+3 is considered legendary).
A shield can also be equipped and this adds +2 to AC. However, shields can also be magical and again typically +1, +2 or +3.
Shields and armor can be worn at the same time and these bonuses all stack. A +2 breastplate on a character with 16 dexterity and a +1 shield would have an AC of:
14 (breastplate) +2 (from dexterity - 16 dexterity has a +3 but medium armor is capped at +2 from a dexterity bonus), +2 from magic, +2 for the shield, +1 for the magic of the shield for a total AC in this example of 21.
P.S. Proficiency has no effect on the AC itself, it affects what can be done while wearing the armor. For example, a spellcaster wearing armor they are not proficient with can not cast spells.
Charlie Brown Voice: THAT'S IT!
Thx! That rule got stuck into my head. I was trying to figure out a friends AC, and became confused about proficiency. I forgot about the requirement of Light Armour.
Oh, link for reference. I had given her an "Elven Chain" shirt in the game, but in my head that was Light armour. It's not in the system here, and I started to wonder where I went wrong. Link for reference...
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/85982687
That’s an insane inventory for a level 4 character.
Yeah, Elven Chain in 5e is medium armor, if you had given her +1 studded leather her AC would be 18.
^^^
lol !!!
Yea, I know. I'm an old AD&D guy who's bumbling his way through games I designed for my two friends. New to 5e, is me. Our recently finished campaign was the Caves of Chaos, as rewritten by me, but still with the treasure and magic items of the original module... which is given out in flippin' bucket loads of gold and treasure. Really, you could retire to a pocket dimension for the rest of your life.
And so, yes, it's messed up. We literally played only last week, and it was a year since I left off last time... and had them running into Cave B as 80 skeletons and zombies are chasing them, the Dark Priest guiding his undead army at them to protect the secret of the caves! It was sooo epic. My players used oil and fire, good strategy. They grew as players! I was so proud, I leveled them. Level 5 baby! :D
Right, thx!
I did try this because, and correct me if I'm wrong, I could not homebrew any chain armour to be Light armour.
So yes, I'm stuck subbing another type of armour to simulate what I'd imagined and gave my player.
She uses a character sheet, the DNDBeyond char I linked above is for me, the DM. I made it to understand her character better.
I was thinking of uploading my friends character sheet. Is there an image dump peeps use these days? So I can link the image to here? Thx :)
www.imgur.com is pretty solid.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.