Level 20 warforged fighter with a mutliclass into forge domain cleric could potentially have AC26 without booms or magic items.
Integrated defense mode heavy plating is 16+proficiency making it 22 for any 20 level warforged with heavy armor proficiency. If youyhave a nice DM, a defensive fighting style makes it 23; blessing of the forge makes it 24; add a shield for 2 more. Could probably add in feats for another 1 or 2 more.
Add Shield of Faith 28, Defender sword for 31, and take Defensive Duelist feat for 37, and.... hm.... no, I think that’s it. No, wait! Shield +3 for 40 AC, plus Ring and Cloak of protection for 42. Yikes. That’s a lot of AC, more than a tarrasque.
Level 20 warforged fighter with a mutliclass into forge domain cleric could potentially have AC26 without booms or magic items.
Integrated defense mode heavy plating is 16+proficiency making it 22 for any 20 level warforged with heavy armor proficiency. If youyhave a nice DM, a defensive fighting style makes it 23; blessing of the forge makes it 24; add a shield for 2 more. Could probably add in feats for another 1 or 2 more.
Thoughts?
Neither blessing of the forge or defensive fighting style stack with Warforged integrated protection. You are not wearing armor and cannot benefit from features that require armor. So you are at the same 24 as a 20th level barbarian with maxed out dex and con and a shield.
Checking, I do seem to be mistaken for the Shield and BotF, but if we go by that definition, then Tortles are screwed over as Fighters, paladins, and anything else that lets you take the Defense fighting style. Plus, you gain the same benefits as a shield, and can change it pretty much at will. So, i’d Rule that it counts as if wearing armor do to the specific statement Arnored on the little table. Being armored may not be the same as wearing it, but it’s pretty much the same. If you are Armored, you are wearing armor. If you are wearing armor, you are armored.
By being screwed over I mean they can’t take it, meaning that as some of the only classes that allow you to have a set AC, they suck as tanks.
Tortles 17 AC is good at low levels and even at high levels for some classes. It is less useful for heavy armor classes at high levels. Warforged armor is more broadly useful, and at high levels with heavy armor is equal to plate+3 with defensive fighting style, so preventing them from getting another plus one on top is a good balance.
Also, a tortle bladesinger can have a 22 AC without casting any spells
Level 20 Barbarian with 20 Dex and 24 Con and a shield has 24 AC.
Add a friendly cleric casting Shield of Faith for 26 AC. Then assume that the barbarian has just been married(Ceremony). AC 28. Haste brings them up to 30 AC. If they are cursed with lycanthropy, they'll gain a +1 to AC when in hybrid or animal form. That's a grand total of 31 AC, and that's just off the top of my head. Defensive Duelist could also be used to add your proficiency bonus to AC as a reaction, potentially bringing up the AC to 37 against a single attack. I'm currently playing a Dex-based barbarian who currently has something like 25 AC.
Yes, but multiclassing will prevent the barb from getting the 24 in constitution that bumps it up to 22 AC with unarmored defense. +5 dex and +5 constitution is max otherwise, giving 20 AC plus the shield for 22 AC. Not that multiclassing can't make up for it, just that it wouldn't stack.
Level 20 Barbarian with 20 Dex and 24 Con and a shield has 24 AC.
Add a friendly cleric casting Shield of Faith for 26 AC. Then assume that the barbarian has just been married(Ceremony). AC 28. Haste brings them up to 30 AC. If they are cursed with lycanthropy, they'll gain a +1 to AC when in hybrid or animal form. That's a grand total of 31 AC, and that's just off the top of my head. Defensive Duelist could also be used to add your proficiency bonus to AC as a reaction, potentially bringing up the AC to 37 against a single attack. I'm currently playing a Dex-based barbarian who currently has something like 25 AC.
I think this is the highest you can go.
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forge domain cleric after 6 levels gets an ac of 20 with plate armor and that is plate not having any magical bonuses
you can then stack a shield onto this to get an ac of 22 and then you can stack on the defense fighting style and hit 23 if you then take magic initiate then you can get the shield spell which is able to give +5 and then with shield of faith you also get a +2 for while concentration lasts
overall this means you can get an armor class of 30 without magic items by level 7
1.take 6 levels of cleric and get plate armor and use blessings of the forge on your plate armor
current ac = 20
2.take magic initiate at 4th level to collect shield from the sorcerer spell list
3.take 1 level in fighter or 2 levels in paladin to take the defense fighting style and with a shield your ac is now 23 and can be boosted to 28 with shield then to 30 with shield of faith
Level 20 warforged fighter with a mutliclass into forge domain cleric could potentially have AC26 without booms or magic items.
Integrated defense mode heavy plating is 16+proficiency making it 22 for any 20 level warforged with heavy armor proficiency. If youyhave a nice DM, a defensive fighting style makes it 23; blessing of the forge makes it 24; add a shield for 2 more. Could probably add in feats for another 1 or 2 more.
Thoughts?
Neither blessing of the forge or defensive fighting style stack with Warforged integrated protection. You are not wearing armor and cannot benefit from features that require armor. So you are at the same 24 as a 20th level barbarian with maxed out dex and con and a shield.
Blessing of the Forge could work on a shield, and Defensive fighting style does work on Warforged, don't remember where, but the guy who designed them said in an interview they were designed to be considered to be wearing armor, hence the chart
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Just wanna put it out there that Defensive Duelist beats Shield against melee attacks by 1 point once you hit character level 17.
Battle Master's Evasive Footwork maneuver can also add a lot of AC against an opportunity attack, and is accessible through feats.
Level 20 warforged fighter with a mutliclass into forge domain cleric could potentially have AC26 without booms or magic items.
Integrated defense mode heavy plating is 16+proficiency making it 22 for any 20 level warforged with heavy armor proficiency. If youyhave a nice DM, a defensive fighting style makes it 23; blessing of the forge makes it 24; add a shield for 2 more. Could probably add in feats for another 1 or 2 more.
Thoughts?
Add Shield of Faith 28, Defender sword for 31, and take Defensive Duelist feat for 37, and.... hm.... no, I think that’s it. No, wait! Shield +3 for 40 AC, plus Ring and Cloak of protection for 42. Yikes. That’s a lot of AC, more than a tarrasque.
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
Neither blessing of the forge or defensive fighting style stack with Warforged integrated protection. You are not wearing armor and cannot benefit from features that require armor. So you are at the same 24 as a 20th level barbarian with maxed out dex and con and a shield.
Well, you can apply BotF to shields as well. Not to mention the fact that the Integrated Protection counts as Armored. So, therefore, it would work.
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
I think you're mistaken on both counts Bobo. A shield is not "a suit of armor" and being armored is not the same as "wearing armor".
Extended Signature
Checking, I do seem to be mistaken for the Shield and BotF, but if we go by that definition, then Tortles are screwed over as Fighters, paladins, and anything else that lets you take the Defense fighting style. Plus, you gain the same benefits as a shield, and can change it pretty much at will. So, i’d Rule that it counts as if wearing armor do to the specific statement Arnored on the little table. Being armored may not be the same as wearing it, but it’s pretty much the same. If you are Armored, you are wearing armor. If you are wearing armor, you are armored.
By being screwed over I mean they can’t take it, meaning that as some of the only classes that allow you to have a set AC, they suck as tanks.
Extended Signature! Yay! https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/3153-extended-signature-thread?page=2#c21
Haven’t used this account in forever. Still a big fan of crawling claws.
Not exactly. In the early parts of the game, free AC 17 is pretty badass.
By the time a Tortle or Warforged got the lvl 20 you could hope the GM would give them something to improve their situation.
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Tortles 17 AC is good at low levels and even at high levels for some classes. It is less useful for heavy armor classes at high levels. Warforged armor is more broadly useful, and at high levels with heavy armor is equal to plate+3 with defensive fighting style, so preventing them from getting another plus one on top is a good balance.
Also, a tortle bladesinger can have a 22 AC without casting any spells
Add a friendly cleric casting Shield of Faith for 26 AC. Then assume that the barbarian has just been married(Ceremony). AC 28. Haste brings them up to 30 AC. If they are cursed with lycanthropy, they'll gain a +1 to AC when in hybrid or animal form. That's a grand total of 31 AC, and that's just off the top of my head. Defensive Duelist could also be used to add your proficiency bonus to AC as a reaction, potentially bringing up the AC to 37 against a single attack. I'm currently playing a Dex-based barbarian who currently has something like 25 AC.
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Highest without magic effects at all is a Barb with 20 dex, constitution, and a shield at 22 AC- 24 at level 20.
With multiclassing to get spells, you could get additional AC from Shield of Faith, Shield, etc.
There is also cover and other miscellaneous benefits to AC that could be considered.
Yes, but multiclassing will prevent the barb from getting the 24 in constitution that bumps it up to 22 AC with unarmored defense. +5 dex and +5 constitution is max otherwise, giving 20 AC plus the shield for 22 AC. Not that multiclassing can't make up for it, just that it wouldn't stack.
I think this is the highest you can go.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
Check out my Expanded Signature
A warforged sword bard could get up to 34 Ac just from darkwood core(11+5+6) and defensive flourish (if you roll a 12).
My 1st level Luxodon Paladin (20 Con +5) plus shield no armor is 19
Calculation 12 + Con mod + shield
12+5+2=19
You may want to take a look at this youtube video by Treantmonk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeTYXJNzbqM
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
forge domain cleric after 6 levels gets an ac of 20 with plate armor and that is plate not having any magical bonuses
you can then stack a shield onto this to get an ac of 22 and then you can stack on the defense fighting style and hit 23 if you then take magic initiate then you can get the shield spell which is able to give +5 and then with shield of faith you also get a +2 for while concentration lasts
overall this means you can get an armor class of 30 without magic items by level 7
1.take 6 levels of cleric and get plate armor and use blessings of the forge on your plate armor
current ac = 20
2.take magic initiate at 4th level to collect shield from the sorcerer spell list
3.take 1 level in fighter or 2 levels in paladin to take the defense fighting style and with a shield your ac is now 23 and can be boosted to 28 with shield then to 30 with shield of faith
Human Forge Domain Cleric
Plate Armor (Inheritor background - your inheritance)
Blessing of the Forge (+1 AC on armor
Shield (+2 AC)
Shield of Faith spell (+2 AC)
Magical Initiate feat (Shield spell - 1/day)
Potential AC: 10 + 8 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 5 = 28 AC at 1st level
If your DM doesn't allow you to Inherit a suit of Plate armor, you still get Chain Main for a potential AC of 26.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Warforged Bladesinger. 11+ Dex + proficiency bonus + Int when bladesinging. Potentially up to 27 before you cast any spells.
Blessing of the Forge could work on a shield, and Defensive fighting style does work on Warforged, don't remember where, but the guy who designed them said in an interview they were designed to be considered to be wearing armor, hence the chart