On the face it would seem that tortle shell defense giving you +4 AC is a great trade for your action, but after factoring in the prone condition I don't think it actually improves your defense (at least for melee). Under what circumstances is it actually beneficial?
It's more flavorful than useful, occasionally better than Dodge, but not consistently. I would homebrew it to keep all the negatives, but change it to resist all damage rather than an AC bonus. That allows for more cinematic uses like the party riding your down a mountain like a sled or using you as a battering ram, though it is somewhat more powerful so would need DM approval
In melee it's definitely a bad idea cause of prone, but if you're going to get peppered by a bunch of archers you drop into your shell giving them all disadvantage plus 4 more AC to hit you. Situational for sure, but to me that makes it interesting in how you can use it to your advantage in those situations, and how to use it with a bit of out of the box thinking. Not every trait or feature needs to be useful in every situation.
On the face it would seem that tortle shell defense giving you +4 AC is a great trade for your action, but after factoring in the prone condition I don't think it actually improves your defense (at least for melee). Under what circumstances is it actually beneficial?
It's more flavorful than useful, occasionally better than Dodge, but not consistently. I would homebrew it to keep all the negatives, but change it to resist all damage rather than an AC bonus. That allows for more cinematic uses like the party riding your down a mountain like a sled or using you as a battering ram, though it is somewhat more powerful so would need DM approval
In melee it's definitely a bad idea cause of prone, but if you're going to get peppered by a bunch of archers you drop into your shell giving them all disadvantage plus 4 more AC to hit you. Situational for sure, but to me that makes it interesting in how you can use it to your advantage in those situations, and how to use it with a bit of out of the box thinking. Not every trait or feature needs to be useful in every situation.
AdmiralChry's Homebrew Compendium - A collection of all my classes, subclasses, magic items, and etc.
Yes, next question.
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