I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
No. Both of these are ways to calculate a creatures' base AC. You can only have one such calculation at a time; obviously you generally choose the one that results in a higher AC, but you can't have both.
I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
I read this several times and I can't figure out what you are asking. Is the Lizardfolk in 2024 game?
Every character in the 2024 PHB has a natural armor of 10.
Level 1 monk gets an armored bonus that starts with 10+dex+wisdom bonus.
The question is if you have a race that increases the base natural AC to a number higher then 10 can you still use dex+wisdom bonus to boost AC.
The 2024 PHB explicitly states you start at 10, not at the creatures base AC. So no the original poster can't have an AC 20. They must start at 10, not 13.
But lizard folk are not in the 2024 PHB, so the DM needs to allow them, and in that case, it is up to the DM to allow the dex+wisdom bonus.
Every character in the 2024 PHB has a natural armor of 10.
Level 1 monk gets an armored bonus that starts with 10+dex+wisdom bonus.
The question is if you have a race that increases the base natural AC to a number higher then 10 can you still use dex+wisdom bonus to boost AC.
The 2024 PHB explicitly states you start at 10, not at the creatures base AC. So no the original poster can't have an AC 20. They must start at 10, not 13.
But lizard folk are not in the 2024 PHB, so the DM needs to allow them, and in that case, it is up to the DM to allow the dex+wisdom bonus.
It's simpler than that and it does not depend on which book anything is in.
Both the Monk's Unarmored Defense feature and the Lizardfolk's Natural Armor feature are ways to calculate a character's base AC. The rules say that when you have more than one such calculation available, you choose one of them to use; you cannot combine them.
It would be different if one or the other of them said something like "you have a bonus to your Armor Class equal to your Wisdom modifier", meaning an additional AC bonus applied on top of your base AC. But they don't.
I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
I read this several times and I can't figure out what you are asking. Is the Lizardfolk in 2024 game?
Not everyone is using 2024 rules. It's also supposed to be backwards compatible, so yes Lizardfolk exists in 2024.
I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
The one thing I would add is, once you make the choice of which calculation to use, you’re not locked in forever. If at some point as you level, the other version would give you a higher AC, you can always switch.
Actually that is starting to become a problem. More and more people are joining that have no 2014 experience. Getting a 2014 rulebook is becoming harder as as new 2014 books hardly/don't really exist, only used ones. Therefore their will probably more posts about 2024 vice 2014.
Actually that is starting to become a problem. More and more people are joining that have no 2014 experience. Getting a 2014 rulebook is becoming harder as as new 2014 books hardly/don't really exist, only used ones. Therefore their will probably more posts about 2024 vice 2014.
I assume any new post to be about 2024 but most tables I see are still running 2014 or a mix of 2014 and 2024 rules.
If you have multiple ways to calculate your Armor Class, you can benefit from only one at a time. For example, a Monk/Sorcerer with a Monk’s Unarmored Defense feature and a Sorcerer’s Draconic Resilience feature must choose only one of those features as a way to calculate
I have what might be a simple question but I haven't found the answer yet. If a monk has a Natural AC, like say a Lizardfolk with 13+dec, does that stack with unarmored defense? IE would your AC be 17 (either 13+dex or 10+dex+wis) or would it be 20 (13+dex+wis)?
Thanks for any guidance or clarification you can give.
No, they don't add up; it's either one or the other. At least it was like that in 2014 and I assume it has remained the same.
No. Both of these are ways to calculate a creatures' base AC. You can only have one such calculation at a time; obviously you generally choose the one that results in a higher AC, but you can't have both.
pronouns: he/she/they
I read this several times and I can't figure out what you are asking. Is the Lizardfolk in 2024 game?
If I understand the simple question,
Every character in the 2024 PHB has a natural armor of 10.
Level 1 monk gets an armored bonus that starts with 10+dex+wisdom bonus.
The question is if you have a race that increases the base natural AC to a number higher then 10 can you still use dex+wisdom bonus to boost AC.
The 2024 PHB explicitly states you start at 10, not at the creatures base AC. So no the original poster can't have an AC 20. They must start at 10, not 13.
But lizard folk are not in the 2024 PHB, so the DM needs to allow them, and in that case, it is up to the DM to allow the dex+wisdom bonus.
It's simpler than that and it does not depend on which book anything is in.
Both the Monk's Unarmored Defense feature and the Lizardfolk's Natural Armor feature are ways to calculate a character's base AC. The rules say that when you have more than one such calculation available, you choose one of them to use; you cannot combine them.
It would be different if one or the other of them said something like "you have a bonus to your Armor Class equal to your Wisdom modifier", meaning an additional AC bonus applied on top of your base AC. But they don't.
pronouns: he/she/they
Not everyone is using 2024 rules.
It's also supposed to be backwards compatible, so yes Lizardfolk exists in 2024.
13+dex or 10+dex+wis
The one thing I would add is, once you make the choice of which calculation to use, you’re not locked in forever. If at some point as you level, the other version would give you a higher AC, you can always switch.
Actually that is starting to become a problem. More and more people are joining that have no 2014 experience. Getting a 2014 rulebook is becoming harder as as new 2014 books hardly/don't really exist, only used ones. Therefore their will probably more posts about 2024 vice 2014.
I assume any new post to be about 2024 but most tables I see are still running 2014 or a mix of 2014 and 2024 rules.
Armor Class
If you have multiple ways to calculate your Armor Class, you can benefit from only one at a time. For example, a Monk/Sorcerer with a Monk’s Unarmored Defense feature and a Sorcerer’s Draconic Resilience feature must choose only one of those features as a way to calculate
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/phb-2024/creating-a-character#Multiclassing
They hid the rule in Multiclassing section. So RAw, you have to decide which one you are using. They don’t combine.
you don’t need 2014 copies, you just need to know how to find stuff WOTC buries in the current PHB.