Ok, so my friends and I have gotten into D&D recently, a couple months ago. I bought the the starter kit and we started playing. One of my buddies is our DM and he is doing a homebrew campaign. I myself have made a Blue Dragonborn Fighter named Saff Thundermaw, and another one of my friends is using the pre-made fighter from the starter kit. During one of our sessions we had a shop get blown up by a keg of dragon powder, think gun powder but times 20, and we both acquired plate mail, this boosted Saff from 19 AC to 21. I have the plate mail, a shield, and have taken the defense fighting style. The other fighter and I are under the impression that if we use our shields, that our AC is boosted by 4 with our proficiency in all armors and shields, so 21 when not shielded and 25 with it. I feel like it's really wrong but all of us including our DM don't know and it's leading to him throwing challenge level 6 monsters at us at level 3 to make up for the AC boost. I'm sure we are, but are we wrong? I don't want our PC's to be killed for our misuse of shields and proficiency
TL:DR, does your AC get boosted by your proficiency as a fighter with shields and armor when using a shield?
Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor's use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.
Being proficient avoids the penalties mentioned above, but it doesn't increase your AC. Your AC is 18 (plate) + 2 (shield) + 1 (defense fighting style) = 21.
Ok, so my friends and I have gotten into D&D recently, a couple months ago. I bought the the starter kit and we started playing. One of my buddies is our DM and he is doing a homebrew campaign. I myself have made a Blue Dragonborn Fighter named Saff Thundermaw, and another one of my friends is using the pre-made fighter from the starter kit. During one of our sessions we had a shop get blown up by a keg of dragon powder, think gun powder but times 20, and we both acquired plate mail, this boosted Saff from 19 AC to 21. I have the plate mail, a shield, and have taken the defense fighting style. The other fighter and I are under the impression that if we use our shields, that our AC is boosted by 4 with our proficiency in all armors and shields, so 21 when not shielded and 25 with it. I feel like it's really wrong but all of us including our DM don't know and it's leading to him throwing challenge level 6 monsters at us at level 3 to make up for the AC boost. I'm sure we are, but are we wrong? I don't want our PC's to be killed for our misuse of shields and proficiency
TL:DR, does your AC get boosted by your proficiency as a fighter with shields and armor when using a shield?
When in doubt, look at the rules. Under Equipment, Armor and Shields:
Being proficient avoids the penalties mentioned above, but it doesn't increase your AC. Your AC is 18 (plate) + 2 (shield) + 1 (defense fighting style) = 21.
Ok, I figured as much, so our AC should be 18, or 19 in my case, without the shield and 21 when using it, correct?
Yup.
Awesome! Now we can tone down on the team wiping lol