The quote below comes from Chapter 2 about creating characters.
Armor Class. Without armor or a shield, your base Armor Class is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier. If your starting equipment includes armor or a Shield (or both), calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 6.
The first sentence seems technically incorrect in that if no armor is donned but a shield is wielded, the base AC would still include the dex modifier. As far as I can tell, Chapter 6 does not say anything about the no armor with shield case other than the +2 shield bonus. If "or a shield" were removed from the first sentence, it would be clearer to me.
No, the sentence is 100% correct, because if you had no armor but were wielding a shield your AC would be 10 + dex + 2. That sentence isn't saying you don't include your dex modifier if you're wield a shield, or wearing armor for that matter. It's just saying "If you're wearing no armor and wielding no shield, it's 10 + dex" which is 100% accurate.
Let me phrase it this way. If the sentence said "Without armor, your base Armor Class is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier.", would that be correct? No, because you could be wielding a shield meaning your base Armor Class would be 12 plus your Dexterity modifier.
The quote below comes from Chapter 2 about creating characters.
Armor Class. Without armor or a shield, your base Armor Class is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier. If your starting equipment includes armor or a Shield (or both), calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 6.
The first sentence seems technically incorrect in that if no armor is donned but a shield is wielded, the base AC would still include the dex modifier. As far as I can tell, Chapter 6 does not say anything about the no armor with shield case other than the +2 shield bonus. If "or a shield" were removed from the first sentence, it would be clearer to me.
The quote below comes from Chapter 2 about creating characters.
Armor Class. Without armor or a shield, your base Armor Class is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier. If your starting equipment includes armor or a Shield (or both), calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 6.
The first sentence seems technically incorrect in that if no armor is donned but a shield is wielded, the base AC would still include the dex modifier. As far as I can tell, Chapter 6 does not say anything about the no armor with shield case other than the +2 shield bonus. If "or a shield" were removed from the first sentence, it would be clearer to me.
Am I thinking about this correctly?
If you are wearing neither armor nor a shield, your AC is 10 + your Dex. If you are wearing Armor, it gives you a new AC formula. If you are wearing a Shield, whatever AC formula you are using, you add 2 to the AC. Some features (such as Unarmored Defense or Mage Armor) may give you additional AC formula options and may or may not have restrictions on what you can combine them with. For example, a Monk's Unarmored Defense cannot be combined with a Shield, but a Barbarian's can include one just fine.
The quote below comes from Chapter 2 about creating characters.
The first sentence seems technically incorrect in that if no armor is donned but a shield is wielded, the base AC would still include the dex modifier. As far as I can tell, Chapter 6 does not say anything about the no armor with shield case other than the +2 shield bonus. If "or a shield" were removed from the first sentence, it would be clearer to me.
Am I thinking about this correctly?
No, the sentence is 100% correct, because if you had no armor but were wielding a shield your AC would be 10 + dex + 2. That sentence isn't saying you don't include your dex modifier if you're wield a shield, or wearing armor for that matter. It's just saying "If you're wearing no armor and wielding no shield, it's 10 + dex" which is 100% accurate.
Let me phrase it this way. If the sentence said "Without armor, your base Armor Class is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier.", would that be correct? No, because you could be wielding a shield meaning your base Armor Class would be 12 plus your Dexterity modifier.
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Maybe that wording is related to armor and shields being different things, so the differentiation is made, as discussed in Confusion about "Armor" and "Weapons" in relation to Class Features or commented by Thezzaruz in another thread:
There's also a related thread if that interests you about AC calculation: Looking for some RAW @024 Feedback
If you are wearing neither armor nor a shield, your AC is 10 + your Dex. If you are wearing Armor, it gives you a new AC formula. If you are wearing a Shield, whatever AC formula you are using, you add 2 to the AC. Some features (such as Unarmored Defense or Mage Armor) may give you additional AC formula options and may or may not have restrictions on what you can combine them with. For example, a Monk's Unarmored Defense cannot be combined with a Shield, but a Barbarian's can include one just fine.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Your character also needs to be proficient in shield use.
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