Is there anything around that increases AC that is not armor and does not require attunement. I have a draconic sorcerer which has a build in AC. I was wondering if applying the same armor bonuses from armor to clothing would be weird. Items like bracers of defense replace a shield at the cost of no armor and no shield and require attunement. That is a huge cost considering you could get up to a +3 armor bonus with no requirements or attunement to either a shield or a suit of armor.
I was thinking about having a basic set of adventuring clothes that have the bonus applied. Would this be unbalancing.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Sorcerers and wizards do not have armor proficiency, and bracers of defence require attunement for balancing reasons. You can take a feat or a level in multiclass to get armor proficiency so while a +1 or +2 clothes would be very powerfer magic items (I would say +1 is very rare and +2 legendary but you could go +1=rare, +2=very rare, +3=legendary) I wouldn't say they are so powefer you can not have them.
This is providing there is a single +x "clothes" and you are not able to stack them. Being able to wear a +3 pants, +2 shirt, +2 robe and +2 hat etc would be game breaking.
There is an official article of clothing that offers +1 protection, the Pride Silk Outfit; however, it works by giving the wearer an AC calculation of 11+DEX instead of a bonus to AC.
You can certainly have clothing that applies a bonus to AC, but that takes it outside the realm of RAW into House Rules. And likely does unbalance things.
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Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
No, I was not thinking of it as being an itemized bonus per piece. The basic armor bonus is on a full suit of armor. I was planning on it being a full adventuring outfit. When you are in a city and the warriors take of their armor and dress up to socialize, so would they. It would effectively be a suit of armor that provides a zero increase in protection and does not require proficiency to use. Adventurer's gear, I would imagine, is constructed of more durable fabrics and basic leather with lots of pockets and is constructed more for utility than fashion. Something like buying Carhartt or Dickies work clothes today, not the most fashionable because it is intended for working in. It gets messy and takes a beating, but its durability extends its life a lot further than regular clothing being used for rough work.
So the enchantment would be on an entire suit of gear,(pants and shirt), just like it is on armor.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Elven Chain Armor from the DMG... it's a rare set of +1 Chain Mail that you are considered Proficient in even if you lack Medium Armor Proficiency that doesn't require attunement. It's very much meant to replicate the Mythril Shirt from Lord of the Rings, which provides the full protection of a full suit of armor while still being light and thin enough to comfortably wear under normal clothing.
EDIT: Actually, re-reading the question, I realize this isn't what you were asking about, but I'll leave up the answer anyway.
I created Robes of the Stargazer for use in a campaign I am playing in. With DM approval I created a wonderous item non-attuned with +1 AC. A set of clothes with a similar perk, to me, isn't game breaking, especially if it specifies "when not wearing armor" to indicate it's maybe padded clothing or similar, which when covered with armor becomes warm clothes. Could make maybe a "Padded Longcoat" for effect.
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Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Is there anything around that increases AC that is not armor and does not require attunement. I have a draconic sorcerer which has a build in AC. I was wondering if applying the same armor bonuses from armor to clothing would be weird. Items like bracers of defense replace a shield at the cost of no armor and no shield and require attunement. That is a huge cost considering you could get up to a +3 armor bonus with no requirements or attunement to either a shield or a suit of armor.
I was thinking about having a basic set of adventuring clothes that have the bonus applied. Would this be unbalancing.
So basically, you're asking if there is a stackable AC bonus (to stack with your 13+DEX) that does not require attunement?
As long as it is considered armour for the wearer for purposes of various abilities that only function when unarmoured, there is no logical reason why there shouldn't be enchanted clothing. Is there something about silk that makes it impossible to enchant? Or whatever cloth protection cloaks are made of? Bracers or Cloak require attunement, true, but do not count as armour with respect to such abilities. Even the Robe of the Archmagi does not say it counts as armour, even though it really is.
I'm not sure, but I don't think they actually want armor because they already have natural armor 13+DEX. A very rare +3 shirt that grants 10+3+DEX is a waste of a magic item for them.
The more I think about it the more I think the methods for PCs without armour proficiency to increase their AC without attunement (mage armor, elven chain etc) are to be the equivalent of draconian resistance or natural armor and by design do not stack. You could home brew something but be aware you are going away from the WotC design.
Thinking outside the box a manual of quickness of action would increase your AC without attunement.
The OP asked if there was "anything around that increases AC and is not armor and does not require attunement" it is not clear if they are a DM (for whom everything is available) or a player (who would presumably be asking their DM if they could get such an item, but I agree what items are available to PC is up to the DM.
The manual of quickness of action increase your dexterity score by 2 so whether you are coming from an even or odd stat it will 8ncrease you AC (among other things) by 1.
I am a player of a tabaxi, draconic sorcerer with Draconic Resilience: AC13 + DEX, (currently a 15)
I am trying to find a way to increase my AC without eating away an attunement slot which is currently filled. The character is beefier than a normal sorcerer because of the extra HP/level, but when I get hit, it hurts. I have also become the party scout, so I end up being out front regularly when combat begins. Our GM is also good at playing enemies intelligently for the most part. It is a fun build to play with this group, but does leave my character more open to attacks throughout the adventuring day. I should add, our only healing is from our harengon barbarian with the healer feat.
But...honestly it was just an idea I floated and wanted to dig around and see if anything already fit the flavor before trying a homebrew request to my GM. As many have pointed out, there are quite a few items that affect AC which require attunement, but only a suit of armor seems to be able to carry the AC bonus enhancement without attunement.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
I am a player of a tabaxi, draconic sorcerer with Draconic Resilience: AC13 + DEX, (currently a 15)
I am trying to find a way to increase my AC without eating away an attunement slot which is currently filled. The character is beefier than a normal sorcerer because of the extra HP/level, but when I get hit, it hurts. I have also become the party scout, so I end up being out front regularly when combat begins. Our GM is also good at playing enemies intelligently for the most part. It is a fun build to play with this group, but does leave my character more open to attacks throughout the adventuring day. I should add, our only healing is from our harengon barbarian with the healer feat.
But...honestly it was just an idea I floated and wanted to dig around and see if anything already fit the flavor before trying a homebrew request to my GM. As many have pointed out, there are quite a few items that affect AC which require attunement, but only a suit of armor seems to be able to carry the AC bonus enhancement without attunement.
Yeah, that's what I thought you were asking.
Sadly, no. Elven chain can bring you up to 16 AC. That is about it without attunement or armor proficiencies.
It wouldn’t help you specifically, but there’s no reason why there can’t be a magic item: Tough Clothes +1, which would require no proficiency and make your AC be 11+Dex.
All riders and animals pulling it get +1 AC. Also, if the animals fly, so does the chariot, at the speed of the slowest creature pulling it.
I do not remember if there is any specific written rule, but it seems obvious that the creatures have to be strong enough to pull both the chariot and any riders.
All riders and animals pulling it get +1 AC. Also, if the animals fly, so does the chariot, at the speed of the slowest creature pulling it.
I do not remember if there is any specific written rule, but it seems obvious that the creatures have to be strong enough to pull both the chariot and any riders.
On this note:
An animal pulling a carriage, cart, chariot, sled, or wagon can move weight up to five times its base carrying capacity, including the weight of the vehicle. If multiple animals pull the same vehicle, they can add their carrying capacity together.
I am a player of a tabaxi, draconic sorcerer with Draconic Resilience: AC13 + DEX, (currently a 15)
I am trying to find a way to increase my AC without eating away an attunement slot which is currently filled. The character is beefier than a normal sorcerer because of the extra HP/level, but when I get hit, it hurts. I have also become the party scout, so I end up being out front regularly when combat begins. Our GM is also good at playing enemies intelligently for the most part. It is a fun build to play with this group, but does leave my character more open to attacks throughout the adventuring day. I should add, our only healing is from our harengon barbarian with the healer feat.
But...honestly it was just an idea I floated and wanted to dig around and see if anything already fit the flavor before trying a homebrew request to my GM. As many have pointed out, there are quite a few items that affect AC which require attunement, but only a suit of armor seems to be able to carry the AC bonus enhancement without attunement.
So, you basically want AC on par with a fighter in plate but don't want to spend an atunement slot. You already have better AC than the majority of casters (outside of heavy armor Clerics) for free, and you want something that adds to this too?
Ask your DM for the Bracers of Defense if you really feel you need better AC, but I don't feel a lot of sympathy for you on this. You are a caster, and are not made to be in the front lines.
Rather than trying (perhaps in vain) to get an AC boost without attunement, why not solve your problem with magic? You potentially have access to Blur or Mirror Image. Both are solid choices that make you harder to hit than any realistic AC increase, but they do use your concentration. Just use one of them at the start of combat or just before if you can.
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Is there anything around that increases AC that is not armor and does not require attunement. I have a draconic sorcerer which has a build in AC. I was wondering if applying the same armor bonuses from armor to clothing would be weird. Items like bracers of defense replace a shield at the cost of no armor and no shield and require attunement. That is a huge cost considering you could get up to a +3 armor bonus with no requirements or attunement to either a shield or a suit of armor.
I was thinking about having a basic set of adventuring clothes that have the bonus applied. Would this be unbalancing.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Sorcerers and wizards do not have armor proficiency, and bracers of defence require attunement for balancing reasons. You can take a feat or a level in multiclass to get armor proficiency so while a +1 or +2 clothes would be very powerfer magic items (I would say +1 is very rare and +2 legendary but you could go +1=rare, +2=very rare, +3=legendary) I wouldn't say they are so powefer you can not have them.
This is providing there is a single +x "clothes" and you are not able to stack them. Being able to wear a +3 pants, +2 shirt, +2 robe and +2 hat etc would be game breaking.
There is an official article of clothing that offers +1 protection, the Pride Silk Outfit; however, it works by giving the wearer an AC calculation of 11+DEX instead of a bonus to AC.
You can certainly have clothing that applies a bonus to AC, but that takes it outside the realm of RAW into House Rules. And likely does unbalance things.
Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
No, I was not thinking of it as being an itemized bonus per piece. The basic armor bonus is on a full suit of armor. I was planning on it being a full adventuring outfit. When you are in a city and the warriors take of their armor and dress up to socialize, so would they. It would effectively be a suit of armor that provides a zero increase in protection and does not require proficiency to use. Adventurer's gear, I would imagine, is constructed of more durable fabrics and basic leather with lots of pockets and is constructed more for utility than fashion. Something like buying Carhartt or Dickies work clothes today, not the most fashionable because it is intended for working in. It gets messy and takes a beating, but its durability extends its life a lot further than regular clothing being used for rough work.
So the enchantment would be on an entire suit of gear,(pants and shirt), just like it is on armor.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Elven Chain Armor from the DMG... it's a rare set of +1 Chain Mail that you are considered Proficient in even if you lack Medium Armor Proficiency that doesn't require attunement. It's very much meant to replicate the Mythril Shirt from Lord of the Rings, which provides the full protection of a full suit of armor while still being light and thin enough to comfortably wear under normal clothing.
EDIT: Actually, re-reading the question, I realize this isn't what you were asking about, but I'll leave up the answer anyway.
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I created Robes of the Stargazer for use in a campaign I am playing in. With DM approval I created a wonderous item non-attuned with +1 AC. A set of clothes with a similar perk, to me, isn't game breaking, especially if it specifies "when not wearing armor" to indicate it's maybe padded clothing or similar, which when covered with armor becomes warm clothes. Could make maybe a "Padded Longcoat" for effect.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
So basically, you're asking if there is a stackable AC bonus (to stack with your 13+DEX) that does not require attunement?
No. There is not. There are that do require attunement though: bracers of defense, ring of protection, staff of power, staff of defense, cloak of protection, robe of the archmagi
And other people have already pointed out some magic items that act like armor without needing proficiency.
I'm not sure, but I don't think they actually want armor because they already have natural armor 13+DEX. A very rare +3 shirt that grants 10+3+DEX is a waste of a magic item for them.
The more I think about it the more I think the methods for PCs without armour proficiency to increase their AC without attunement (mage armor, elven chain etc) are to be the equivalent of draconian resistance or natural armor and by design do not stack. You could home brew something but be aware you are going away from the WotC design.
Thinking outside the box a manual of quickness of action would increase your AC without attunement.
The OP asked if there was "anything around that increases AC and is not armor and does not require attunement" it is not clear if they are a DM (for whom everything is available) or a player (who would presumably be asking their DM if they could get such an item, but I agree what items are available to PC is up to the DM.
The manual of quickness of action increase your dexterity score by 2 so whether you are coming from an even or odd stat it will 8ncrease you AC (among other things) by 1.
To clarify:
I am a player of a tabaxi, draconic sorcerer with Draconic Resilience: AC13 + DEX, (currently a 15)
I am trying to find a way to increase my AC without eating away an attunement slot which is currently filled. The character is beefier than a normal sorcerer because of the extra HP/level, but when I get hit, it hurts. I have also become the party scout, so I end up being out front regularly when combat begins. Our GM is also good at playing enemies intelligently for the most part. It is a fun build to play with this group, but does leave my character more open to attacks throughout the adventuring day. I should add, our only healing is from our harengon barbarian with the healer feat.
But...honestly it was just an idea I floated and wanted to dig around and see if anything already fit the flavor before trying a homebrew request to my GM. As many have pointed out, there are quite a few items that affect AC which require attunement, but only a suit of armor seems to be able to carry the AC bonus enhancement without attunement.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Yeah, that's what I thought you were asking.
Sadly, no. Elven chain can bring you up to 16 AC. That is about it without attunement or armor proficiencies.
Wizard: subclass bladesinger multiclass.
It wouldn’t help you specifically, but there’s no reason why there can’t be a magic item: Tough Clothes +1, which would require no proficiency and make your AC be 11+Dex.
Flying Chariot
From Mythic Odysseus of Theros
Does not have to be attuned.
All riders and animals pulling it get +1 AC. Also, if the animals fly, so does the chariot, at the speed of the slowest creature pulling it.
I do not remember if there is any specific written rule, but it seems obvious that the creatures have to be strong enough to pull both the chariot and any riders.
On this note:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb/equipment#MountsandVehicles
So, you basically want AC on par with a fighter in plate but don't want to spend an atunement slot. You already have better AC than the majority of casters (outside of heavy armor Clerics) for free, and you want something that adds to this too?
Ask your DM for the Bracers of Defense if you really feel you need better AC, but I don't feel a lot of sympathy for you on this. You are a caster, and are not made to be in the front lines.
I'm curious as to how it was that the sorcerer ended up on recon duty.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Everyone else in armor? Not impossible if there isn't a rogue or monk in the party...
Rather than trying (perhaps in vain) to get an AC boost without attunement, why not solve your problem with magic? You potentially have access to Blur or Mirror Image. Both are solid choices that make you harder to hit than any realistic AC increase, but they do use your concentration. Just use one of them at the start of combat or just before if you can.