High guys.
What the title says.
Currently rocking 25 AC at level 10.
With Protection Judgement adding +3
A jingasa (+Fortune's Favored trait) adds +2
For a total of 30.
Armor is +2 Mithral Breastplate with an armored kilt.
+2 Ring
+2 Amulet
14 Dex
I fight with a Greatsword.
Any ideas other than just more +'s?
Few of Questions First:
Race?
Stats other than Dex?
What funds and feat slots do you still have available?
Heavy Armour Proficiency and a mithral heavy armour (so you can still use Stalwart).
Few of Questions First:
Race?
Stats other than Dex?
What funds and feat slots do you still have available?
See my avatar for full break down.Dwarf race.
Rage Domain and Bane take care of damage.Feats are decided. Char is in play.
This is for career moving forward. I intended to make a glass cannon.
But ended up frontliner (along with an Armormaster Dwarf buddy rocking an unmodified AC of 35.)
Just learned Gtr Invis so that should help.
Actually no.
Mithral makes it light armor.
The kilt bumps it back to medium
Mithral makes it light for everything except proficiency.
Mithral makes it light for everything except proficiency.
Correct. Source
"Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light. This decrease does not apply to proficiency in wearing the armor."
Mithral makes it light except for proficiency.
Inquisitors are proficient with medium armor.
The weight of an armored kilt increases the Mithral armor (considered light) by one step, back to medium.
The dm agrees with this interpretation so npt a problem or the topic of this thread.
Any tips for gear to boost AC are appreciated.
Heavy Armor prof is on the list.
Don't boost AC if you are on Rage Domain. Try more prebuffing, you'll be better off with focus on temp HP and DR.
I like multilayer defences if able.
Not being a Barbarian means less HP.
The GM is letting me use Unchained's Version of Rage.
Main Battle spells are
Righteous Vigor, Gtr Invis, Divine Favor, Gtr Stunning Barrier depending on the situation.
I didn't learn Divine Power yet cause we have a haste spamming bard.
Dave and Justus are correct.Mithral FAQ He does need the Heavy Armor Proficiency because the kilt still raises it to Heavy armor for terms of proficiency. However, as an agile mithral armor, he is only taking a -1 penalty to attacks. But anyways, I'll get off that topic.
[Also, not to be nit-picky, just noticed while looking over what you have so I can give better suggestions: Your +1 Furious Cold Iron Greatsword should be priced at 10100, not 8200. The first enchantment on cold iron weapons costs an extra 2,000 gp. That will bump your resell value some ;)]
I know you said feats are decided so just dropping these for consideration, but won't discuss further (Iron Hide, Shield of Swings, Dented Helm(?)).
Future Spell to learn: Unwilling Shield (@level 13).
Might think of investing in a couple of wands/scrolls and pay (or have crafted) at a higher Caster level:
Shield of Faith (only if you get one that gives you a higher bonus than your ring
Magic Vestment (@12th level, only if armor enhancement not at +3 by then)
Other Items:
Any +Dex items (Ioun stone or Changing belt for both str and dex)
Dusty Rose Prism (+1 Insight to AC)
Defiant Armor enhancement (If you have a common type of enemy to fight)
Spell Dodging (If subject to spell and spell-like ability attacks and summoned creatures often)
Hope some of that helps.
Edit: @Charon's Little Helper- The armored kilt does bump up the armor by +1 AC, but they are counted together as a suit of armor, and thus still limited by the +5/+10 and only highest enhancement bonus applies to AC. At least by my understanding.
What you want to focus on is cheapest AC boost for $ spent.
Right now, that's the +1 COmpetence bonus from an Ioun Stone (5k), which adds to touch AC.
Next is another +1 to your armor, which, going from 4k to 9k, is also 5k, but is not touch AC.
After that, you'll want +2 dex. I assume you have a Strength belt, so that's 6k to add Dex. If you don't have a Str/Con belt, then it's only 4k, and it should be your next move.
Another option is a quickdraw shield, and trading your Greatsword for a dwarven axe. That's a fast way to get 3-5 AC simply by switching to one handed damage as needed.
==Aelryinth
Now these are the kinda tips I was after
Next Feat is either Heavy Armor Prof (For Fullplate) or Gtr Trip (Cause he trips then kills using AOO's+Teamwork feats)
Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier
Dusty Rose Ioun Stone.
Then + to armor
Upgrade Belt of Str to Belt of Physical Might.
That's 20000 to go from base 25AC to 30AC base from lvl 10 to 11 (add +3 from protection Judgement)
So 33 AC at level 11 equals char level +22.
Not bad for a 2 hander?
Thanks guys.
heavy armor prof will net you at best +1 AC if you are not a fighter, and your Dex mod to AC will not get higher unless you buy mithral plate (+9000 gp to cost of base armor!)
So, I advise sticking with the mithral BP, it will last well through most of your career, and the ACP is low enough that you could use stealth and similar skills without much penalty if you need to. Perhaps late in your career you might try mithral plate.
As you're a dwarf, and move normally in heavy armor, you actually don't even need mithral if your Dex is never going to exceed 17. You could wear a normal BP and be perfectly fine.
I'll post a sheet I have of the order to take AC advancements in when I get home.
==Aelryinth
On a side note: Are there spells that provide a sacred or morale bonus to AC that you can cast?
Also don't forget boots/speed if someone is NOT providing Haste.
Do you have UMD? If so, the SHield Spell is another very simple way to get another +4 Shield AC if you have time to use it.
Note that getting a very, very high TH score and then backing off it using Defensive Fighting or Expertise or somesuch is also possible. This is very useful if you are only getting one swing that is basically going to hit regardless...turn your TH into AC for the opponent's attack!
==Aelryinth
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Here's the compiled post and table: It probably won't carry cleanly, but should give you the general idea.
A sample reference for Armor Class costs
AC comes, at a fundamental level, in the following forms which are easy to gain: Dex Bonus; Armor Bonus; Natural Armor Bonus; Deflection Bonus; and potentially a Shield Bonus. Yes, there are Insight, Sacred, Profane, Competence, Dodge and all sorts of other bonuses, but the above bonuses are the ones that are easy to pay gold for and retain.
This is a simple basic guide to maximizing AC for gold.
Two builds are presented here – With Shield, and without Shield. Additionally, there is a third build here using Defender to accentuate your AC via an off-hand weapon, or on a shield.
First is going to be choice of armor.
The optimal types of armor are: Light Armor (all varieties add up to +8 Armor/Dex allowed); Breastplate (Medium armor, +6 AC/+3 Dex = +9); and Full Plate (+9 AC, +1 Dex = +10).
Note: Celestial Armor completely borks this table if you have the Dex to top it off, coming in at +13!!
First thing to point out is that Mithral is only a viable AC option if you have the Dex to max it out, OR you need your armor to be lighter for movement purposes.
Classes that are going to get exceedingly high Dex scores are actually better off with lighter armor that allows them to maximize use of their Dexterity at later levels. The exception to this is the Fighter; because Armor Training expands the maximum Dex bonus, Fighters typically aren’t going to need Mithral armor until very late levels, when their Dex scores exceed either 20 or 24 (Full Plate/Breastplate).
Maximizing AC is based on costs to gain an extra point of AC. These costs are:
+1 Armor bonus: 1000 gp, +3000 gp; +5000 Gp; +7000 gp; +9000 gp.
+1 Shield bonus: As +1 Armor
+1 Natural Armor: 2000 gp; +6000 gp; +10000 gp; +14000 gp; +18000 gp.
+1 Deflection bonus: As Amulet of Natural Armor
+1 Dexterity bonus: 4000/6000 gp (Dex +2); +12000/+18000 gp (Dex +4); +20,000/+30,000 gp (Dex+6). Prices are stand-alone/adding onto a belt.
Mithral Armor (Total bonus +2): Light, +1000 gp, Medium Armor +4000 gp, Heavy armor +9000 gp:
+1 Defender on Weapon used for defense: 8000 gp; +10,000 gp; +14,000 gp; +18,000 gp; +22,000 gp. (ending at +5 Defender)
There are two other AC bonuses you can get in the core game: +1 Insight AC from a Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone, and +1 Luck Bonus to AC from a Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier. Both are Slotless, and cost 5k, the same price as improving a piece of armor from +2 to +3. Both also grant Touch AC, and so should be taken before other AC improvement.
Now, we simply take them and add them on in series.
If your starting Dex is 20 and you wear light armor; Immediately buy a chain shirt.
If your starting Dex is 17 and you can wear Medium Armor, buy a breastplate.
If your Starting Dex is 13 or lower, buy Full Plate.
Note that if you are a Fighter, you need to increase the minimum Dex for Mithral by your Armor Training bonus.
Base:
Chain Shirt, 19 Dex = +8 AC
Breastplate, 17 Dex = +9 AC
Full Plate, 13 Dex = +10 AC
Bonuses are listed in the order you add them, with Defender bonuses last as an optional (you should take them before similar items if possible). Basically, you want Deflection before anything; Dexterity next; and Nat Armor and Armor Enhancements equally. This is because the prior two affect your Touch AC (so does Defender) and the latter do not.
Add Cost AC Total GP Total
Mithral Light Armor 1000 (+2) (+1000)
+1 Armor Enhance 1000 +1 1000
+1 Ring of Prot 2000 +2 3000
+1 Natural Armor 2000 +3 5000
Mithral Medium Armor 4000 (+2) (+4000, Dex 20)
+2 Armor Enhance 3000 +4 8000
+2 Dex Gaunts 4000 +5 12000
Mithral Heavy Armor 9000 (+2) +9000, Dex 17+
Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone, +1 Insight 5000 +6 17,000
Jingasa of the Fortunate Solider, +1 Luck 5000 +7 22,000
+3 Armor Enhance 5000 +8 27000
+2 Ring/Prot 6000 +9 33000
+2 Natural Armor 6000 +10 39000
+4 Armor Enhance 7000 +11 46000
(+1 Defender) (+8000) (+1*)
+5 Armor Enhance 9000 +12 55000
+3 Ring/Prot 10000 +13 65000
+3 Natural Armor 10000 +14 75000
(+2 Defender) 10000 (+18000) (+2*)
+4 Dex booster 12000 +15 87000
+4 Ring of Prot 14000 +16 101000
+4 Natural Armor 14000 +17 115000
(+3 Defender) 14000 (+32000) (+3*)
+5 Ring of Prot 18000 +18 133000
+5 Natural Armor 18000 +19 151000
(+4 Defender) 18000 (+50000) (+4*)
+6 Dex Booster 20000 +20 171000
(+5 Defender) 22000 (+72000) (+5*)
Totals: Light Armor: Mithral (or Darkleaf Cloth) Studded Leather +5, Dex 24 = AC 38, 162k
Medium Armor: Mithral Breastplate+5, Dex 20 = AC 38, 165k
Full Plate: M. Full Plate, Dex 16 = AC 39, 170k
Fighter Armor Training +4
Note: Needs +5 Dex (level/inherent) on all!
Mithral Chain Shirt, Dex 30. AC 40.
Mithral BP, Dex 28, AC 41
Mithral Full Plate, Dex 24, AC 42
Note that Mithral Celestial Armor basically adds +2 to all of this.
Mithral is basically needed to max out Dex bonus for Dex builds. For fighters, Armor Training basically means their Dex will seldom be high enough to max out their armor.
Using an off-hand weapon as a Defender adds 72,000 gp to the defense cost, but the +5 AC is significant.
For Shield builds, the cost is negligible (+25000 gp for a +5) and the AC is significant (+6 or 7), resulting in a much quicker rise in AC.
ADD Add’l COST AC TOTAL TOTAL COST
+1 Armor Enhance 1000 +1 1000
+1 Shield Enhance 1000 +2 2000
+1 Ring of Prot 2000 +3 4000
+1 Natural Armor 2000 +4 6000
+2 Armor Enhance 3000 +5 9000
+2 Shield Enhance 3000 +6 12000
+2 Dex Gaunts 4000 +7 16000
Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone 5000 +8 21000
Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier 5000 +9 26000
+3 Armor Enhance 5000 +10 31000
+3 Shield Enhance 5000 +11 36000
+2 Ring/Prot 6000 +12 42000
+2 Natural Armor 6000 +13 48000
+4 Armor Enhance 7000 +14 55000
+4 Shield Enhance 7000 +15 62000
+5 Armor Enhance 9000 +16 71000
+5 Shield Enhance 9000 +17 80000
+3 Ring/Prot 10000 +18 90000
+3 Natural Armor 10000 +19 100000
+4 Dex booster 12000 +20 112000
+4 Ring of Prot 14000 +21 126000
+4 Natural Armor 14000 +22 140000
+5 Ring of Prot 18000 +23 158000
+5 Natural Armor 18000 +24 176000
+6 Dex Booster 20000 +25 196000
Assuming use of a Heavy Shield for +2 AC, at 12k layout you’re +3 AC ahead of the Shield-less build. At 50k you are +4 ahead. At 100k you are +5 ahead, at 150k you are +6 ahead, and you max out at +7 ahead.
Note that if you put Defender on your shield, and simply don’t attack with it, the numbers can look something like this:
Light Armor: AC 47, 52 with Defender
Medium Armor: AC 48, 53 with Defender
Heavy Armor: AC 49, 54 with Defender.
And all this is before Dodge, Shield Specialization, and incidental bonuses from spells, templates, defensive fighting, and whatnot. Note that to max Dex from Armor Training, any fighter is going to need Inherent bonuses to his Dex, unless he raises Dex instead of Str.
If he does both, then he probably wants a lighter grade of armor to max out the Dodge-based bonus of Dex, which is more effective against touch/ranged touch attacks.