For some reason, Armor Class is something that confuses me a bit.
I think I understand but could someone please explain to me the difference between "normal" AC and Flat-Footed?
Also, I recently finshed a Pathfinder Society mod where I have acess to an Ion stone that improves your Armor Class by +1 because of "insight."
Does this AC insight bonus go away when I am flat-footed? Any concerns about non-stacking?
Thanks!
Ed
Flat-footed is when you can't react to the attack defensively. For example, if you're covered head to toe in plate-mail and you don't normally move around much in combat (dex bonus +0), whether or not you see it coming doesn't matter as much to you as it does to a completely unarmored monk whose only defense is to get out of the way (high dex bonus, no armor).
The most iconic situation for flat footedness is a rogue sniping at a fully-armored guard on a watchtower. The guard is oblivious to the rogue, so he can't "dodge" with his dex bonus. However, his relative size, cover, and armor might still save his life, when compared with a large target standing in the open with no armor.
Touch AC is sort of the opposite. It is a number that reflects only your ability to get out of the way.
The iconic Touch AC situation is a magic ray, against which armor provides no protection, but the wizard can still miss due to poor aim or distraction.
Normal AC is the combination of the two — what you use when armor counts and you are consciously evading.
Broken down:
What's more, CMB and CMD are related. CMB is the same as an attack roll, except the value for Size is reversed, because it helps to be bigger when performing a maneuver. CMD is essentially tAC + CMB, because 3.5 started grapples with a touch-attack and so the math works out. Basically, being agile helps you avoid maneuvers, but it isn't much help performing them.
With respect to Ioun stones, I would rule that the item grants an insight, it isn't dependent on insight. I would allow it to add to flat-footed AC. I've never heard of an official ruling on the matter. Insight bonuses do not stack with other insight bonuses, but should stack fine with other bonuses (such as dodge).
Hope that helps.
Yup - that helps a lot - thank you.
One more question...would the bonus you get from a Mage Armor spell or Bracers of Armor - would those bonuses (which I believe are both deflection bonuses) be added to a Touch AC? Flat-Footed AC?
If I understand you correctly - I would say yes to FF, no to Touch.
Thanks again,
Ed
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Yup - that helps a lot - thank you.
One more question...would the bonus you get from a Mage Armor spell or Bracers of Armor - would those bonuses (which I believe are both deflection bonuses) be added to a Touch AC? Flat-Footed AC?
If I understand you correctly - I would say yes to FF, no to Touch.
Thanks again,
Ed
flat footed ac They don't affect your touch AC and don't stack with normal armor.
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As far as I remember, both mage armor and Bracers of Armor give an armor bonus to AC - the same as standard armor does. That means that it doesn't stack with armor, or with each other, and that it adds to your flat-footed AC
So, if you have both a mage armor spell, a pair of Bracers of Armor +4 and a chain shirt, you still only get 14 AC, 14 FF AC and 10 Touch AC. If you then get a ring of protection +2 (deflection), you get an AC 16, FF AC 16 and touch AC 12. If you then get a belt of dex + 2, bringing you up to Dex 12, which gives a +1 dex bonus to ac, you would have AC 17, FF AC 16 and Touch AC 13.
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Just because the game likes to complicate things, there is one small exception to the above rules about mage armor only adding to your flat-foot AC, and that is when you are dealing with an incorporeal touch attack.
Basically, a creature like a ghost makes a touch attack because it just reaches through your armor and hits you, so your armor doesn't help you. However, mage armor(and armor with the ghost touch quality) both specifically are made so that incorporeal creatures can't reach through them, so you get to keep their bonuses in those cases.
Yup - that helps a lot - thank you.
One more question...would the bonus you get from a Mage Armor spell or Bracers of Armor - would those bonuses (which I believe are both deflection bonuses) be added to a Touch AC? Flat-Footed AC?
If I understand you correctly - I would say yes to FF, no to Touch.
To try to help, I'd like to offer some info. First, everything is some sort of bonus. So wearing armor grants an armor bonus. Carrying a shield grants you a shield bonus. Being highly Dexterous grants you a dexterity bonus. The Dodge feat (and other sources) grant a dodge bonus. Ioun stones and other things grant insight bonuses. There are several other types of bonuses that you'll read about over time.
Here's what you need to know: ONLY dodge bonuses "stack". What that means is that if you have two sources of say... armor bonuses, you only use the higher of the two. You do NOT add them together. The mage armor spell grants a +4 armor bonus. Wearing leather armor grants a +2 armor bonus. So wearing leather armor and having mage armor cast on you gets you a total of a +4 armor bonus, because it's the higher number. Again, dodge bonuses stack. So if you've got the Dodge feat plus the Mobility feat, while you're moving you get a total of +5 dodge against attacks of opportunity. +1 from Dodge, +4 from Mobility.
So. First, your "AC" is the total of all of your bonuses, bar none.
Second, your "Touch AC" is a subset of your AC. Your armor and shield bonuses don't apply. You keep your dex and dodge and insight and deflection for instance.
Third, your "FF AC" is also a subset of your AC. Your dex and dodge bonuses don't apply. You keep deflection, insight and so on.
Finally, it is possible to have a "flat-footed touch AC". To figure out this one, you subtract all the bonuses that are forbidden. So you lose your dex, dodge as well as armor and shield.
In real-life terms, your AC is you at your best. Your touch is a case where if someone even brushes up against you you'll suffer, like say... a magic attack. Your flat-footed is you not ready to deal with a threat so you can't dodge or evade but your armor and shield still help you. Your flat-footed touch is you not ready to deal with a touch attack... at your most doomed.
Again, some bonuses are always on, assuming you've got them. They're usually expensive and small bonuses. They usually come from magic items or spells.
Hopefully this helps.