Padded armor +1 of medium fortification is Armor bonus +2 (1 base, +1 enhancement)
Mage Armor is Armor bonus +4
if you had both, you would have Armor Bonus +4 and medium fortification.
So far as I can tell, bracers of armor are indeed the lone exception. That said, I understand if someone tries to abuse the rules by wearing multiple items that grant armor bonuses and special abilities that the GM might want to attack them with green slime, a rust monster, and a disenchanter....
Unless otherwise specified, the stacking rule is "bonuses of the same type don't stack" and that's all. Also to note: on an armor, an enhancement bonus enhances the armor's inherent "armor bonus to AC". You could, in theory, wear a chain mail +1 and a leather armor +3, but you'd get the armor bonus from the chain mail only.
As for special properties, there is no general rule stating that you can't stack them. In the previous example, if both the chain mail and leather armor had special properties, they would stack. Beware of the properties' wording, though. Fortification, for instance, gives a fixed bonus, and getting the same Fortification property wouldn't give you twice the effect.
I've seen a lot of discussions missing that enhancement bonuses to armor actually increase the Armor bonus (and thus don't stack with other Armor bonuses).
This is in the Combat section, specifically, "Enhancement Bonuses: Enhancement bonuses apply to your armor to increase the armor bonus it provides."
A +5 chain shirt does not have a +4 Armor bonus and a +5 Enhancement bonus. It has a +9 Armor bonus.
I've seen a lot of discussions missing that enhancement bonuses to armor actually increase the Armor bonus (and thus don't stack with other Armor bonuses).
This is in the Combat section, specifically, "Enhancement Bonuses: Enhancement bonuses apply to your armor to increase the armor bonus it provides."
A +5 chain shirt does not have a +4 Armor bonus and a +5 Enhancement bonus. It has a +9 Armor bonus.
The problem is that that contradicts what is said in the magic armor section: "Magic armor bonuses are enhancement bonuses, never rise above +5, and stack with regular armor bonuses" which implies that the 2 are seprate bonuses to your armor.
Note, I run it the way you say. I'm just pointing out where confusion comes from.
That's not a specific contradiction, just a clarification to how the Enhancement works. Enhancement bonuses basically become the bonus type of whatever they enhance. That section in Magic Armor makes sure folks know that the Armor bonuses just increase. This is the same for, say, an Amulet of Natural Armor--the bonus it provides is an Enhancement bonus to your Natural Armor bonus. An Enhancement bonus to the same stat won't stack, so you can't have two Enhancement bonuses to your Armor. This is the reason a character can have multiple Enhancement bonuses--so long as they modify separate bonuses they all apply. If the bonuses stayed as they type Enhancement for armor class, then the Enhancement bonus from a +1 chain shirt and the Enhancement bonus from a +1 amulet of natural armor wouldn't stack to increase the character's AC. I think considering it this way might help folks understand how those Enhancement bonuses interact.
That's not a specific contradiction, just a clarification to how the Enhancement works. Enhancement bonuses basically become the bonus type of whatever they enhance. That section in Magic Armor makes sure folks know that the Armor bonuses just increase. This is the same for, say, an Amulet of Natural Armor--the bonus it provides is an Enhancement bonus to your Natural Armor bonus. An Enhancement bonus to the same stat won't stack, so you can't have two Enhancement bonuses to your Armor. This is the reason a character can have multiple Enhancement bonuses--so long as they modify separate bonuses they all apply. If the bonuses stayed as they type Enhancement for armor class, then the Enhancement bonus from a +1 chain shirt and the Enhancement bonus from a +1 amulet of natural armor wouldn't stack to increase the character's AC. I think considering it this way might help folks understand how those Enhancement bonuses interact.
The wording on ANA is different. It is an enhancement bonus to the natural armor that increases the existing natural armor. This wording on regular armor says that they are 2 seprate armor bonuses that stack.
The wording in the regular armor section is just telling you what type of bonus a +1 chain shirt has. If they didn't specify, then it would be an untyped bonus and would stack with, say, a magic vestment spell. You can actually think of it the way you have it worded--they are two separate Armor bonuses that stack and this is then an exception to the general rule that Armor bonuses don't stack. But it is still an Armor bonus. I don't know of any direct Enhancement bonus to armor class, anywhere*. Enhancement bonuses always affect something else, and thus are that "something else" for all intents and purposes.
The negation of one "armor" based on a greater bonus coming from another "armor" is only specifically mentioned in the bracers of armor description. I do see that SGG applies this same restriction to their feat in question, but I don't see any basis in the core rules for mage armor canceling out the entire effects of a suit of armor. By my ruling, you'd just end up with whichever higher Armor bonus to AC, plus any other effects of the armor. I do think it's a perfectly reasonable thing for SGG to apply to their feat, if that is the mechanical balance necessary to ensure it stays reasonable.**
*The text of rhino hide does state it grants a "+2 enhancement bonus to AC." This is legacy wording carried over from the 3.5 SRD, and in my opinion represents sloppy writing. I see no grounds for it providing a direct bonus to AC, rather than an Enhancement bonus to Armor as with standard +2 hide armor.
**I think Web of Steel is a very cool feat. It allows for character concepts that can have reasonable AC without being wrapped in full plate at higher levels. As with any 3PP material (or indeed any non-core Paizo material), the GM needs to ensure it is used reasonably. If it "breaks" your game somehow, fix the break and move on...
The wording in the regular armor section is just telling you what type of bonus a +1 chain shirt has. If they didn't specify, then it would be an untyped bonus and would stack with, say, a magic vestment spell. You can actually think of it the way you have it worded--they are two separate Armor bonuses that stack and this is then an exception to the general rule that Armor bonuses don't stack. But it is still an Armor bonus. I don't know of any direct Enhancement bonus to armor class, anywhere*. Enhancement bonuses always affect something else, and thus are that "something else" for all intents and purposes.
The negation of one "armor" based on a greater bonus coming from another "armor" is only specifically mentioned in the bracers of armor description. I do see that SGG applies this same restriction to their feat in question, but I don't see any basis in the core rules for mage armor canceling out the entire effects of a suit of armor. By my ruling, you'd just end up with whichever higher Armor bonus to AC, plus any other effects of the armor. I do think it's a perfectly reasonable thing for SGG to apply to their feat, if that is the mechanical balance necessary to ensure it stays reasonable.**
*The text of rhino hide does state it grants a +2 enhancement bonus to AC. This is a legacy error carried over from the 3.5 SRD. I see no grounds for it providing a direct bonus to AC, rather than an Enhancement bonus to Armor as with standard +2 hide armor.
**I think Web of Steel is a very cool feat. It allows for character concepts that can have reasonable AC without being wrapped in full plate at higher levels. As with any 3PP material (or indeed any non-core Paizo material), the GM needs to ensure it is used reasonably. If it "breaks" your game somehow, fix the break and move on...
The way it is worded, the enhancement bonus from armor is an "enhancement armor" bonus to AC that stacks with other armor bonuses. The way you are presenting it is as an enhancement bonus to the armor bonus provided by the armor. These are 2 different things. While I agree with you that your way is how it should be and is how I use it, that is not what it says.
That is what the rules say, though--it specifically does not say it is an Enhancement bonus to AC, but rather that the bonus type is Enhancement.
Consider the two relevant sections of the rules for this, and determine what conclusion satisfies both sections. These are:
Armor Class
Your Armor Class (AC) represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on you. It's the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit you. Your AC is equal to the following:
10 + armor bonus + shield bonus + Dexterity modifier + other modifiers
Note that armor limits your Dexterity bonus, so if you're wearing armor, you might not be able to apply your whole Dexterity bonus to your AC (see Table: Armor and Shields).
Sometimes you can't use your Dexterity bonus (if you have one). If you can't react to a blow, you can't use your Dexterity bonus to AC. If you don't have a Dexterity bonus, your AC does not change.
Other Modifiers: Many other factors modify your AC.
Enhancement Bonuses: Enhancement bonuses apply to your armor to increase the armor bonus it provides.
and
Magic armor bonuses are enhancement bonuses, never rise above +5, and stack with regular armor bonuses (and with shield and magic shield enhancement bonuses).
The combat section (the first quote) provides the rules for calculating armor class. The formula includes Armor, Shield, Dexterity, and Other. Looking at the Other Modifiers notes, it clearly states that for calculating armor class, Enhancement bonuses "increase the armor bonus it provides." It doesn't increase AC directly, but rather indirectly through the Armor bonus.
Reading the section under magic items, then, you have to keep in mind this rule from the Combat section. So, it says "Magic armor bonuses are enhancement bonuses..." This gives you specific information for using the armor class calculation formula. The bonus is not of the types Deflection, Natural Armor, Dodge, or Size--these all have separate notes from Enhancement bonuses. So, all that statement is saying is what type of bonus the magic armor has. Reading further, we get the following rules:
- never rises above +5
- stacks with regular armor bonuses
- stacks with shield bonuses
- stacks with magic shield enhancement bonuses
None of these conflict with what is stated in the Combat section. And specifically rule #2 above says these bonuses "stack with regular armor bonuses." If the Enhancement bonus provided isn't considered an Armor bonus, this statement would not be necessary since two different bonus types always stack. There are basically two sub-types of Armor bonuses, "regular" and Enhancement.
Now, I suppose folks could argue differently if they just consider the Magic Item section, but that contradicts the rules in the Combat section. If my argument fits both sections, it seems illogical to me to try and come to some other conclusion that puts the two sections in conflict.
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As for special properties, there is no general rule stating that you can't stack them.There is a such a rule. Its the wearing multiple items in the same magic slot, cause the magic in the newer item not to function. Its the same as wearing 10 rings. Only the first 2 in this case function.
Perhaps you intended to quote the part I wrote about "wearing two armors" instead of "special properties stack"?
AFAIK, there are only a few ways to improve your AC:
- dodge bonuses (which stack, contrarily to the other bonuses)
- armor bonus
- shield bonus
- natural armor bonus
- deflection bonus
- other rare things you can only find in a couple magic items and spells (insight, luck, sacred, morale, etc.)
With the exception of poorly-worded description (see Rhino Hide), the enhancement bonuses on magic armors and shields (and amulet of natural armor) don't apply directly to the AC, but to the AC-related bonus the item is already carrying.
For instance, a chainmail (+6) with a +2 enhancement bonus provides a +8 "armor bonus" to AC. If the character wears one and later equip bracers of armor +7 (or any item providing an armor bonus less than 8), the bracers are ineffective.
Another example is a character with two light shields (AC+1), the first being +1 Light Fortification and Elemental Resistance (for a total "shield bonus" to AC of +2), the other +3 Light Fortification (giving a +4 "shield bonus"). Since numeric bonuses of the same type don't stack, the first "shield bonus" to AC is ineffective, but not the other properties. Wearing the two, the character will gain the second shield's "shield bonus" of +4, Light Fortification (only once since it's a fixed bonus) and Elemental Resistance. The fact that the AC bonus of the first shield isn't active doesn't forbid the use of its special properties.
That's what I think, anyways.