What is the highest possible AC we can get at 1st-level?
22 is the highest I've been able to manage without external/environmental factors.
A character proficient with scale mail and a tower shield can have...
10 base
04 circumstance
03 item
03 proficiency
02 Dex
22 total
Full plate would get us higher, but sadly, we only have 15gp to spend at 1st level.
What ideas do you have? Can we get higher?
(Doesn't count if it can't be done with one's own abilities and gear; in other words no greater cover murder holes.)
Wow. I'm not surprised someone got higher, but a whole 3 points? Now we're cooking!
|
...I actually just figured out a way to get to 26 while trying to figure out how soon I could make that more sustainable (as burning through scrolls is not economical).
Instead of a scroll, using Drakeheart Mutagen gives you +4 item but limits you to +2 dex. But that allows you to hit 26 total instead, and if you use Ancient Elf you can have Alchemist Dedication at 1 to brew 2 per day for free.
The trick with Mage Armor is that monk can't hit the AC cap that way until level 5 since it's a 1/5 armor (same as runes on explorers clothes or bracers of armor), so the mutagen gets you to the maximum +6 total earlier.
As fun as that build is, spending 2/3ds of your actions cowering behind a tower shield is kinda . . . eh? That being said . . . 22 from not using a tower shield is actually still really good. Plus side, you don't need access to a rare fighting style for this way of doing things.
Ancient elf for alchemist still awesome idea though!
10(base)+5(Expert and level 1)+4(mutagen)+2(Dex)+1 (circumstance from crane wing)=
Wow. We're way beyond my expectations.
You're still better off using Rain of Embers since it's a status bonus, which means you're allowed to use a normal shield for +2 circumstance as a third action (fairly reasonable on monk thanks to Flurry). Although I do think Crane Wing is more universally applicable due to damage types (so many things resist fire).
And yes, I know that it's terribly impractical to turtle up that way... well, mostly. A monk who doesn't need to move still gets to strike twice with Flurry, and can still Raise a Shield>Stride>Flurry if they have to. Monks are the one class that runs into the third action problem with their second action.
Rain of Embers seems like a great pairing with another stance, or even just using Powerful Fist of you fight something fire resistant. Fire resistance is common, but so is physical resistance. Seems like having an option for fire would be swell to bypass it. Plus fire is also a common weakness.
...I actually just figured out a way to get to 26 while trying to figure out how soon I could make that more sustainable (as burning through scrolls is not economical).
Instead of a scroll, using Drakeheart Mutagen gives you +4 item but limits you to +2 dex. But that allows you to hit 26 total instead, and if you use Ancient Elf you can have Alchemist Dedication at 1 to brew 2 per day for free.
The trick with Mage Armor is that monk can't hit the AC cap that way until level 5 since it's a 1/5 armor (same as runes on explorers clothes or bracers of armor), so the mutagen gets you to the maximum +6 total earlier.
As fun as that build is, spending 2/3ds of your actions cowering behind a tower shield is kinda . . . eh? That being said . . . 22 from not using a tower shield is actually still really good. Plus side, you don't need access to a rare fighting style for this way of doing things.
Ancient elf for alchemist still awesome idea though!
10(base)+5(Expert and level 1)+4(mutagen)+2(Dex)+1 (circumstance from crane wing)=
It can still be 24 if you run a basic shield instead; spending 1 action to raise a shield isn't a bad use of an action, and if you're not using it to block, being able to benefit from other specific shields might be a nice thing to do.