I'm playing a ranger from the Mwangi Expanse, and in keeping with the "jungle girl" theme I'd like to be able to avoid wearing armor. Are there are feats or archetypes that give me the ability to naturally increase my AC? I don't mind taking rogue or fighter levels, though I don't find monk appropriate for this character.
Maybe combine with barbarian for DR to ignore some of the damage you can't avoid.
The only other option is Barbarian either the Invulnerable Rager or the Savage Barbarian archetypes,
other wise a dip in Monk(Martial Artist) will be needed.
If you take changeling as a race it does have Natural armour and you could take the Improved natural armour feat
There's the Savage Barbarian archetype or the Invulnerable Rager (both barbarian), but they're not really good for a just a level dip.
But you might get your GM to create something similar along those lines for your ranger.
Maybe replace Endurance instead of Trap Sense and Favored Terrain for DR?
The AC bonus from those is quite pityful at low levels but at high it mounts up to near full plate bonus.
Also obviously the Bracers of Armor and Amulet of Natural Armor are something you might want to get eventually too.
The only other option is Barbarian either the Invulnerable Rager or the Savage Barbarian archetypes,
other wise a dip in Monk(Martial Artist) will be needed.If you take changeling as a race it does have Natural armour and you could take the Improved natural armour feat
Every race has "natural armor." Most races just have a natural armor value of zero. If that weren't the case, then amulets of natural armor and barkskin would not work on those races since they boost natural armor bonuses they don't create natural armor.
A level of sorcerer with the mage armor spell (feel to make it themantic) then take the +2 caster level trait. Each casting con cover you for three hours at a time. WIth the nubmer of castings you get you should be covered for most of the day.
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@blackbloodtroll,
I was getting more the Rima the jungle girl meme from the description.
Or you could jsut wear leather/Hide armor and call it a day. Make sure it's patchwork and frayed at the sides and you'll still be in theme.
My custom race half dryad/half elf has a natural armor bonus of "1". Maybe you can work out a custom race of your own.
Is the prohibition just on armor, or also on magical armor items such as bracers, amulets or rings?
Boost your dex, every dex bonus is an AC bonus if you aren't wearing armor. A dex of 16 gives the same AC protection as studded leather. Get a racial natural armor bonus of "1", get your dex to 18 and carry a light shield for an "unarmored" level 1 AC of 16. Throw "mage armor" in the mix and you'll hit AC 20.
@blackbloodtroll,
I was getting more the Rima the jungle girl meme from the description.
Yeah, something like that, or this (except not caucasian). No appreciable armor, but not easy to hit. I have a 16 Dex.
The character is Neutral good, so there goes monk (plus it doesn't really fit the concept, and I'm a big concept person).
I seem to remember some class or archetype aside from monk that allows you to add some other attribute bonus to your AC?
Are you permitted 3rd party material? If you are I know of 2 solutions from Super Genius Games Products:
In the super genius guide to martial archetypes you can take the youxia archetype. One of it's talents is the ability to give your self an armor bonus equal to 2+1/2 your level as a swift action for one minute. But this archetype has a similar flavor to the monk (but weapon based, think wushu style fantasy).
The other is from the product Feats of Battle. It is a feat called web of steel. It allows you when wearing light or no armor, and armed with a weapon with which you have weapon focus to get an armor bonus of 2+1/2 character level. It has some heavy prereqs though, (Combat Expertise, Dodge, And Weapon Focus) so it would be costly at low levels without a couple fighter levels.
But both of those options allow you to get by rather well without armor at all, though neither will help you at first level (cant get them until at least second).
@blackbloodtroll,
I was getting more the Rima the jungle girl meme from the description.
Yeah, something like that, or this (except not caucasian). No appreciable armor, but not easy to hit. I have a 16 Dex.
The character is Neutral good, so there goes monk (plus it doesn't really fit the concept, and I'm a big concept person).
I seem to remember some class or archetype aside from monk that allows you to add some other attribute bonus to your AC?
The duelist prestige class (core rules) allows you to add int to your ac bonus. The kensai magus archetype also allows you to add int to AC, that I believe is in ultimate combat.
I think the duelist prestige class lets you add Int to AC, but you have to get 7-8 levels in it before you can get your full Int bonus applied. A dip, or even a full multiclass, into an arcane spellcasting class is always a good excuse not to wear armor, as some others have suggested.
Do you have any ability to use magic items like bracers of armor? They can be flavored to be tendrils of holly wrapped around her arms, or something like that. I assume you've already taken "dodge" since that gives exactly what you want (a feat bonus to your AC).
Is your GM open to custom feats? I would be fine with allowing a feat of "tough skin" or something that gave you a natural armor bonus that scaled with level, but then I like the concept here...
Be careful about having all of your AC dex or armor based so that you end up a sitting duck for touch or flat-footed attacks.
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Armor is for wimps. Hit points are where it's at. Get your CON up as high as possible. Take the toughness feat, multiple times. Forget Ranger: go Barbarian for the high hit dice. Who cares how often they hit you, as long as you're the last one standing?
As for pumping your AC without armor: The only good ways to do that are to max out your DEX and use Combat Expertise (in which case you compromise your offensive capability) or use magic of some kind. Bracers of Armor are relatively cheap as far as wondrous items go, and they stack with both amulets of natural armor and rings of protection.
Could also dip into druid or cleric for shield of faith or barkskin, the wisdom would stack as well, also if you are archery based you shouldn't be getting hit anyway and you have the nice d10, you could take a hit honestly.
If you get High enough in level, use the Eldritch heritage feats and take a dragon bloodline and at 9th level take "Dragon Resistances" using the Improved Eldritch heritage feat.
...The character is Neutral good, so there goes monk (plus it doesn't really fit the concept, and I'm a big concept person).
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Monk (Martial Artist) has no alignment requirements
As for duelist:
Canny Defense (Ex)
When wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a duelist adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per duelist class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a duelist is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.
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Any of these builds which involve dipping into other classes are probably going to make your character MAD (multi ability dependent) and you will likely wind up watering down your character concept. Unless this is for a PFS character, you should talk to your DM about your concept and make sure the GM is willing to help you bring it to life.
Pick your class and just avoid the armor and see what happens. You never know!
Dead set on Playing a ranger? What's your point buy? Bump your DEX to 18. If you have to, sacrifice STR down to 12 or 13, or INT down to 10 or 11, or CHA down as low as 10. Make sure your CON is at least 14. Playing as a human? Make your 1st level feats Dodge and Toughness. TO get the most out of your high Dex, put lots of skill points into Acrobatics, go for mobility, spring attack, and vital strikes, and just come to terms with the fact that you're never going to use your iterative attacks unless you are doing it at range with ranged or thrown weapons. If the latter is the case, use poison.
I'm already three levels into the ranger, so that part's already been pretty much locked down. :) But barbarian, savage barbarian, some type of rogue, etc. is a strong possibility. I'm sticking with the ranger at least far enough to get an animal companion, but other class abilities call to me as well.
Every day I wish D&D (Pathfinder, same thing) had a la carté character creation. I hate being trapped in the little pre-designed class boxes, having to make my character concept "work" within the forced confines of some game designer's idea of what I should want.
Anyway, thanks so far for the suggestions.
The universe is "Give and Take."
Class-based RPGs (Like DnD and Pathfinder) define the character's role, but at the expense of customization.
Non-Class-Based RPGs (Like Army of Darkness, Vampire, Buffy) have many ways to build the character, but at the expense of each character's role being defined.
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I hope Pathfinder does not ever get a class creation kit,
as this would in my opinion could ruin the game a lot.
And give Munchkins a new tool for broken characters.
I find it more fun, and a better experience to take what you do have and make it work as best as possible,
even if it requires a dip (one or two levels and no more) into a class that does not fit the concept just to get a few features that help the build.
Alright, I've got an odd combo for you that might fit your general theme.
3 levels of world walker druid, 2 ranger levels with the archetype of your choice and then take two in nature warden so you get half of your favored terrain bonus to ac and then decide between diving back into ranger or jumping into horizon walker and building up a selection of terrains. Either choice will be combat friendly, but it might take away from your theme of jungle girl if you see her only in the jungle.
Both will be very effective imo. Sadly the ac bonus is contingent upon being in a favored terrain so I'd be tempted to say that horizon walker is better depending upon how many places you happen to be going in the campaign. The good news is that the ac bonus is insight so that it will further stack with whatever bracers or whatever you happen to find.
Edit: It will also give you a much better selection of animal companions.
Just to chime in: Synthesist summoner can get a lot of natural armor (but you'll be having a translucent eidolon floating around you - which might not fit your theme...) this can be combined with monk for the monk AC/CMD bonus (you add your wisdom bonus). This can really get ridiculously good (especially if you combine with spells like mage armor, shield and barkskin). But if your character is already made up, I don't know how high your wisdom bonus can get, and if it'll make it worth it?
If you go monk - try and look into the style feats as well (turtle, crane and snake especially).
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I'm already three levels into the ranger, so that part's already been pretty much locked down. :)
DO NOT be afraid to go to your GM and say "Look, I don't like the way my character is working. I want to rebuild her from the ground up." If that's really the case, most GMs will be only too happy to sit down and re-work things, especially at low levels.
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I'm already three levels into the ranger, so that part's already been pretty much locked down.
What type of ranger are you? If you are the dual wielder I suggested the duelist in the fact that the parry ability lets you use your off hand attacks to block in coming strikes to make up for the fact that you are not wearing armor.
Every day I wish D&D (Pathfinder, same thing) had a la carté character creation. I hate being trapped in the little pre-designed class boxes, having to make my character concept "work" within the forced confines of some game designer's idea of what I should want.
Anyway, thanks so far for the suggestions.
I think PF/D&D do an awesome job of allowing you to create almost anything that your mind can imagine, character wise, and have it to be a valid character in the gaming community. With what you are asking you can't become an AC20 character at 1st level but your will have some pretty cool attributes to make up for the lack of armor and still have dodge bonuses and other traits
Azure_Zero: Having a role provided to me might have been nice as a newbie, but I like being able to find my own place in the party/world. I think you're right about munchkins, but I think D&D can be bad for munchkins only because the system is knife-edge balanced. Systems with more robust and less fragile balance suffer fewer munchkins. It would be nice if, perhaps with 5th edition, they could finally resolve this issue.
Anyway,
Jak the Looney Alchemist: How did I never see Nature Warden?!? That looks nice. I might aim for that.
Derwalt: My Wisdom is only 13 (INT 10, CHA 14) so some of those monk and duelist things won't bear any fruit, alas.
truesidekick: A races guide is nice, but I would love a guide to creating classes/archetypes! How fantastic that would be. A while ago I made a generic "adventurer" class that has .75 BAB progression, flat saves (none higher than the others), and, all skills as potential class skills. The main trope of the adventurer was rogue-like tricks that allow one to borrow abilities from other classes. Now that I think about it, maybe I'll post it in the homebrew section and see what people think...
I went with ranged, though right now I don't have a bow. I'm using a spear.
I could see a level or two of barbarian. For a while I was toying with rogue. I like some of the tricks, but don't really see this character disabling traps.
Oh! And we're playing the Serpent's Skull AP, so she'll probably be in jungles most of the time.
Sounds like you're pretty much set then if you want to go the nature warden route if you're staying in the jungle. Something to take note of the favored terrain bonuses do not differentiate between source, at least I haven't found one yet that does, and there are a few archetypes that grant them and a rogue talent that does as well. If I remember correctly the true primitive barb does although you may want to avoid that one. Its a little hard to reconcile with a standard build after first level.
@bfobar: I've gone with the skirmisher archetype, so I won't be getting spells.
My DEX is 16.
Bracers of armor might work, or enchanted leaf armor, etc.
Crane Wing Style feats.
Two Weapon Defense. See if your DM would allow the improved and greater versions from PHBII.
I made the assumption you're TWF as a ranger. Can you tell us your style?
EDIT: Whoops, I see you went ranged.
UMD and shield, mage armor wands?
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The Klar is good fit, big skull on the arm. As I said, getting a armored kilt made of hide or bone works, and can just be fluffed as a skirt(which it is), and you can combine it with Leaf armor if you wish. You are ranged, consider shuriken. Traditional shuriken were just iron spikes, and you can get the made of other materials. They were like little spears, so still in flavor.
I was under the impression leaf armor was armor. It's wearable by druids (in fact that's what my druid wears) but it's still armor. Why would leaf armor be OK but leather or hide armor not be OK?
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I was under the impression leaf armor was armor. It's wearable by druids (in fact that's what my druid wears) but it's still armor. Why would leaf armor be OK but leather or hide armor not be OK?It is more revealing and in flavor.
How "revealing" your armor is has always been nothing but flavor. I've got female warrior miniatures wearing "full plate" that is really just a metal bikini. My druid's leaf armor is no more revealing than her previous leather armor was.
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For pure flavor go with bracers of armor flavored as twisted holly strands wrapped around the upper arms. It's magic. Holly is traditionally associated with feral magic. It is totally RAW and completely flavorful. A hot chick in a revealing leafy bikini with holly strands on her arms.
She should have a turtle shell buckler and a bow made of elk antlers, and should have raven and eagle feathers in her hair...
Kybwa'ka War Mask provides an armor bonus, and is very in flavor, very Mwangi. Combine that with a shield to get a very "Zulu Warrior" feel.
This oversized wooden mask covers the face and extends down to a point at the wearer’s waist, covering most of his chest and abdomen
Huh... I'm thinking that "covering most of [her] chest" isn't really very flavorful for the whole She-ra of the jungle meme....
don't know if your dm will let you get away with using it.... but in wotc 4e phb 3 there is a feat that gives you a +2 to your ac....
yeah its not paizo's pathfinder.... but using it would be no different than using 3rd party material..
it was unarmored agility or something...
If you have a CHA bonus of +1 or better, there are Oracle Mysteries that can be dipped into for Revelations that provide armor bonuses, Bone and Dark Tapestry come to mind but there may be others. A 1 level dip would limit the duration to 1 hour (I think), but it gives you a +4 armor bonus. Of course you would be saddled with an Oracle's curse as well.
Wow, lots of good suggestions!
Yeah, I was thinking no armor, but if I HAD to have armor at all, I'd want nothing more than leaf or something. But you're right, the whole point was how to avoid armor at all. I'm getting the sense that it isn't possible except through magic items.
Also, I totally see people's point about reskinning something. There's nothing saying "leaf armor" or "leather armor" etc. needs to cover me from head to toe. That's what I'm doing right now -- leather armor as something more like a leather bikini, same armor class, just a style thing.