RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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As I understand it, one of the "big six" is the amulet of natural armor. In the Advanced Race Guide, there's an item called the darksire amulet for 9k gold that increases a tiefling wearer's resistances to fire, acid and electricity from 5 to 10.
So let's assume you're playing a tiefling who wants to be reasonably durable. Let's further assume that the level range of your campaign is such that you would never get around to buying an amulet of natural armor +3. Thus, you have a choice between 8,000gp for a +2 AoNA or 9,000gp for the darksire, with no thought of needing to upgrade later on.
Which would you pick? Let's also assume that the campaign is fairly eclectic - it is neither "Let's Kill 1,000 Fire Elementals", nor "The Tale of the Nonmagical Stabbing Contest".
Which amulet wins the slot?
In an average campaign, I would expect the extra +2 to AC to prevent more damage than 5 points of resistance to fire, acid and electricity because regular attacks are much more frequent than energy attacks. But YMMV.
9000 gp for 5 extra points of resistance against some types of magical attacks, or 8000 gp for 10% less chance to get hit by all melee and ranged attacks and many spells, including many spells that cause fire, acid, or electricity damage?
Sounds like an easy choice to me.
If you are a monk, it's the amulet of mighty fists, hands down. If you aren't, it's the darksire amulet because the AoMF doesn't matter - even if you are an unarmed fighter, you lose far less by using brass knuckles, monk's body wrap or brawling armour instead of the AoMF.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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9000 gp for 5 extra points of resistance against some types of magical attacks, or 8000 gp for 10% less chance to get hit by all melee and ranged attacks and many spells, including many spells that cause fire, acid, or electricity damage?
Sounds like an easy choice to me.
Er, what spells are being defended against with natural armor bonuses, exactly?
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If you are a monk, it's the amulet of mighty fists, hands down. If you aren't, it's the darksire amulet because the AoMF doesn't matter - even if you are an unarmed fighter, you lose far less by using brass knuckles, monk's body wrap or brawling armour instead of the AoMF.
Er, you may want to re-read the question.
If you are a monk, it's the amulet of mighty fists, hands down. If you aren't, it's the darksire amulet because the AoMF doesn't matter - even if you are an unarmed fighter, you lose far less by using brass knuckles, monk's body wrap or brawling armour instead of the AoMF.Er, you may want to re-read the question.
Er, yes, I was half asleep. Sorry.
In an average campaign, I would expect the extra +2 to AC to prevent more damage than 5 points of resistance to fire, acid and electricity because regular attacks are much more frequent than energy attacks. But YMMV.Opposite way I think. +2 AC isn't doing jack against monsters that will attack in melee by the time you can afford this.
How do you figure? By my calculations, unless your armor class is particularly high or low a +2 to AC should prevent 2 out of every 20 attacks.
The point is that AC, like to hit, comes in incremental amounts. You can push it up bit by bit, and each individual bit is not worth so much, but put them together and you have a lot.
The question is will you gain more protection from energy resistance than you will lose in AC? If you get attacked physically a lot, then probably not. If you are at the back of the party, the opposite is probably true.
@Dabbler: So your answer to "which one's better?" is "whichever one is better"? ;)
I am saying it depends on what role this character fulfils, and how their party dynamic works. The OP has already said not to assume anything about the game, but I am guessing the player must know what happens in the party and how they plan on playing.
Since attacks against AC are more common I would say the amulet of natural armor is better unless you already have a very high AC without it.
The other two depend on what class or race you play.
I'd go with the amulet of natural armor. My reasoning is that barkskin is only a single target spell, while communal resist energy is a 3rd level spell. It's more economical to always have the AC and get the energy resistance via spells when necessary.
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My instinct is to follow the KISS principle and go for the general over the specific, also to avoid being hit rather than reduce damage when I am hit.
I guess the Darksire Amulet is cooler, but the Amulet of NA is a proven asset and is therefore seen as dependable.
The +4 Diplomacy bonus to influence evil outsiders helps the darksire amulet, as 1 in 10 monsters fall into that category.
Over one in ten monsters have breath weapons.
I suspect statistically the first 5 points of energy resistance are much more valuable than the second 5 points. Diminishing returns. Weapons that do a dice or two of fire damage or catching fire, will be mostly blocked by DR5 fire. Generally then we are looking at old favorites of enemy casters such as scorching ray, fireball, lightning bolt; or breath weapons.
I am still leaning towards old faithful.
In that case, by what criteria/metrics do you determine which is the better item for your situation?
If you are a caster you are less likely to be involved in front-line combat. You are more likely to be targeted by enemy casters. They are more likely to use energy, which means you tend to need the energy defence more.
Balance that against your spell selection and current AC. Defensive spells are able to cover either, so it depends what you would rather use them for, if either. Great AC, and +2 isn't much - take the energy protection. If you normally pack a good resist energy spell, and your AC isn't great, take the AC.
Since attacks against AC are more common I would say the amulet of natural armor is better unless you already have a very high AC without it.What would be a sufficiently high AC for that to come into play?
If the average APL=CR enemy needs an attack roll of 18 or better to hit you then you can probably opt for versatility, and not worry about losing much. <--That answer has not been verified mathematically. :)
Does it have to be an amulet or anything that takes up the neck slot?
Disclaimer:I am not yelling. I am copying and pasting from my pdf.
AMULET OF PROOF AGAINST PETRIFICATION for 8000 is not bad.
This finely polished wooden amulet has the image of a blindfolded medusa carved upon its surface. Whenever the wearer fails a saving throw that would result in him being turned to stone, he is instead staggered for 1d6 rounds. If a spell or effect turns him to stone without allowing a saving throw, he is instead staggered for 1 minute. These abilities
do not function while the wearer is staggered.
EVERWAKE AMULET 8000
Cast in the image of the sun and often ornamented with an open eye, this
amulet defends the wearer against the need for sleep. The wearer of this
amulet does not need to sleep, but must remain at ease for the normal
amount of time to regain spells and other abilities that require rest (although the wearer could perform light activity, such as reading or keeping watch).
I like the everwake amulet. My druids, rangers, and clerics tend to have very high perception checks. With this they can keep take a watch, and still regain spell.
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Since attacks against AC are more common I would say the amulet of natural armor is better unless you already have a very high AC without it.What would be a sufficiently high AC for that to come into play?
If your AC is less than the average attack bonus of an enemy you face, it isn't worth it, as it won't mitigate enough % of your incoming damage. Likewise if your AC is high enough that most enemies you face must roll 20 to hit, it isn't worth it, as the bonus is wasted.
If you're in the range where most enemies you face need to roll between a 2 and a 20 to hit you, it's worth it. Funny thing is most non-arcanes are there anyway. If you've managed to get to the "enemies need a 20" without the AoNA, congratulations, it's useless. Likewise if you were always getting hit before having the AoNA, it won't change that. In both these cases get the resistances.
I'm making assumptions that resist 5 will knock off around 10% of the damage (50 damage energy effects).
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If the average APL=CR enemy needs an attack roll of 18 or better to hit youHm... You wouldn't happen to have a chart, would you? Something showing average attack bonuses by CR, or something like that?
You can find such a chart in the back of the bestiary, though individual monster statistics vary wildly from the average.
Since attacks against AC are more common I would say the amulet of natural armor is better unless you already have a very high AC without it.What would be a sufficiently high AC for that to come into play?
Not that hard to eyeball.
Basicly once you have a high enough AC to only get hit on a nat. 20 then the Amulet doesn't do anything. If you only get hit on a 19, then it only gives you an effective +1.Let's assume a level 10 character. He'll most likely fight monsters in that general CR area as well.
That means their BAB will probably be between 8 and 12 in most cases. Lets add +4 from strength, weapon focus and a +1 weapon. Thats a +18 to hit.
So for this you would need a AC of 38. Which is pretty hard to achieve I would guess. If you're lower than that the amulet will block 10% of the attacks. (Those monster stats were probably even on the lower end of the scale, they might have far higher strength than just 18. In which case you need even higher AC)
On the other hand if your AC is so low that you get only missed on a nat. 1 even with the amulet, than it's worthless to. In the above example, if your AC with the amulet would be 20 or lower it doesn't make a difference.
So if your AC is say 27 then its a safe bet that the amulet does something, even if the monster stats were a bit too low or high. If its 21 or even 40, then you might look at monster stats more closely to see if that +18 was a good guess or not and how that changes stuff.
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As I understand it, one of the "big six" is the amulet of natural armor. In the Advanced Race Guide, there's an item called the darksire amulet for 9k gold that increases a tiefling wearer's resistances to fire, acid and electricity from 5 to 10.
So let's assume you're playing a tiefling who wants to be reasonably durable. Let's further assume that the level range of your campaign is such that you would never get around to buying an amulet of natural armor +3. Thus, you have a choice between 8,000gp for a +2 AoNA or 9,000gp for the darksire, with no thought of needing to upgrade later on.
Which would you pick? Let's also assume that the campaign is fairly eclectic - it is neither "Let's Kill 1,000 Fire Elementals", nor "The Tale of the Nonmagical Stabbing Contest".
Which amulet wins the slot?
Neither. Necklace of Adaptation. Watch your DM cry as you Moonwalk through his Stinking Clouds.
You can find such a chart in the back of the bestiary, though individual monster statistics vary wildly from the average.If the average APL=CR enemy needs an attack roll of 18 or better to hit youHm... You wouldn't happen to have a chart, would you? Something showing average attack bonuses by CR, or something like that?
Most of them match up pretty well. If a monster is really for it's CR in one area then it will compensate somewhere else though.
I like the everwake amulet. My druids, rangers, and clerics tend to have very high perception checks. With this they can keep take a watch, and still regain spell.
You're missing the bottom half of the item description, which makes it slightly less desirable.
Once the wearer has used the power of this amulet for a total of seven nights, the amulet loses its power for one day and the wearer is exhausted for this duration. If the wearer removes the amulet for any reason after having used its ability, she becomes exhausted for four hours for every night of sleep skipped.
Not terrible, but if that Exhaustion falls on a bad day for you... well, bad day gets worse. Unless you have someone who can cure exhaustion (paladin).
I like the everwake amulet. My druids, rangers, and clerics tend to have very high perception checks. With this they can keep take a watch, and still regain spell.You're missing the bottom half of the item description, which makes it slightly less desirable.
Once the wearer has used the power of this amulet for a total of seven nights, the amulet loses its power for one day and the wearer is exhausted for this duration. If the wearer removes the amulet for any reason after having used its ability, she becomes exhausted for four hours for every night of sleep skipped.Not terrible, but if that Exhaustion falls on a bad day for you... well, bad day gets worse. Unless you have someone who can cure exhaustion (paladin).
I did not even see that. I guess that item just dropped off my "Want" list.