What does, "a duellist adds 1 point of intelligenc bonus (if any) per Duellist class level to her Dextererity bonus to modify Armor Class" mean actually?
I am talking specifically as to how it pertains to a Magus Kensai Archetype who gains, at first level the ability "identical to the duellist prestige class ability".
Does this mean that my Magus, if he has a 20 Intelligence adds +5 to AC at first level and adds +5 x his Magus level to AC as he advances (which sounds too high)?
Or does it mean he adds 1 bonus to AC per Magus level "if any" (which sounds too low, to me)?
You add 1 point of your Int to AC per level. It counts as a Dex bonus.
So your 20 Int Magus at first level adds 1 point.
At 5th level he can add all 5 points.
Thanks. How emebarassing, basically it means exactly what it says!
So basically at Level 5 he will have "maxed out" this bonus....
Thanks again.
Yup.
But if your Int mod goes up and your Magus/Duelist level is high enough you'd get to add more.
The effect is written in the shortest form possible, which is good. It is easy to get confused though. I know I got it wrong the first time I made a duelist.
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I think the misleading thing, and the most overlooked, is that it counts as a dex bonus, and therefore is not only reduced by armor max dex, but can't even come into play if you happen to wear armor that caps out your dex bonus. I.E., +5 dex, +5 int, wearing leather armor, you still only add +6 dex mod to AC. you just treat your dex as being higher for the purposes of AC--limited by armor (assuming you even wear any at that point.)
BTW, try an elven monk with duelist levels. pump dex, wis, and int all for AC. use a siangham to qualify for all the bonuses, and laugh as your AC skyrockets.
its not reduced by armor max dex...SKR or JB clarified it...I will find the quote and post it when I get home
EDIT:Had it saved on my phone lol
The Canny Defense ability is worded very poorly.
As written, it's easily interpreted that you use her Int bonus to boost her Dex bonus to AC, which would mean it runs into the max Dex limit from armor.
How it's supposed to work is the duelist* adds her Int bonus to her AC (not to her Dex bonus to AC), and she loses that Int-based AC bonus under any situation where she's denied her Dex bonus to AC. Therefore, her Int-based bonus to AC ignores the max Dex limitation of armor because the Int-based bonus to AC is not a Dex bonus.
* when wearing light or no armor, not using a shield, and wielding a melee weapon
Expect a FAQ blog about this next week.
Bolding mine