max dex

[axelspencer65]

So what the hell does the max dex armor thing even do? It seems to me like it does nothing.

[Hendelbolaf]

It limits the amount of Dexterity bonus that you can apply to your Armor Class. For example if it says Max Dex of +2 and you have an 18 Dexterity with a +4 bonus, you can only apply +2 out of the +4 bonus.

That seems like a lot to me if you are a high Dexterity creature. If your Dextterity is a 10, then, yes, it does nothing!

[TGMaxMaxer]

It's designed to keep the armors pretty much even in terms of the total character AC when wearing them.

Most of the ones that are affordable are around a +8 total ... either from armor bonus or dex. (Based on the ones that are less than... 300gp at least)

Fullplate which is 1500g is a 10 max, base 9 with 1 dex.

[Nefreet]

So, for example, my Rogue wore a Mithral Chain Shirt for the longest time (max Dex of +6), but when his Dex reached +8 he had to upgrade to Celestial Armor in order to take advantage of the +2 he was missing from wearing the Chain Shirt.

It's also one reason why Heavy Armor wearers with a Dexterity higher than 12 usually look towards getting Mithral Full Plate, which has a max Dex of +3, rather than regular Full Plate, which has a max Dex of only +1.

[blahpers]

I always forget that Max Dex Bonus only applies to AC, not to skill checks nor Reflex saves. So I really don't mind much if I hit my armor's limit.

[Artanthos]

Play a high dexterity fighter. They can apply +5 dex bonus in full plate without special materials.

[anthonydido]

The Max Dex is a measure of how restrictive the armor is. The lower the max dex, the more restrictive it is and harder to move around in. For example, Padded armor is pretty much just stuffed clothes and doesn't restrict at the joints so it has a +8 max dex. Full plate armor is sheets of metal all over your body designed to protect every inch and is very restrictive so it has a +1 max dex.

[Kazaan]

And a Haramaki is basically just an armored girdle that doesn't restrict your movement at all; hence no max Dex.

[David knott 242]

Kazaan wrote:

And a Haramaki is basically just an armored girdle that doesn't restrict your movement at all; hence no max Dex.

There is an interesting contradiction about the haramaki in the rules about piecemeal armor, where it has a maximum dexterity of +10. One interpretation could be that it has a maximum dexterity of +10 when used as piecemeal armor along with arm or leg armor of some kind -- but since all other forms of piecemeal armor have lower maximum dexterity values, you are already down to just the haramaki by the time your dexterity bonus exceeds +10.

[blackbloodtroll]

Piecemeal Armor rules are alternate rules.

Just like "Armor as DR" have no bearing on how DR and Armor normally work, the alternate rules have no bearing on how the rules normally work.

[Kazaan]

David knott 242 wrote:

Kazaan wrote:

And a Haramaki is basically just an armored girdle that doesn't restrict your movement at all; hence no max Dex.

There is an interesting contradiction about the haramaki in the rules about piecemeal armor, where it has a maximum dexterity of +10. One interpretation could be that it has a maximum dexterity of +10 when used as piecemeal armor along with arm or leg armor of some kind -- but since all other forms of piecemeal armor have lower maximum dexterity values, you are already down to just the haramaki by the time your dexterity bonus exceeds +10.

If you're wearing a Haramaki along with some other kind of armor for your legs and/or arms, then the presence of leg and arm armor means the Haramaki has a max Dex value. But if you're not wearing such armor and only wearing the Haramaki, you're not using Piecemeal Armor rules and, instead, are just wearing a "full suit" of Haramaki armor, in which case it has no max Dex value. It's impossible to wear just the "torso" piece of a Haramaki, with nothing else, but still consider it Piecemeal because that's, literally, all it is; a Torso piece.

[Rikkan]

Does max dex limit your touch armour class?

[Robert A Matthews]

Rikkan wrote:

Does max dex limit your touch armour class?

Yes it does, since your touch AC is just your AC without armor, natural armor, and shield bonuses.

[thorin001]

Now for the fun question, does it limit CMD? There is an implication that it does because you lose your Dex bonus to CMD when you lose your Dex bonus to AC.

[Sarrah]

Kazaan wrote:

And a Haramaki is basically just an armored girdle that doesn't restrict your movement at all; hence no max Dex.

Best armor for (poor) casters.

[Hendelbolaf]

I would say yes, the maximum dexterity from armor should apply to CMD. Penalties apply to CMD, but max dex is not really a penalty but a limit on how much of a bonus you can apply. Flat-footed characters cannot normally apply dex to CMD so it seems like the dex part of CMD is really close to your AC. It is not spelled out that I am currently aware but I would like to know if there are any comments or FAQ from the developers on this.

[Malachi Silverclaw]

Artanthos wrote:

Play a high dexterity fighter. They can apply +5 dex bonus in full plate without special materials.

...if they are 15th level, and don't have an archetype that loses Armour Training...