I have an option between raising my shield AC by 1, or natural armor by 1 for the same cost. In general, is one better than the other?
I assume natural is since you can't be without it, but you could have your shield taken away or be left without it somehow. Both apply to flat-footed, neither (barring a feat) apply to touch. Am I missing anything else?
There are a few feats/abilities that will apply only to your shield/natural armour, but for the most part they're the same.
Really you've hit the nail on the head when you said you can't (or at least likely won't) be caught without your amulet, which makes it better.
The main counter to that argument is that each point of AC upgrade costs twice as much for the amulet as the corresponding point of AC for a shield. The money you save could possibly be spent elsewhere, so your ability to spend it well defines how much better the shield enhancement will be.
If you're going armour and shield, a good way to make the most of your money might be to give your armour the +x enhancements and give your shield the light/medium/hevy fortification bonuses. This will also change when the amulet/shield enhancements make sense, but i don't know exactly when you'll want what ...
Hope that helps a bit =P
EDIT: I just noticed you said "for the same cost". That probably means you're getting a discount if you go with the amulet, so that's probably better.
Seems like you have it covered.
Thank you both.
The cost in this case is a feat. I suppose I should have elaborated. It's between Shield Focus and Improved Natural Armor.
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There's no intrinsic difference between the two, and assuming you haven't taken it already, Dodge beats both those two feats.
However, there might be other reasons to factor in related to the feats specifically. For example, Shield Focus open the way to many other shield-related feats, while INA doesn't (or at least not in the same way). In other words, if you are going to invest into shields, Shield Focus is probably a better option being it a prereq for feat-chains, otherwise INA is slightly more convenient.
Thanks for pointing out dodge. That makes it a three way choice. The character is a fighter, so I will probably be able to take all three haha!
Why do you say dodge is better?
Dodge bonus applies to touch AC.
And it stacks with other dodge bonuses.
Dodge is probably best, as it too is a prerequisite for a whole slew of feats.
I'd lean toward improved natural armor vs shield focus, unless the shield is specifically part of your build.
as you've already pointed out, Natural Armor is always there, especially if you decide to maybe ditch the shield entirely later on down the road.
Thanks for the advice. I may end up taking Imp Nat armor a few times. I haven't planned passed around level 6 yet. Dodge is nice, I'll start with that.
The shield is part of my build, but doesn't have to be. Just seems like an easy +2(+enchantments) AC. I'm planning to use Shield Brace and a polearm. The build can live without it and I may retrain it later, but I just found it a few days ago and I'm eager to try it.
Thanks for pointing out dodge. That makes it a three way choice. The character is a fighter, so I will probably be able to take all three haha!
Why do you say dodge is better?
It applies to touch AC and your CMD.