
Nadlor |

I'm trying to build a monk. Normally at level 20 I would have 24 DEX (22 by starting at DEX18 and spending all possible ability boosts in DEX, +2 from anklets of alacrity). That's a +7 bonus to DEX, which limits the advantages of getting +3 bracers of armor/explorer's clothing (since both have a DEX cap of +5, they would only provide an effective bonus of +1 to AC, which might not be worth the cost).
So maybe I should use no armor items at all, but what about saving throws? I'm trying to see if I can get an item bonus to saving throws without using resilient runes/bracers of armor/mage armor (they all impose a DEX cap of +5), but can't seem to find a way. Am I missing something? Am I "forced" to get an armor item and accept the maximum DEX bonus to AC of +5? I feel this somehow limits the attractiveness of high DEX at higher levels, since improving it over 20 will do nothing for your AC.

Alyran |

Malk_Content wrote:Explorers armour can take runes but you count as unarmoured.The table on pg 275 says that "No armor" gives no AC Bonus but no Dex Cap; however "Explorer's clothing" has a +5 Dex Cap.
But it lets you use your unarmored proficiency while also getting armor runes that boost your AC and saves.

Nadlor |

oconnor0 wrote:But it lets you use your unarmored proficiency while also getting armor runes that boost your AC and saves.Malk_Content wrote:Explorers armour can take runes but you count as unarmoured.The table on pg 275 says that "No armor" gives no AC Bonus but no Dex Cap; however "Explorer's clothing" has a +5 Dex Cap.
I understand, but with a DEX bonus of +7 (DEX 24 at level 20 with an Apex item), I might not be interested in paying for an armor with a potency rune because that also means limiting my DEX modifier to +5. With a +2 potency rune, total AC bonus is +7 in both cases (I win nothing). A +3 potency rune gets me to +8 total AC bonus (1 more point than with no armor whatsoever), but that's a lot of investment for such a small gain in AC.
My problem is that I would definitely want the item bonuses to saving throws, but I see no way of getting those without an armor (or bracers of armor/mage armor, both of which also cap the DEX bonus to AC at +5).
If this is the case, I would be "forced" to use one of those items/spells and cap my DEX bonus to AC at +5. That means getting DEX higher than 20 is not that attractive, since it won't improve my AC.

tqomins |

Yeah, you need the explorer's clothes. But that's fine:
(1) it's a *very* late-game thing (lvl 17—20);
(2) it fits with the overall standardization of AC (+5 from clothes/light/medium, +6 from heavy), maintaining consistent game balance/design;
(3) and Dex does so darn much anyway, aka what Bardarok said