Armor Bonus: The number noted here is the increase to the phantom’s natural armor bonus when it manifests as an ectoplasmic creature, and its deflection bonus when it manifests as an incorporeal creature. An ectoplasmic or incorporeal manifested phantom can’t wear armor of any kind, as the armor interferes with the spiritualist’s connection with the phantom; a phantom may seem to be wearing armor, but this appearance is just an illusory part of its appearance.
Incorporeal: When the spiritualist chooses to manifest the phantom in incorporeal form, the phantom appears within 30 feet of the spiritualist as a ghostly apparition. It gains the incorporeal subtype (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 301), including a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Charisma modifier. Since it isn’t an undead creature, it takes no damage from holy water or positive energy. Unlike other incorporeal creatures, an incorporeal phantom can’t attack corporeal creatures, except to deliver touch-attack spells using the deliver touch spell ability. An incorporeal manifested phantom can make slam attacks against other incorporeal creatures as if it were in ectoplasmic form.
So as I have highlighted above the phantom receives a deflection bonus from two sources.
The phantom at any given level has a charisma modifier lower than the armor bonus listed in the Table 1–11: Manifested Phantom’s Base Statistics shows in occult adventures.So are they meant to stack or is the bonus from the incorporeal redundant?
Bonuses of the same type do not stack, unless specified that they do. Since the section of the phantom’s AC does not specify they stack they do not.
does seem like one of those oversights.
Level| Armor Bonus| Dex/Cha Bonus| Special| Max Cha
1st| +0| +0| - | 13 (+1)
2nd| +2| +1| - 14 (+2)
5th| +4| +2| Ability score increase| 16 (+3)
7th| +6| +2| - | 16 (+3)
8th| +6| +3| - | 17 (+3)
10th| +8| +4| Ability score increase| 19 (+4)
12th| +10| +5| - | 20 (+5)
15th| +12| +6| Ability score increase| 22 (+6)
17th| +14| +7| - | 23 (+6)
20th| +16| +8| - | 24 (+7)
There is no realistic scenario in which the cha modifier of the phantom will ever be high enough for the incorporeal deflection bonus would be higher than the one gained from the armor bonus.
Kinda wondering what the author was thinking
The rules for incorporeal creatures were created long before the phantom. It is getting a better bonus to AC than it would get from CHA so what is the problem? What does it matter where the deflection bonus is coming from? The only thing that is important is the value of the bonus.
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I think it should be read as:
"Armor Bonus: The number noted here is the increase to the phantom’s ......... deflection bonus when it manifests as an incorporeal creature.", so an increase to a value that is generated by the Phantom base abilities.
Incorporeal creatures having an AC equal to their Charisma bonus is standard for the subtype.
An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature’s Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus).
Occult Adventures never had a second edition or an errata, so it not saying "and to its deflection bonus when it manifests as an incorporeal creature." can be considered a simple typographic error.