Post/Author/DateTime	Post
auron5881 03-28-04, 12:18 PM	Many people fight over whether a higher Armor Class or Health is better...I have a simple concept that is based on your DM's behavior.If your DM likes putting traps in to the game have lots of Health via high constitution and toughness feat) ,if he doesnt put traps in have a high AC(via high Dex and some masterwork or magic armor ) This has been a presentation of auron studios (a.k.a. my brain) Thank you for reading my mind rotting message of boredom...remember kids dont jump of cliffs......you might get hurt
Seeker95 03-28-04, 01:19 PM	AC is better if you are about to get hit. HP is better if you just got hit.
auron5881 03-28-04, 01:36 PM	Yeah but its not always easy to make both armor class and hp good.Ive gone through multiple adventures with a high AC and never been hit but then die from traps because traps dont always make attack rolls so if you have bad saves your screwed. So if you know your Dm has lots of traps the you know that to a certain point youre high armor class is useless so you need hp ...unless you have good saves.:angel:
DarkStevenson 03-28-04, 04:19 PM	so you start playing gnomes who have both high con and high ac due to their size AND they are extremely cool Also high ac won't protect you against monsters I killed a player of mine who had an ac like 30+ from a group of 7 players with an encounter with two fire giants
Willie the Duck 03-28-04, 06:23 PM	The problem with AC is that as your (and your resulting opponents) level goes up, your total to-hit goes up much faster than your AC. HP, on the other hand, tend to go up at about the rate that damage does. Therefore, while both are important, high hp are more likely to keep you safe. Of course, the best way to stay alive is to blow your opponents out of the water before their first move.
TheGnomishWizard 03-28-04, 10:36 PM	My opinion is a simple one. HP: Pros: replenishable source of life Cons: costly/timely to regain AC: Pros: keeps you from being hit(thus not needed to spend time/money healing) Cons: can become useless in certain situations(i.e. caught flat footed, tough attack, invis attackers, prone, caught w/o armor on)
Endarire 03-28-04, 10:47 PM	Normal AC helps vs physical attacks, touch vs touch attacks, and HP vs all non save-or-die damage. -EE
Dresdor 03-28-04, 10:51 PM	I got an idea...screw the Dex and just wear Full Plate...that way you get high HP and high AC.
auron5881 03-28-04, 11:06 PM	Then your stuck with a giant armor check penalty
Dresdor 03-28-04, 11:21 PM	So? I won't be intentionally be doing anything that will need a lot of movement...and if I am then I'll rely on my high hp and AC to save my skin.
Lighthouse 03-29-04, 12:08 AM	Originally posted by Dresdor So? I won't be intentionally be doing anything that will need a lot of movement...and if I am then I'll rely on my high hp and AC to save my skin. Beware of the ranged touch attack.
Lady Ishtar 03-29-04, 03:06 AM	its all about HP and saves, b/c big things generally have BAB of "i hit", and there is plenty of things that deal damage without having to hit you also high AC is difficult to get with many character builds
kliate 03-29-04, 09:31 AM	For an ECL3 dungeon crawl, one of my PC's took a Githzerai monk for the high AC (25 after +7 dex, +4 wis and +4 Inertial armor). After watching a carrion crawler take 10 shots and never hit, it's probably time to introduce the PC to Magic Missile/Melf's Acid Arrow. The point - high AC definately has its benefits, but beware of tricky NPC's who know their way past it. High HP to the exclusion of AC isn't good enough, either - consider a raging 3rd level barbarian w/16 Con before raging: If his AC drops to 8-9 in the process, it's going to be awhile before he's fit to battle again, or the party cleric/druid/paladin is going to spend a lot of his healing power to bring this tank back up to fighting shape (and a carrion crawler could definately be a problem after the PC makes 8 attempts to save vs. paralysis)