Armor Max Dex Mods [Archive] - Wizards Community

Armor Max Dex Mods [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Admiral Yi Sun Shin
10-16-04, 08:06 AM How exactly does the maximum dex mod on armor work? As in does it only apply if you have a positive dex bonus. For instance, if I were a character with 8 dexterity (-1 modifier) and I was wearing half-plate which has a max dex mod of 0, would I still get the -1 from my dexterity or no. The way I look at it is that I wouldn't because I think of the max dex mod as +/-# because your dexterity shouldn't hurt you when you can't be that mobile in the armor anyways and if the armor does allow flexibility, your clumsy movements will be revealed. But I was looking in the PHB and couldn't find any final ruling on this, so do any of you guys know of either an alternative source or would it just be a DM's discretion kind of thing?
tarkin
10-16-04, 08:41 AM Max Dex Mod is NOT a penalty to your Dex. It is not a negative number, it is a positive number.

It is a limit to how much of your Dex you can use for AC purposes while wearing that armor.

If the Max Dex Bonus is +2, then it does not affect you at all if your dex is 15 or lower.

But if your Dex is 16, then the effect of wearing armor with a Max Dex Bonus of +2 is that your AC bonus from Dexterity is +2 instead of +3.

It does not affect other things, such as skills (That is a seperate penalty from wearing armor), or your Reflex Save.
UZI
10-16-04, 08:54 AM Max Dex Bonus limits the bonus, not the penalty. If you had a DEX of 6, you'd take a -2 penalty to your AC, touch AC, incorporeal slam AC, and flat-footed AC.

The rules for flat-footedness state that you do not (without Uncanny Dodge) get your DEX bonus when flat-footed. However you do still get the penalty, otherwise you'd be better off being flat-footed.
Kheldren
10-16-04, 08:54 AM And if you have a negative Dex modifier (i.e. a tendancy to dodge into attacks) the restrictiveness of the armour does not stop you - so you get the full Dex penalty.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Admiral Yi Sun Shin 10-16-04, 08:06 AM	How exactly does the maximum dex mod on armor work? As in does it only apply if you have a positive dex bonus. For instance, if I were a character with 8 dexterity (-1 modifier) and I was wearing half-plate which has a max dex mod of 0, would I still get the -1 from my dexterity or no. The way I look at it is that I wouldn't because I think of the max dex mod as +/-# because your dexterity shouldn't hurt you when you can't be that mobile in the armor anyways and if the armor does allow flexibility, your clumsy movements will be revealed. But I was looking in the PHB and couldn't find any final ruling on this, so do any of you guys know of either an alternative source or would it just be a DM's discretion kind of thing?
tarkin 10-16-04, 08:41 AM	Max Dex Mod is NOT a penalty to your Dex. It is not a negative number, it is a positive number. It is a limit to how much of your Dex you can use for AC purposes while wearing that armor. If the Max Dex Bonus is +2, then it does not affect you at all if your dex is 15 or lower. But if your Dex is 16, then the effect of wearing armor with a Max Dex Bonus of +2 is that your AC bonus from Dexterity is +2 instead of +3. It does not affect other things, such as skills (That is a seperate penalty from wearing armor), or your Reflex Save.
UZI 10-16-04, 08:54 AM	Max Dex Bonus limits the bonus, not the penalty. If you had a DEX of 6, you'd take a -2 penalty to your AC, touch AC, incorporeal slam AC, and flat-footed AC. The rules for flat-footedness state that you do not (without Uncanny Dodge) get your DEX bonus when flat-footed. However you do still get the penalty, otherwise you'd be better off being flat-footed.
Kheldren 10-16-04, 08:54 AM	And if you have a negative Dex modifier (i.e. a tendancy to dodge into attacks) the restrictiveness of the armour does not stop you - so you get the full Dex penalty.