Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Neomonk21 06-22-06, 04:24 PM	My 11th level wizard has an AC of 13 (2 dex bonus, Ring of Protection +1). I used to have a 17 but sold items to buy a circlet of Int +6. Anyways, I thought about creating a Contingency of Mage Armor for when we start a fight or when I take damage. Mage armor would give me +4 AC but wouldn't stack with some other items. Should I look to buff my AC with items and forgo Magic Armor? Which items should I look for? Or should I go with Stoneskin for damage reduction?
Dalthbar 06-22-06, 04:27 PM	Here's a few ideas... - Amulets of Natural Armor - Bracers of Armor - Enhance your Ring of Protection - Cast Shield (it shouldn't conflict with the ring you have) - Cast Reduce Person on yourself - you get a bonus to AC, it's easier to hit targets with rays and you get bonuses to hide
Neomonk21 06-22-06, 04:38 PM	Would Mage Armor and Bracers of Armor stack? I *think* they both give an armor bonus so they wouldn't stack, correct?
Dalthbar 06-22-06, 04:45 PM	Would Mage Armor and Bracers of Armor stack? I *think* they both give an armor bonus so they wouldn't stack, correct? Correct - they both have armor bonuses. Same as using a shield and casting the shield spell. However, remember that Mage Armor lasts one HOUR per level - so it's something at 11th level you can cast in the morning and be all set for almost the entire day. Unless you get greater than +4 bracers, I'd stick with Mage Armor for now.
shruggar 06-22-06, 04:49 PM	Gloves of Dexterity are often overlooked, but I like 'em.
BaelinWhale 06-22-06, 04:55 PM	Just walk around with an Extended Mage Armor. At [1 hour x 11 Caster Level] x 2 = 22 hours, it'll give you protection that'll last for most of the day. Works great with polymorph too. The only thing you might need to worry about is being the target of some other mage's dispel, but you'll probably have more than just your AC to worry about at that point. Alternatively, prep one Mage Armor and dedicate a pearl of power to recovering it. As a wizard, you don't really need to worry about AC. You have no business whatsoever being smack in the thick of battle, and if you play your cards right, you'll be able to take out most foes from a far greater range. Of course, if your concept is to play an up close and personal spellcaster, well... that's an entirely different thing then. Regardless, my recommendation is to reign back on the desire for more AC and stock up on other more functional items.
Erak 06-22-06, 04:57 PM	So can we assume you have no GP to work with? Well other than Mage Armor and Shield forget about AC and go with concealment to give the enemy miss chances. Blur, Displacement, Smoke Sticks......whatever you can use to make em miss until you have some coin to buy new items.
Nephlite 06-22-06, 04:59 PM	Would Mage Armor and Bracers of Armor stack? I *think* they both give an armor bonus so they wouldn't stack, correct? Mage armor runs out, but Bracers are always on. So yeah, they won't stack. But sometimes it pays to have something always on (like when sleeping). Granted 11 hours of mage armor means 1/2 the day at least is protected. Use Mage armor (armor bonus), but add items too. It doesn't stack with Bracers of armor, but it does with everything else. Ring Force Shield: adds +2 Shield bonus AC. 1/2 as strong as Shield spell, but always on. If you have no other rings, this can be useful. Only cost 8 k. Amulet of NA helps some. Getting multiple +1's is cheaper than 1 +2. A Dusty Rose ioun Stone costs 5k and gives +1 insight bonus to AC (since few spells add Insight, it stacks). Stoneskin helps when you are hit and lowers damage, but doesn't lower chance of being hit. You would use Displacement or blur spells to stop being hit. When you do get rich: Tomes are your friend: they stack with other items that increases stats and can't be dispelled. 27k for +1 Int each (up to 5 increased). Kinda pricey, but Tome of Clear Thought is nice.
Puca 06-22-06, 05:04 PM	Youre probably better off trying to use other protections rather than boost your AC. At this level, most opponents are going to be like +20 to hit or so. Miss-chances are my recommendation: Blur, Displacement, Improved Blink all offer concealment. Improved invisibility is a must. Mirror Image is damn important. Then there is mobility to stay out of the fray: Fly, Expeditious Retreat. And keep stuff between you and your opponents: Summon Monster, Walls of anything, Illusions. But you will get hit eventually. False Life is your friend.
Tony Vargas 06-22-06, 06:14 PM	You're on the verge of having an AC lower than your level - that's abysmal. With a 13 AC, you'll be easily hit even by the most insignificant 'mobs' or casual challenges, and if you're ever power attacked by something CR-apropriate that realizes just how low your AC is.... The key is to pick up a little more AC on the cheap since you're clearly short on gold at this point. Mage Armor, extended or not, is a minor expenditure of spell resources for half-a-day's protection. +4 AC that works against incorporeal touch attacks is a help. Shield is another +4 AC, but it's short durration is problematic, as it means you need to know right before a combat starts, or waste an early casting action on it.. Another way to get a shield bonus is a mithral buckler (0 ASF, and -0 ACP means no proficiency needed) - cheap compared to the +6 INT-booster you just shelled out for, but maybe still out of your price range for now. Cover. This is the easiest, lowest-tech AC boost in the world, but people often forget about it. Keep a tougher ally between you and the baddies. That's good for +4 AC. If your friends aren't that obliging, summoned critters can fill in for them, FWTW. Drop Prone. OK, maybe this is even easier than cover. If you're only being attacked at range, drop prone, it's good for a +4 AC - and this isn't 1E where you couldn't cast while prone. Be careful, though: your AC in melee and most of your attacks are penalized by -4, you can't move easily (only crawl), and getting up is a move action that provokes. Zero gold, two first level spells (but at most one wasted casting action), careful positioning (by yourself and your allies), and a free action, and your AC has gone from 13 to 29. There are also some indirect AC buffs - they affect your AC, even though they don't just give an AC bonus. Cat's Grace, for instance, boost your DEX and thus your DEX bonus to AC (by +2). Reduce Person gives you size bonuses to hit, AC and DEX (and a penalty to STR) - you should net +2 AC out of it. But wait, there's more! Don't forget every caster's bestest brokenest friend: Polymorph. There's no shortage of equipment-using 12hd or less forms with very high Natural Armor bonuses. Layer Mage Armor, Shield & Cat's Grace over that and you should be in pretty good shape. But wait, there's still more! The next best (and sometimes even better) thing to Cover is Concealement. It doesn't improve your AC, but it does give a miss chance. Invisibility, Greater Invisibility and Displacement can all give your enemies a 50% miss chance, without affecting your own LoS - and there are quite a few spells you can cast even under basic Ivisibility (like summons, buffs on your party, and defensive spells on yourself). Mirror Image, similarly, gives you decoys that can save you from being hit a few times, and like Invisibility, it's only 2nd level. Blur gives a lower miss chance, but it has the advantage of staying up - unlike invisibility and mirror image, but, like them is still low enough level to use fairly casually. The problem with concealment, though, is that there will be enemies (and, at higher levels, plenty of them) who can see right through it. Finally, there are all manner of other protective spells - Protection from Arrows, Stoneskin, Windwall, etc...
Neomonk21 06-23-06, 08:37 AM	To help clarify, I have about 4500 gp, with about 1500 gp worth of gems and art items to sell. To get my +6 INT circlet, I had to sell my Hat of Disguise, and my old circlet of +2 INT, my Ring of Force Shield, and spend most of my gold on top of that. My current equipment includes, Head: Headband of INT +6 Neck: Amulet of Health +2 Ring: Ring of Protection +1 Ring: Ring of Counterpsell Cloak: Cloak of Resistance +1 Armor: none, just a robe My HP is 75 and my AC is 13. I am thinking of upgrading my Ring of Protection. Also, I remember reading in one of my friends books about a magical effect you can put on armor that reduces arcane failure by 10%. I want to say it was in one of the newer books but I don't really remember. This would allow me to wear Leather armor and still cast spells without penalty. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyways, thanks for the help so far! Everyone has given me a lot to think about (especially since this is my first character I've ever made in my first D&D campaign I've ever played). P.S - Oh, and to clarify why I'm worried about my AC.... My party was engaged in combat and I was in the back casting spells like normal when some guys snuck up behind us (we were fighting in fog, visibility range was low). I got charged by a raging Barbarian and was taken down to half my HP in 1 round. Luckily I was able to cast Benign Transposition and swap places with my Soulknife friend.
Subedei 06-23-06, 08:56 AM	Greater Mirror Image (PHBII or SC, can't remember) + Displacement is an excellent defense. I see Bracers of Armor as kind of a waste when you could just use Mage Armor, a 1st level slot is no big deal and saves you money for more imporotant things. You have Quicken and some way of reducing metamagic cost, right? Because +4 levels is too much but you need Quicken to get your defenses up without losing turns. Things like Spell Matrix are also very helpful, as are immediate action spells (lots of them in PHBII). The single best way to get your AC up is Polymorph + Scintillating Scales. Polymorph into something with lots of natural armor and cast SS to turn that natural armor into a deflection bonus. Wizards just plain wont be able to hit you with touch attacks.
Leilond 06-23-06, 09:04 AM	I suggest you to not use money for AC but use them for things that give your opponent a "miss chance" to EVERY attack or to stay far from melee. - Darkness - Invisibility - Fly - Blur - Mirror image And so on. Look for every item or scroll that grant you this sort of things, becaus at 11th level AC 10-15-20 are nearly the same. If don't find a way to have AC 25 or more it is better to use miss chance
Puca 06-23-06, 09:22 AM	Also, I remember reading in one of my friends books about a magical effect you can put on armor that reduces arcane failure by 10%. I want to say it was in one of the newer books but I don't really remember. This would allow me to wear Leather armor and still cast spells without penalty. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?Its called Twilight. It was first in BoED, but has been reprinted in PHBII. Leather armor +1 of Twilight will give you +3 to AC for about 4150. If you went mithral chain shirt +1, Twilight, youd get a +5 armor bonus for about 1000 more. That option would entail acceptance of a minor armor check penalty, which might be too much for you. A mithral buckler (1005 gp) will give you a +1 shield bonus, 0% ASF, and no armor check penalty. And of course, it can be enhanced.
Pindar 06-23-06, 09:55 AM	Also from PHII Greater Mage Armour IIRC +6 AC for 1hour a level.
WhiteHarness 06-23-06, 06:26 PM	To heck with bracers--the best you can get from them is a +8. Go with a +5 breastplate made of some exotic material like blended quartz with Twilight cast on it in order to reduce the ASF chance. A tiny ASF chance is not going to hurt your character.
RendakorRahn 06-23-06, 07:40 PM	Greater Mage Armor is in Complete Arcane, not PHBII. A +1 Twilight Mithral Heavy Shield gives you +3 AC and stacks with Mage armor for 5020gp. (No ASF or ACP on that) I also agree with the others suggesting getting concealment and/or invisibilty.
Neomonk21 06-24-06, 08:38 PM	Well, I got lucky in our latest session. Before we could get to a city with merchants, we were sent to kill a dragon. After killing the dragon (I disintegrated him, oops :P ), we found some nice loot. I got the following: Ring of Protection +4 Caster Shield +1 So I was able to upgrade my Ring of Protection for free. Once back in town, I had the shield enchanted with Twilight to get rid of the small Arcane Spell Failure. My AC is now 18 and I'm going to store a Scroll of Greater Mage Armor in the Caster Shield. This will bump me up to 24. That number makes me feel a lot better! Oh, and I also got a Robe of Scintillating Colors somewhere in the last session. So that will give me 50% concealment after 5 rounds. I don't know if my DM read this post and fudged the rolls to give me these items or if I was just lucky. Thanks for the help, everyone!