Level Based AC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Level Based AC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Temrek
12-30-05, 06:26 PM I just looked over a list of NPCs I have for this campaign, and discovered that they all seem to be carrying amulets of natural armor and rings of protection. The problem I have is that I would like to make NPCs without those items without reducing their AC horribly (even for warriors), the solution is to introduce a dodge bonus to AC based on ones class levels and increase the cost of magic items in the process.

The problem is that I dont want to skyrockets the total value of the PCs items not to mention their AC. So if they agree to this change (in the middle of the campaign and all :rolleyes: ) I would reduce and even remove some protective magic items, they will still likely get a net gain in AC.

So how much should I increase the cost of protective magic items? How much AC should they get from their class levels (the tables in unearthed arcana gives too much and will screw over the campaign)?

Keep in mind I am not trying to reduce the overall treasure the players will get, rather prevent it from being another 5 rings of protection + 1.
Mind Rogue
12-30-05, 07:55 PM This largely depends on what type of loot you give them. If you give their rewards almost entirely in goods (aka magic items), I would suggest giving the PCs a class based AC bonus akin to the one found in d20 modern (I think the one in UA is not very good in comparison). Or you could just give them a flat +1 to AC per 2 or 3 levels. Thus, your NPCs don't need so many of these AC enhancing items because they have the class bonus, so most of them spend their gold on other items instead, so that Ring or Protection +1 becomes a Handy Haversack, a Hat of Disguise, or a +1 sword, and their is minimal effect on their AC. As a result, the PCs almost never pick up AC enhancing items and thus end up with other useful items instead, but their class AC bonus more or less cancels out the lack of their AC enhancing items. If they still want such items, they have to sell some of their other gear to get it, which means they are effectively paying double for their extra AC, but if they want to be a hard to hit nut, they might do it.

If most of your treasure is in commodities (coins, gems, art, etc) then you will probably be wanting to increase the cost of the AC items to make them less desirable compared to other items. You might decide that such items cost an extra 10-50% what they normally do, making them expensive to purchase. Neither the PCs or NPCs will commonly carry such items because the cost is prohibive to them and thus they will spend their resources on something else (see above situation). Again, you might want to correct their AC with a bonus that they derive from class levels or HD. Keep in mind that if you do drop AC items somewhere, to decrease the value of the treasure dropped since the item now has a larger value.

The final thing you could do is give them the AC bonus and then reduce their treasure to compensate. Since this is effectively an unslotted magic item that stacks with all others it probably has an effective value of 1000-4000 x AC2. Armor enhancements have a cost of 1000 x AC2, while most AC items have a cost of 2000 x AC2, and the fact that this doesn't take up a body slot normally doubles the price. The fact that this stacks with other sources would further increase the price, but the fact that they have to accept the item, and that they can't sell or trade it might erode some of it's value. In that, 2000 x AC2 is probably reasonable and shouldn't break your game (although it might give them a slight power boost if they ordinarily want items for the slots that these items take up).

How much AC bonus to give is up to you, although I wouldn't go faster than every other level, and every 4th level might be too slow. Going every third level probably isn't bad, although you might consider being contrary to normal patterns and giving on 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, etc. Normally, characters who are focusing on defense can get rings of protection and amulets of natural armor to even out to be +1 AC/2 levels (and probably even better if it weren't for the fact that they cap out at +5). Other characters might have +1 versions of these items until they can get other items like Periapts of Wisdom or the like and so may not have these items and thus a lower AC.
cmrscorpio
12-30-05, 08:39 PM If you want to boost the AC of your NPCs without grossly inflating your PCs wealth, give your NPCs potions to drink like cat's grace, barkskin, entropic shield, protection from [alignment], shield of faith, and any other spell that boosts AC. Most of those spells have durations measured in minutes, so opponents who have a few rounds to prepare can really bump up their AC without using permanent magic items.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Temrek 12-30-05, 06:26 PM	I just looked over a list of NPCs I have for this campaign, and discovered that they all seem to be carrying amulets of natural armor and rings of protection. The problem I have is that I would like to make NPCs without those items without reducing their AC horribly (even for warriors), the solution is to introduce a dodge bonus to AC based on ones class levels and increase the cost of magic items in the process. The problem is that I dont want to skyrockets the total value of the PCs items not to mention their AC. So if they agree to this change (in the middle of the campaign and all :rolleyes: ) I would reduce and even remove some protective magic items, they will still likely get a net gain in AC. So how much should I increase the cost of protective magic items? How much AC should they get from their class levels (the tables in unearthed arcana gives too much and will screw over the campaign)? Keep in mind I am not trying to reduce the overall treasure the players will get, rather prevent it from being another 5 rings of protection + 1.
Mind Rogue 12-30-05, 07:55 PM	This largely depends on what type of loot you give them. If you give their rewards almost entirely in goods (aka magic items), I would suggest giving the PCs a class based AC bonus akin to the one found in d20 modern (I think the one in UA is not very good in comparison). Or you could just give them a flat +1 to AC per 2 or 3 levels. Thus, your NPCs don't need so many of these AC enhancing items because they have the class bonus, so most of them spend their gold on other items instead, so that Ring or Protection +1 becomes a Handy Haversack, a Hat of Disguise, or a +1 sword, and their is minimal effect on their AC. As a result, the PCs almost never pick up AC enhancing items and thus end up with other useful items instead, but their class AC bonus more or less cancels out the lack of their AC enhancing items. If they still want such items, they have to sell some of their other gear to get it, which means they are effectively paying double for their extra AC, but if they want to be a hard to hit nut, they might do it. If most of your treasure is in commodities (coins, gems, art, etc) then you will probably be wanting to increase the cost of the AC items to make them less desirable compared to other items. You might decide that such items cost an extra 10-50% what they normally do, making them expensive to purchase. Neither the PCs or NPCs will commonly carry such items because the cost is prohibive to them and thus they will spend their resources on something else (see above situation). Again, you might want to correct their AC with a bonus that they derive from class levels or HD. Keep in mind that if you do drop AC items somewhere, to decrease the value of the treasure dropped since the item now has a larger value. The final thing you could do is give them the AC bonus and then reduce their treasure to compensate. Since this is effectively an unslotted magic item that stacks with all others it probably has an effective value of 1000-4000 x AC2. Armor enhancements have a cost of 1000 x AC2, while most AC items have a cost of 2000 x AC2, and the fact that this doesn't take up a body slot normally doubles the price. The fact that this stacks with other sources would further increase the price, but the fact that they have to accept the item, and that they can't sell or trade it might erode some of it's value. In that, 2000 x AC2 is probably reasonable and shouldn't break your game (although it might give them a slight power boost if they ordinarily want items for the slots that these items take up). How much AC bonus to give is up to you, although I wouldn't go faster than every other level, and every 4th level might be too slow. Going every third level probably isn't bad, although you might consider being contrary to normal patterns and giving on 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, etc. Normally, characters who are focusing on defense can get rings of protection and amulets of natural armor to even out to be +1 AC/2 levels (and probably even better if it weren't for the fact that they cap out at +5). Other characters might have +1 versions of these items until they can get other items like Periapts of Wisdom or the like and so may not have these items and thus a lower AC.
cmrscorpio 12-30-05, 08:39 PM	If you want to boost the AC of your NPCs without grossly inflating your PCs wealth, give your NPCs potions to drink like cat's grace, barkskin, entropic shield, protection from [alignment], shield of faith, and any other spell that boosts AC. Most of those spells have durations measured in minutes, so opponents who have a few rounds to prepare can really bump up their AC without using permanent magic items.