Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Hurin88 Jun 05, 2011 13:19:09	Not sure if anyone can help, but I can't figure this one out... One of my fellow players' characters, a 14th level cleric, just got a set of +4 curseforged chain armor, and his AC went up from 28 to 31 when he equipped it in the builder. He used to have a set of +2 scale, which was the one that gives him the 28 AC. As far as I know, the curseforged chain should have given him only one more AC. To try to figure out what was going on, I undequipped the chain, and his ac went down to 18. So the +4 Curseforged chain is giving him 13 AC. That can't be right, can it? Thanks
#2 Hurin88 Jun 05, 2011 13:29:42	Oh, I think I might have figured it out-- does it have something to do with masterwork armors?
#3 kenjoon Jun 05, 2011 15:50:58	Oh, I think I might have figured it out-- does it have something to do with masterwork armors? Yes.  Masterwork is automatically included if your armor is the appropriate +
#4 Hurin88 Jun 05, 2011 21:32:09	Ah, thanks!
#5 neogeo Jun 09, 2011 12:44:52	What is this masterwork thing? The shamman in my group recently got a +2 Magic Chainmail. It is giving her +9 AC in total (7 from armor, 2 from enchantment). Is this correct?
#6 kenjoon Jun 09, 2011 13:00:49	What is this masterwork thing? The shamman in my group recently got a +2 Magic Chainmail. It is giving her +9 AC in total (7 from armor, 2 from enchantment). Is this correct?  Short answer: Yes. Masterwork armor was part of how they fixed a scaling issue with AC.  Your PC is expected to gain ~1 point in every defense per level.  Part of that scaling is stat bumps for light armor wearers (Int/Dex) of which you get (are expected to have) 6 choice bumps (4, 8, 14, 18, 24, 28), and 2 all bumps (11, 21).  All told this amounts to a +4 to your AC if you wear light armor (Dex or Int primary or secondary).  Heavy armor wearers don't get to add a stat and so instead get "masterwork" to compensate.  The builder does this automagically.
#7 RedSiegfried Jun 10, 2011 8:09:52	This is such a common question lately it would be nice if this could be stickied or FAQd or something. My brain looks at this kind of differently.  Since Essentials happened, I think of it as masterwork and other types of magic armor, by default, using the same scaling tables now.  So all +4 chain gives you the same armor bonus, masterwork version or not. However, masterwork armors do still exist seperately in the CB though since not all true masterwork armors have the same scaling - some have a slightly lower armor bonus in exchange for a bonus to a NAD or damage resistance. What is boils down to is unless you specifically choose a masterwork armor in the CB (listed seperately in armor types), your armor bonus will be whatever the tables show for magic armor in the "Heroes of" books.  If you do choose a specific masterwork armor you may get a different AC, depending on type, in exchange for some other benefit.  I believe there is some form of masterwork leather that has the same armor bonus as the non-masterwork version, plus a NAD bonus, but I can't recall off the top of my head which one it is.  That's the exception, though. It's not as complicated as it sounds, really. (And no, I won't go into my tirade about how all magic armor is not "masterwork."  It's a trivial difference.  I still think though that after the armor bonus scaling change they should have just eliminated the term "masterwork," it would have been less confusing IMO.)
#8 Taerl Jun 10, 2011 17:30:33	Drowmesh is the one you are thinking of.  It is the same base AC but adds +1 reflex