I have a friend who is creating a gnome wizard, and I was wondering about armor for her character. Her AC is pretty low (10), and it looks like neither gnome nor wizard has armor proficiency.
According to the book, "If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t cast spells."
So does that mean that she can't wear any armor until she can level up and maybe get the Lightly Armored feat?
The AC with no armor is 10 + Dex. If she has 10 dex, then yes she would have 10 AC. If she has 14 Dex, it would be 12 AC.
And yes, at level 4 she can pick up lightly armoed, and have 12+dex (with studded leather). Possibly medium armored at level 8 for 15+dex (max 2) + a shield.
Or she can take +2 dex, and increase her AC by 1, as well as her initive, stealth, and dex saves.
Also, mage armor is a level 1 spell that gives you 13+dex for 8 hours.
It's generally a good idea for wizard to have some Dex.
OnionDruid wrote:
mellored wrote:
If your gnome wizard has 10 AC, I recommend taking a level (or 2) in an armor-wearing class, such as Fighter, or paladin. Fighter is a good choice as it grants action surge, which allows you to cast 2 spells in a single turn, or 2 cantrips + 1 bonus action spell.
Thank you for all the info! I'll let her know all of the options, and we'll figure out what to do. 
Silenthunder wrote: