Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 april151978 Mar 26, 2008 11:50:47	I apologize to all those that might have seen this idea or a similar idea posted before... If that is the case, I am asking you to please keep any negative comments, directions to the search, etc. to yourself... I know there is a search, and frankly I don't care what you think of me or my post; keep it to yourself... This world has lost courtesy, so please don't add yourself to the endless list of tactless people I deal with on a daily basis... Now, for those that want to discuss and comment, my idea... I want to restart an old campaign world, but came to a realization about AC from armor... As one gets into epic levels (which I intend the campaign to do), armor is far outpaced by BAB of not only NPCs, but also monsters (who use standard progression of BAB, not epic progression)... Now, I wanted to ignore this until I was playing Oblivion the other day... I realized that it might be an idea to incorporate the idea of AC from armor going up some how with level... Now, I didn't want armor to be a skill, but still wanted to show someone gaining a bit more from their armor as they go up in levels to represent their ability to twist and weave so blows hit stronger points, in turn making it harder to "hit" (read as "do damage to them")... The idea that best seemed to fit was to increase AC similar the increased proficiency Kensai (Dragon magazine #310 - Alternate Fighter) gets with their weapon of choice... I have started a chart and got some different results with various bonus breakdowns... I started with the simple +1 AC to armor for every other level (2,4,6, etc.), but that seemed to be too much... I thought of +1 every 3 levels (3, 6, 9, etc.), but still maybe a bit overpowering... I tried both every four levels (4, 8, 12, etc.) and also every five levels (5, 10, 15, etc.) and they were good, but are they good enough?... Also, I think fighters (and fighters only) should be one step better than other classes (just personal opinion)... Another point is what if a character gets a feat for higher armor at a later level?... Should they count that level as their level one for that armor type (lets just say heavy armor for a barbarian) and count from there for their bonus to they don't suddenly get a huge bonus?... Also, what about shields; should they be included?... Any ideas, I welcome...
#2 deathlessjuan Mar 28, 2008 11:31:42	I like your disclaimer, mind if I borrow it? :D As for you situation, I've never come across it. In fact, in every epic game I have been in (and DMed), its has been a struggle for the monster to hit the PCs. AC climbs more rapidly that Attack bonuses (not BAB). Epic spells can be used to grant attack bonuses and better armor, and even custom magic items (for PCs who can't cast such spells) are bought for good amounts of gold. Depending on how lenient your DM is (or in the words of my players, 'How closely you stick to the rules'), you can easily reach 90 AC by level 25. Thats my 2 coppers. Anyone disagree, comments, suggestions?
#3 april151978 Mar 31, 2008 8:16:26	If you like the disclaimer, take it; it's free to use... :D As for AC 90 by level 25, would you show me an example?... NPC BAB is not much of a concern as monster BAB...
#4 Krusk Mar 31, 2008 10:12:03	AC 90 easily, or by serious work depending on how good your group is at optimization. As for your idea, there is a class based defense system in unearthed arcana you might be interested in using or stealing ideas from. Also available in the SRD. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/defenseBonus.htm My suggestion if you are doing a custom deal, would be to look at the level in which a PC would probably aquire a +X weapon and shield. Then incorperate that as a class bonus to attacks and damage, or AC.
#5 killy Mar 31, 2008 19:39:51	Make the AC bonus one half of the character's BAB and use the Armor as DR variant.
#6 tequila_sunrise Mar 31, 2008 20:53:24	While I like the idea of increasing armor and shield bonuses by a little bit over 20 levels, I think you want to do so for the wrong reason. It's a common misconception that AC is supposed to keep up with AB past the low levels. AC's real purpose at mid- to high-levels is to prevent massive Power Attack and other such options, not to prevent primary attacks from hitting. If you were to boost the general AC progression, mid- and high-level combats could easily take whole minutes (in game time) to finish. TS
#7 meridock Apr 01, 2008 13:20:09	I would suggest "Armour Training" as Variant Feats or Class skills for specific character types. This is something another system is looking at to make the Fighter more appealing at higher level, so basically you can take a fighter - he can select one type of armor: light, medium, heavy, or shield. Whenever he is wearing armor of that type, he gains an additional +1 armor bonus to his armor class - this stacks and can be taken every 4 levels. This can be balanced out with weapons training that gives +1 like a weapon focus but with a weapon group, but stacks also. So a Fighter "type" could be uber specialized in a weapon and armour, or very broadly spread if the campaign is uses a mix of armour/weapon depending on the situ.