Pros:
○ You can sleep in it.
○ It gives you energy resistance 5 (acid, cold, electricity, and fire) every 5 levels (10 at 10, 15 at 15, ect)
○ Its 'free'
○ It can't be stolen.
Cons:
○You are never able to enhance your dragonscale husk - as you can with regular armor. Meaning it will NEVER give you more than a total (assuming you have a +2 dex) of +14, and that is at level 18.
○You can't do anything to lower the armor size category of Dragonscale husk.
○You can't enhance it with magic vestment.
Questions:
○l Dragonscale husk says nothing about Arcane spell failure. I assume that means there is none.
○ The entry says nothing about the size/weight of the husk either. It does mention that it counts as medium armor for the purposes of speed and whether you can use special abilities and class features.
Really the only time I can see wanting it is in a low magic campaign.
Love to hear everyones opinion
Sankyou
Does anyone have suggestions for magic items for a bard/crusader Dragonfire inspiration TWF build?
It looks cool but if you carefully read what it actually does, it's pretty terrible as written. It gives an AC bonus (not an armor bonus) that doesn't stack with any other armor, feat or special ability that gives a bonus to AC. I don't know if the awkward wording is intentional or accidental, but that's just sad. If your DM houserules it into being an armor or natural armor bonus that works with other stuff (which I think would make more sense), then it's probably fine. But as writtened, it's crap.
I disagree; you can still wear a shield, and you should not be trying to use this class feature in conjunction with a race, feat, or class that gives you its own AC bonus, simply because you know you will not be getting the benefit. Moreover, because it is not an armor bonus, mage armor still benefits you.
It remains primarily useful at low levels or in low-magic campaigns, though, because enchanted armor can be much more adaptable - particularly with armor crystals, which (by my reading, at least) would not be usable with the husk.
It looks cool but if you carefully read what it actually does, it's pretty terrible as written. It gives an AC bonus (not an armor bonus) that doesn't stack with any other armor, feat or special ability that gives a bonus to AC. I don't know if the awkward wording is intentional or accidental, but that's just sad.
Oh. I thought it didn't stack with any armor bonus to AC; if it doesn't stack with any bonus to AC, that's really sad!
Oh. I thought it didn't stack with any armor bonus to AC; if it doesn't stack with any bonus to AC, that's really sad!
Yeah, I initially read the ability that way as well, coz that would actually make some sense. But no, the writers had to go smoke some crack before writing this up and thus making it nigh useless.
Yeah, I initially read the ability that way as well, coz that would actually make some sense. But no, the writers had to go smoke some crack before writing this up and thus making it nigh useless.
Please reread the ability.
"grants you a bonus to Armor Class..."
"this bonus doesn't stack with any feat, racial trait, or other special ability that would grant you a bonus to Armor Class."
Spells, natural armor derived from sources other than race, magical items... all kinds of options remain open.
I disagree; you can still wear a shield, and you should not be trying to use this class feature in conjunction with a race, feat, or class that gives you its own AC bonus, simply because you know you will not be getting the benefit. Moreover, because it is not an armor bonus, mage armor still benefits you.
It remains primarily useful at low levels or in low-magic campaigns, though, because enchanted armor can be much more adaptable - particularly with armor crystals, which (by my reading, at least) would not be usable with the husk.
Spells, natural armor derived from sources other than race, magical items... all kinds of options remain open.
If you're consistently getting all this stuff via magic items or spells, then you're not playing a low magic game then are you? In which case, an enchanted suit of fullplate would probably be better.
Also, the AC bonus granted by the husk only scales up if you continue to level in a class that grants heavy armor prof, making it pretty worthless for gishes who relies on multiclassing.
It's probably nice for a low level (1-5) game where everyone is still poor, feat starved and haven't started PrCing yet. But the feature steeply declines once you get pass those levels.
A magical item would still qualify, thus a +1 Amulet of Natural Armor would provide an enhancement to your natural armor... All this seems to work as normal in this context.
At least, that's what I'd say RAI. As a DM, I'd probably rule that it takes your armor and natural armor slots. Of course, that's just interpretation. I'd like to see something official with a proper term applied to it (such as "armor bonus" and not "armor class" bonus).
If I was a DM, I'd rule it to be an armor and/or natural armor bonus coz that makes much more sense, but I don't think there's any official errata out yet.
Setting the discussion of power aside, the way it's implemented directly contradicts its flavour. It's a suit of semi-natural armor that somehow doesn't work with dodge, combat expertise, two weapon defense etc. or any of the new devotion feats that grants sacred/profane AC bonuses.
If I was a DM, I'd rule it to be an armor and/or natural armor bonus coz that makes much more sense, but I don't think there's any official errata out yet.
In this we agree completely.
In this we agree completely.
Yay! Consensus is reached.
Or in games where armor is far less useful than the free, predictable abilities (like say in games when you can't go crafting magic items, etc.)
In our table-top games we rarely craft items ... they come at the group pseudo-randomly. The ability to have something predictable is nice.
I like it for Ardents,
+1, but for a different reason.
Since the bonus from the Husk is technically an unnamed bonus, it stacks with an augmented Inertial Armor (either from the substitute mantle powers alt. features or an Expanded Knowledge feat) for Psi-Gishy goodness.
I think it can worth it.
Not just because of low-levels or low magic campagins, but of this "...Multiple classes that grant this proficiency stack for determining the dragonscale husk's total bonus." one can say that means you are only good if you start above lv one with two classes with heavy armor prof, or a gestalt, or that you have to mult class in later levels to stack. You can interpret it either way. What does "stack" mean. I see either as double the bonus, at level three thats 14 10=24. Or it could be 2/3 class level.
I interpret it as 2/3 level and you could in, later levels, take on another class and give up the proficency, At level three thats 11 10 for 21. Either way it is OP and thats not stacking with any of the above options. Sure it takes a bit more work then maybe a normal armor(in terms of EXP). It works excellently with say duskblade. Maybe this huge bonus doesn't stack with two weapon defense, or the knight's shield block, or dodge, but that frees up my slots to take other feats. With that much^ ac who cares?
Although, if you wanted a super stretched character lets say a two weapon using, sorcerer with a samurai class, there may be better options for you out there. It depends I suppose, spell failure chances vs a lower AC? Mage armor, or the amulet mentioned before, or all kinds of crazy stuff might work.
You may just want to become Uber warrior, assumeing maybe a Samurai and Fighter combo, I can't wear two sets of armor now can I? Two sets of overlapping Proficencies i don't need, but if this is a gestalt and I want the two weapon fighting plus the feats, why not make use of both prof's? With this feat following the 2/3 rule I follow as DM thats 20 AC plus 10 for the Regular for a total 30 AC at lv 20 all those feats, and two weapons to use. Or i could go the normal 8 heavy armor with the max of Plus 5 and masterwork for a total of 16 with all kinds of things like fortification. Couldn't you wear a robe of fortifcation over your Husk?
Oh if it's weightless I can swim in it too.