Does natural armor stack with manufactured armor? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 daedel Dec 14, 2014 11:02:24	Hi all, The title pretty much says it. Does it? What happens to shields? And a ring of protection? Is there any official ruling on this? I can't find anything on MM or DMG...
#2 Novacat Dec 14, 2014 11:22:43	Both natural armor and manufactured armor give a formula for determining your AC. Neither one grants a bonus, so it's impossible for them to stack in any way. You simply use whichever formula is better for you. Shields, Rings of Protection, and other such things provide actual bonuses, so they stack with everything.
#3 Illithidbix Dec 14, 2014 15:51:42	It's in the PHB and the Basic rules. Armor Class Your Armor Class (AC) represents how well your character avoids being wounded in battle. Things that contribute to your AC include the armor you wear, the shield you carry, and your Dexterity modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however. Without armor or a shield, your character’s AC equals 10 + his or her Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield, or both, calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 5. Record your AC on your character sheet. Your character needs to be proficient with armor and shields to wear and use them effectively, and your armor and shield proficiencies are determined by your class. There are drawbacks to wearing armor or carrying a shield if you lack the required proficiency, as explained in chapter 5. Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use.
#4 Coredump00 Dec 15, 2014 6:43:39	Just like Chain mail and Plate mail do not stack....

Armor Class
Your Armor Class (AC) represents how well your character avoids being wounded in battle. Things that contribute to your AC include the armor you wear, the shield you carry, and your Dexterity modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however.
Without armor or a shield, your character’s AC equals 10 + his or her Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield, or both, calculate your AC using the rules in chapter 5. Record your AC on your character sheet.
Your character needs to be proficient with armor and shields to wear and use them effectively, and your armor and shield proficiencies are determined by your class.
There are drawbacks to wearing armor or carrying a shield if you lack the required proficiency, as explained in chapter 5.
Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use.