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Maquise
2012-11-22, 02:59 PM
I was doing some calculating, and I think that for a sword-n-board character in Pathfinder, who uses two-weapon fighting+shield bash, Breastplate+Armored Kilt might be a better armor choice than full plate. Let me show my work:

1. In order to qualify for the TWF feat, a character needs DEX 15. That is one point away from DEX 16, which would give a modifier of +3. Let us assume that this character either starts with or picks up DEX 16.

2. Full plate has base stats of +9 AC, +1 Dex bonus, ACP -6. This would of course go down for mithril, MW, etc. but since all of that could be applied to all armors, it doesn't matter at this point.

3. Breastplate + Armored Kilt has base stats of +7 AC, +3 Dex bonus, ACP -4. Again, add in any extra special stuff.

4. What this means is that, no enhancements included, with a light shield for both and a dex of 16, the fullplate would give AC 21, and the breastplate + kilt would also give AC 21. The difference is in cost and ACP, and a higher Touch Attack AC. Cost is bigger than you think here, especially if you want mithril armor; it cost 5000 gp less to make the breastplate mithril than the fullplate. That would also give you additional opportunity to boost you Dex to AC, and your touch attack. That 5000 gp could then be used to buy an enhancement bonus, furthering your AC.

The whole point of this is just to judge my system mastery, so any input would be useful.

nedz
2012-11-22, 03:24 PM
Yeah, heavy armour is a bit rubbish — at least if you have any Dex or skills.

Kudaku
2012-11-22, 06:40 PM
That could be modified in a few ways though: If the character is a fighter, armor training would increase his Max Dex Modifier.

Like you mentioned, Mithral on a Full Plate would allow you to go up to +9/+3 without spending money on boosting your dexterity, while the breastplate requires you to spend money on a dexterity boost as well as the mithral armor.

In general, if you can use Heavy Armor and you don't mind the ACP/Speed penalty, then it's a better option because it lets you get away with a lower dexterity modifier.

If you do have a good dexterity modifier, then light/medium armor is usually the better bet.