Free Points of AC

[koboldish]

Anyone know of cheap options for a +1 or +2 that stacks with armor, shield, mage armor, other shield (the magic one), and natural armor? The only one I can think of is the dastana. My dwarf only has an ac of about 55 or so, which most things can still hit at level 13.

Thanks.

[Tar Palantir]

Ring of protection? I assume you have that already but if not, grab one. One of the ioun stones gives a +1 insight bonus to ac as well, and I think the lucky property from MIC gives +1 luck to AC and saves, but it might just be saves. If not, a luckblade with 0 wishes might be worth it if you aren't committed to a mainhand weapon.

[koboldish]

Thanks! I don't have the ion stone yet, so I'll have to stick that on.

[GilesTheCleric]

Mage armor grants an armor bonus, and shield grants a shield bonus. They don't stack with armor and shields, which give those same bonuses.

Edit: if you want a better luck bonus, Recitation gives +2 or +3. Algid Enhancement gives a +6 deflection.

[MilesTiden]

... What the hells kind of creatures are you running into? :smalleek: With that sort of AC, you aren't getting hit by anything short of a high leveled dragon. Discounting them, the only thing in the Monster Manual that can hit you except on a natural 20 is the Tarrasque. I mean, there are probably monsters in other sourcebooks that can hit that, but I don't imagine you'd be running into to many of them. :smallconfused:

Also, the Shield and Mage Armor spells do not stack with regular armor or shields, which is probably part of why that number is a bit off.

[koboldish]

Aww.... I distinctly remember someone telling me they did. I guess I was wrong :smallannoyed:. Well, thanks for the heads up.

[GilesTheCleric]

Dodge bonuses stack. (Circumstance do to, but you don't usually get AC from those). However, dodge bonuses are generally against a single target.

[koboldish]

Yeah... With the 5 levels of Abjurant Chapion, mage armor and shield stack to +18. With mechanus gear and a dastana, as well as an extreme shield, the armor bonus is only +16. I'm not quite sure what to do here.

[GilesTheCleric]

Maxing AC is suboptimal. You're better off getting miss chance, or else killing the opponent first. As a PC, you'll fight many monsters, which will eventually get 20s, or hit touch or FF. You're safer when they're dead faster.

[koboldish]

I am perfectly aware of the fact that AC is suboptimal. My goal is not to be the most optimized. I am trying to fit with the "high AC dwarf" flavor. This was more of a fun exercise for me.

[Khedrac]

Dusty Rose Ioun Stone - 5000gp for a +1 insight bonus to AC.

Yes optimizing AC is sub-optimal, but it can still work very well.

[Rhatahema]

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19864038/How_to_shove_it_to_beatsticks_-_A_caster_resource_for_not_getting_hit

That's a pretty comprehensive guide to AC on the caster side of things. Untyped and dodge bonuses stack, others don't. So, for typed bonuses you'll want to look for: Armor, Shield, Natural Armor (each of which can be improved with enhancement bonuses, typically), Sacred/Profane, Luck, and Deflection.

Abjurant Champion doesn't improve mage armor, as that's conjuration rather than abjuration (the statement to the contrary in CM has been removed by errata). Luminous Armor (and the Greater Version) from BoED provides an Armor bonus and is abjuration, but it can only be cast on a good creature, and has some other strings attached. Dastanas cannot be worn with Mechanis Gear; there's a specific list of armor types it can be combined with (padded, leather, or chain shirt). Same with Chahar-aina from Oriental Adventures.

[Eldariel]

Yeah... With the 5 levels of Abjurant Chapion, mage armor and shield stack to +18. With mechanus gear and a dastana, as well as an extreme shield, the armor bonus is only +16. I'm not quite sure what to do here.

Just ignore physical armor if you use magical armor... Mechanus Gear doesn't stack with Mage Armor (which doesn't work with Abjurant Champion by RAW; yeah, it's stupid, but Mage Armor is strictly a Conjuration though Luminous Armor [Book of Exalted Deeds] does work), as they both grant Armor-bonus.

The normal sources of AC are:
Dexterity-bonus
Armor-bonus
Shield-bonus
Natural Armor (can be acquired for normal characters through e.g. Polymorph-line of spells)
Natural Armor-bonus (stacks with Natural Armor, e.g. from Amulet of Natural Armor)
Deflection-bonus

Then you get Luck, Sacred/Profane, Morale, Insight, etc. from spells sometimes. Then unnamed bonuses, Dodge-bonuses, and such. As an Abjurant Champion, ramping your AC with spells is quite easy. Indeed, you don't really need items for it all that much, nor do they really help if you're stacked out on magical protections.

[koboldish]

I mean, if everything only hits me on a 20, it still works pretty well... I wan't to do this while still wearing mechanus gear, if possible. What spells stack with that?

Edit: Ah. Thanks. Didn't see your post. I got mage armor as abjuration OKed with the DM.

[MilesTiden]

Grab Greater Mage Armor for a total of +20 AC with Abjurant Champion, which is more cost effective and better than the mundane armor option. However, you can enchant the mundane armor, so it's up to you. Honestly, with those two spells and like, a ring of protection and/or ioun stone, your AC should be good enough to focus on other things. If you're going with mundane armor, then there are some feats in Races of Stone to help a bit.

[GreenETC]

Greater Luminous Armor and Shield from Abjurant Champion will give you a total of +22, leaving 32 before Dex, with a -4 penalty to melee attacks against you. Slap some natural armor or dodge bonuses on there, and if possible, go out and get the Black Pearl of Doubt stance from ToB with a feat or some level in Warblade/Swordsage. You can also go Deepwarden as a Dwarf to get Con to AC instead of Dex, if yours sucks.

Even with Mage Armor okay'd, Luminous Armor is better in every way, if possible. You can mitigate the Str damage with a Rod of Bodily Restoration from the MIC for 3100gp.

[Hamste]

If you have a single point of natural armor or more you can take improved natural armor as a feat multiple times to raise your ac.

[GilesTheCleric]

If you're not worried about attacking things, you can also use total defense. There's a few things in splats that enhance it, although the only one I can remember is dwarven defender.

[koboldish]

Hmmm... At level 11, how many things would be able to hit a 39 reliably?

[Big Fau]

Hmmm... At level 11, how many things would be able to hit a 39 reliably?

A couple of things like the Gargantuan Monstrous Scorpion. Not very much though.

[SowZ]

Parrying gives a +1 luck bonus to AC and all saves and has a flat cost on weapons. Flat cost weapon enhancements=yummy.

[koboldish]

Alright... It could get a little higher if I used luminous armor if I used that instead of mechanus gear... Are there any soulmelds that increase natural armor or deflection?

[Bakkan]

The Wormtail Belt soulmeld gives some Natural Armor and is actually decent even without essentia to invest.

Defending weapons are a little expensive but if you've already gotten everything else they're an option. Defending is a +2 equivalent ability, so +1 Defending Armor Spikes cost 18350 gp for +1 AC, +2 Defending Armor spikes cost 32350 gp for +2 AC, and so forth.

[Shining Wrath]

The Dodge feat.
Much better are items that grant displacement / blur.
The "Defender" weapon enhancement lets you shift pluses from to-hit to AC.

[Wings of Peace]

If you've got Use Psionic Device as a skill or just plan meet the requirements then Ectoplasmic Armor Quori Shard can net you a +10 armor bonus to ac for around 40,000 gold (I'm sure that number is wrong I just remember it was somewhere in the 40k zone) and doesn't use a body slot.

[Tuki Tuki]

Dwarven forged gives +2 ac on armor and reinforced from a dragon mag gives +1 to ac on armor.

[Vaz]

5 ranks in tumble give you +6 (instead of +4) when taking total defensive actions.

[Devronq]

If possible can you just post your build and we can see what else you can add from there?

[Telonius]

Soft Cover? A mount plus a ride check of 15 gets you an untyped +2.

[Platinum Piece]

Dastana give a +1 shield bonus to AC that stacks with an existing shield. And a Ward Cestus gives a +1 AC when using total defense. Both are found in the AEG.

[mregecko]

+1 Defending spiked gauntlet

Can be worn with any armor, also counted as wielding it, and as a free action you can turn its enhancement bonus into an untyped bonus that explicitly stacks with all others.

Get the party mage to cast Greater Magic Weapon on it to get > +1, or you can pay for the +5 on it yourself (I wouldn't recommend it).

[Spuddles]

Defending armor spike, defending shield spike, defending weapon with chain GMW gives you 3x your GMW bonus to AC, stacks with everything.

[Kuulvheysoon]

+1 Defending spiked gauntlet

Can be worn with any armor, also counted as wielding it, and as a free action you can turn its enhancement bonus into an untyped bonus that explicitly stacks with all others.

Get the party mage to cast Greater Magic Weapon on it to get > +1, or you can pay for the +5 on it yourself (I wouldn't recommend it).


Hells, don't bother with that - pick up a tooth of Leraje (ToM) for a 1/day GMW at CL 20.

[Eldariel]

[/B]

Hells, don't bother with that - pick up a tooth of Leraje (ToM) for a 1/day GMW at CL 20.

We're talking about an Abjurant Champion. He should be more than capable of casting GMW himself.