AC paladin?

[carrdrivesyou]

A full plate armor paladin with 12 Dex and a tower shield. Human. Use whatever shenanigans needed. Let's see what you folks can come up with eh?

[Firest Kathon]

I'd build it into the back of the armor and camouflage it as a backpack. Maybe add a gas filter, to get immunity to some spells like stinking cloud? If you use the tower shield for the heat exchange you might get some more efficiency out of it due to the large surface.
SCNR...
Edited to add: I guess it would give you an Endure Elements effect

[Gwendol]

Why? The tower shield is not that good to begin with, and the paladin is not proficient with it.

[Rebel7284]

My favorite paladin build is Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Ruby Knight Vindicator 7

[weckar]

I think I'm missing the point of this thread.... Tack on a level of Fighter for proficiencies and be done with it?

[Naez]

Take Vow of Peace get overall +6 to AC. But you'd want to be playing unarmed so you can get nonlethal damage on all your attacks and not break your vow.

[Red Fel]

Time to take a trip over to the X Stat to Y Bonus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?125732-3-x-X-stat-to-Y-bonus) thread to see what we can use to buff AC, hmm?

Kinda need to know more about limitations before we can start cherry-picking. Paladin only? PF, 3.5 or 3.0? Limit on books?

[Andezzar]

Take Vow of Peace get overall +6 to AC. But you'd want to be playing unarmed so you can get nonlethal damage on all your attacks and not break your vow.Just use a sap or a merciful weapon.

[Greenish]

Time to take a trip over to the X Stat to Y Bonus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?125732-3-x-X-stat-to-Y-bonus) thread to see what we can use to buff AC, hmm?Wis to AC in heavy armour can be done with Argent Fist (FoE). Combo with Serenity (DMC) to get Wis to saves too.

[KingAtomsk]

I'd build it into the back of the armor and camouflage it as a backpack. Maybe add a gas filter, to get immunity to some spells like stinking cloud? If you use the tower shield for the heat exchange you might get some more efficiency out of it due to the large surface.
SCNR...
Edited to add: I guess it would give you an Endure Elements effect

Magnificent

[dascarletm]

I'd build it into the back of the armor and camouflage it as a backpack. Maybe add a gas filter, to get immunity to some spells like stinking cloud? If you use the tower shield for the heat exchange you might get some more efficiency out of it due to the large surface.
SCNR...
Edited to add: I guess it would give you an Endure Elements effect

I'm not sure that full-plate is air tight. You'd need to add that on, but using the tower shield for heat exchange is a good idea. However, if you put it facing outward it's susceptible to overheating during a fiery breath attack. Would need to be careful with that. Maybe get some blue ice worked in.

[Warrnan]

Air conditioned paladin. Rofl. #endure elements. /thread.

[Vogonjeltz]

A full plate armor paladin with 12 Dex and a tower shield. Human. Use whatever shenanigans needed. Let's see what you folks can come up with eh?

Ok, as already mentioned, Paladin doesn't start with proficiency in tower shield, so:

Human - Tower Shield Proficiency
1st - Dodge
3rd - Divine Shield
6th - Combat Expertise
9th - Improved Combat Expertise
12th - Defensive Strike
15th - Close Quarters Fighting
18th - Defensive Sweep

Imp. Combat Expertise nets up to +20 to AC at level 20. Defensive Sweep allows you to attack someone in melee while using the shield for total cover courtesy of the free aoo if someone fails to move. Close Quarters Fighting protects the Paladin from grapple attempts.

So, starting AC is:
10 base + 1 dexmod + 8 armor + 4 shield

magic item add-ons
enhance armor +5; enhance shield +5
natural armor +5 (amulet of natural armor); deflection +5 (ring of protection)
Divine shield feat (+cha...so if we max out charisma the same way a wizard maxes out int, +11ish?)
imp. combat expertise +20 (OR +4 from total defense action)
dodge +1

total: 75 AC or 59 (Total Defense)

[Greenish]

I'd fit in Parrying Shield somewhere in there too.

[Seerow]

Wis to AC in heavy armour can be done with Argent Fist (FoE). Combo with Serenity (DMC) to get Wis to saves too.

Hrm if only it were feasible to max out both Wis and Cha, to have the Argent Fist ability AND Divine Shield.

[Jeff the Green]

Wis to AC in heavy armour can be done with Argent Fist (FoE). Combo with Serenity (DMC) to get Wis to saves too.

I wonder if you'd be better off in a mithral breastplate and a two-level dip in swordsage.

Edit:
That is, in addition to Argent Fist, instead of heavy armor.

[Greenish]

I wonder if you'd be better off in a mithral breastplate and a two-level dip in swordsage.Almost certainly. Argent Fist requires a bunch of meh feats to enter, as well as being monk/paladin multiclass.

OP specified full plate, though. (It also specified paladin, but I thought Argent Fist might slip.)


[Edit]: Ah, well, I doubt the AC bonus from monk and from swordsage would stack.

[Seerow]

Almost certainly. Argent Fist requires a bunch of meh feats to enter, as well as being monk/paladin multiclass.

OP specified full plate, though. (It also specified paladin, but I thought Argent Fist might slip.)


[Edit]: Ah, well, I doubt the AC bonus from monk and from swordsage would stack.

Actually if you were going Paladin anyway, a 2 level dip into monk picks you up Evasion, Improved Unarmed Strike, and you can trade out the 2nd bonus feat for the Monastic Training Feat that Argent Fist requires, while keeping Stunning Fist from the first level feat.

All in all you're spending 4 levels (2 in monk 2 in paladin) to add Wisdom to AC in heavy armor, while picking up some assorted other fringe benefits you may or may not care about. On the bright side, the class you're multiclassing from is Paladin, so it's not like you're actually losing a whole lot.

[emeraldstreak]

oh god the ugliness...

shield spell > tower shield

greater luminous armor

saint template

dwarven ancestor + scintillating armor

[Greenish]

All in all you're spending 4 levels (2 in monk 2 in paladin) to add Wisdom to AC in heavy armor, while picking up some assorted other fringe benefits you may or may not care about.Six levels, actually, and those two levels of Argent Fist don't add that much (it really should have had at least full BAB). Stunning Smite isn't too bad, though with only two levels it'll be only +2 to the DC.

[Forrestfire]

Honestly, for optimizing a tower shield, I'd probably max Hide, grab Darkstalker, and find a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis. You can't hit what you can't see!

[bondpirate]

Looking over Defensive Strike, I realized it requires Combat Expertise and Dodge.

But you have to use a Total Defense action which eliminates using Combat Expertise for a small one attack bonus. :smallconfused:

I'd drop it and get the Law Domain feat for +7 Sacred Bonus to AC or Att.

Also, you need DEX 13 for Dodge. I'd Drop Dodge (I'd get the feat that adds your shield bonus to Touch AC) and put DEX back to 8 and become a Strongheart Halfling
so starting DEX is 10 and buy a +6 item of DEX and allocate those points instead to your starting CHA which should cover the +1 dodge bonus in Divine Shield.

You can also have Reduce Person cast on you for a total +2 size bonus.

So I think it becomes at LVL 20 with items:
10 base + 3 DEX + 8 Mithral Armor + 4 Shield + 11 CHA (assumed)(Divine Shield is an untyped bonus to the Shield bonus) + 5 shield enhancement + 2 size bonus + 5 armor enhancement + 5 natural armor + 20 Imp Combat Expertise
+ 5 Deflection + 7 Sacred + Other (Aid Another (+2), Morale, Circumstance, Luck, Insight, becoming smaller (two more size categories gives another +6), and other untyped bonuses and spells)

So without Other, your AC is 85 or 69 (Total Defense)

With further optimization and class allowances it could go higher.

Edit: Forgot about fighting defensively which stacks with imp combat expertise for +2 AC.
Also, 5 ranks in tumble increases that bonus to +3 and total defense increases to +6
so the new values are 88 AC and 71 AC (Total Defense) respectively.
Throw in the Giantbane tactical feat (CW 111) and have fun.