Robe of the Archmage Questions

[Juantanamo]

Two rules questions... partially related.

1. A character has Dex 16 and Cha 20 and has the Black Dragon Mask from HotDQ. AC is 13+Dex+Cha = 21. That part has been conclusively answered. If that same sorcerer puts on a Robe of the Archmagi which tells you to calculate AC as 15+Dex... would this sorcerer then have an AC of 23 with the mask on? It seems like that's how it would work. As the wording on the Robe says "If you aren't wearing armor" and the wording on the mask is the same. If the Robe itself was armor, it would turn itself off essentially. Same with the mask.

AC 23 correct?
What would a shield do to that? Using a shield isn't "wearing armor" right?

2. If a spellcaster uses both the Robe of the Archmagi and a Staff of the Magi, both items say "Your spell save DC and spell attack bonus increase by 2". Would wearing both mean a +4 to spell AB and +4 to Spell save DC?

Or would those abilities not stack? It seems to me that since they are an additive bonus that they would stack. So with a Proficiency of +4 and Cha of +5 the spell AB would be +13 and the spell save DC would be (8+4+5+2+2) 21?

Thoughts?

[JNAProductions]

The additive abilities stack. The AC Formulas DO NOT. They simply set your AC to a number, and you use whichever one is the best.

[Juantanamo]

The additive abilities stack. The AC Formulas DO NOT. They simply set your AC to a number, and you use whichever one is the best.

Right. So the dragon bloodline 13+dex vs the archmage robe 15+dex. The Cha +5 from the Mask is additive so it stacks for 23... is how it seems to read. Shields get added on top. So a character with the black dragon mask (which allows you to ADD cha to AC), Robe of the Archmage, Dex 16, and shield, would have AC of 25 right?

[JNAProductions]

Oh, the Mask just lets you add Charisma? Yeah, that works fine, then.

But I'm not sure Archmagi robes let you add a Shield and still work.

[MaxDPSsays]

I don't know the wording on the mask, but if it says your AC is 13+dex+Chr then no, the robes and mask don't stack. The shield should stack with both.

Anything that sets your base AC will not stack....such as the Mage armor spell not stacking with unarmed defense or with sorcerer dragon scales. You only take the best calculation of the bunch

[Christian]

Draconic Majesty. While you are wearing no armor, you can add your Charisma bonus to your Armor Class.

So it stacks with most anything, it seems. Also:


Can you use a shield with mage armor?
Mage armor works with a shield. Shields are grouped with armor in the equipment rules in the Player’s Handbook, but various game features distinguish between the armor you wear and a shield you wield. Take a look at the monk’s Unarmored Defense feature and compare it to the barbarian’s version to see what I mean. In the monk’s version, you must both forgo wearing armor and forgo wielding a shield if you want to beneft from the feature, whereas a barbarian must only forgo wearing armor.

And you can add a shield. Party on!

[The_Jette]

I don't know the wording on the mask, but if it says your AC is 13+dex+Chr then no, the robes and mask don't stack. The shield should stack with both.

Anything that sets your base AC will not stack....such as the Mage armor spell not stacking with unarmed defense or with sorcerer dragon scales. You only take the best calculation of the bunch

The Dragon Masks let you add your Charisma modifier to your AC while not wearing any Armor. So, it doesn't set it to 13+dex+Chr. The 13 comes from his levels in the draconic bloodline of sorcerer, I'm assuming. So, imo, his AC would be set to 15(robes of archmagi) + 3 (Dex) + 5 (Cha), for a total AC of 23. Throw in a shield and it'll raise to 25.

[Juantanamo]

Thanks everyone. I'd say we conclusively solved this.

I actually did have this setup a while back but at that time decided to tell the DM that it was too strong and we agreed to poof away the Robes. Just wanted to know if I had interpreted the rules correctly. I think we all are on the same page.