Goosefarble
2017-07-10, 10:17 AM
I once played in a D&D game where we fought a wizard whose AC was 24 and 200 hit points simply because she was a "boss" and that never sat right with me. What kind of wizard could even have those stats?
So I decided to try a little thought experiment to see if there was an NPC I could make, legally, with an effective AC in the mid to upper 20s, boosted using magic items and other mechanics in the core game, and I thought I'd share what I came up with.
I wanted to keep them as a realistic NPC and didn't want to create them like a player character, so I chose the noble from the Monster Manual (because, being rich, they will have the most access to these kinds of magical boosts). A very paranoid noble, constantly on guard against being assassinated.
A noble ordinarily has an AC of 15 (base 14 for breastplate, +1 for Dexterity) and 9 average hit points (2d8). I gave them the maximum hit points they could have (16), but this isn't about that; it's about AC.
So first, let's assume their breastplate is a magical +2 item, giving them a base AC of 16, with +1 for Dexterity bringing it up to 17. Then I give them an Ioun Stone of Protection, granting them another +1 to AC, bringing it up to 18. Add a cloak of protection (+1) and a +1 shield onto that and you have 22 AC from magic items alone. Add in them having a Defender rapier, through which you can add the +3 bonus the weapon gets to your AC instead of attacks (giving them 25 AC for that turn), then the noble's Parry ability, which allows them to use their reaction to increase their AC by +2 when targeted by an attack, they can get AC 27 if they use their reaction. Throw in a shield guardian for good measure, (again, from the Monster Manual), which ALSO has an ability which can grant a +2 to bonus to its master's AC when the master is targeted by an attack, the noble has an effective AC of 29 if using its reaction, the shield guardian's ability, and its defender rapier. Then let's throw in the Alert feat, meaning they can't be surprised and gain a +5 bonus to initiative, and give them some potions of fire resistance. This, coupled with the shield guardian's damage absorption ability, will give a noble with 16 hit points a decent fighting chance against even a relatively high-level party.
Until someone casts lightning bolt, obviously. Still, I thought it was an interesting thought experiment and wanted to share.
So I decided to try a little thought experiment to see if there was an NPC I could make, legally, with an effective AC in the mid to upper 20s, boosted using magic items and other mechanics in the core game, and I thought I'd share what I came up with.
I wanted to keep them as a realistic NPC and didn't want to create them like a player character, so I chose the noble from the Monster Manual (because, being rich, they will have the most access to these kinds of magical boosts). A very paranoid noble, constantly on guard against being assassinated.
A noble ordinarily has an AC of 15 (base 14 for breastplate, +1 for Dexterity) and 9 average hit points (2d8). I gave them the maximum hit points they could have (16), but this isn't about that; it's about AC.
So first, let's assume their breastplate is a magical +2 item, giving them a base AC of 16, with +1 for Dexterity bringing it up to 17. Then I give them an Ioun Stone of Protection, granting them another +1 to AC, bringing it up to 18. Add a cloak of protection (+1) and a +1 shield onto that and you have 22 AC from magic items alone. Add in them having a Defender rapier, through which you can add the +3 bonus the weapon gets to your AC instead of attacks (giving them 25 AC for that turn), then the noble's Parry ability, which allows them to use their reaction to increase their AC by +2 when targeted by an attack, they can get AC 27 if they use their reaction. Throw in a shield guardian for good measure, (again, from the Monster Manual), which ALSO has an ability which can grant a +2 to bonus to its master's AC when the master is targeted by an attack, the noble has an effective AC of 29 if using its reaction, the shield guardian's ability, and its defender rapier. Then let's throw in the Alert feat, meaning they can't be surprised and gain a +5 bonus to initiative, and give them some potions of fire resistance. This, coupled with the shield guardian's damage absorption ability, will give a noble with 16 hit points a decent fighting chance against even a relatively high-level party.
Until someone casts lightning bolt, obviously. Still, I thought it was an interesting thought experiment and wanted to share.