How good are Zodiac Tattoos?

[SangoProduction]

Zodiac Tattoos
Mystical tattoos ward you from harm and transform your skin into protective armor.

Prerequisites: Craft (tattoos) 5 ranks, Unarmored Training or AC Bonus class feature.

Benefit: Covering your body in these intricate tattoos etched by your own hand, you gain the ability to have your skin enchanted with armor special abilities as though it was a suit of +1 leather armor. You cannot have a total bonus of armor special abilities higher than +6. You cannot use this ability to add any armor special abilities that add a flat gp amount to their cost instead of a bonus equivalent.

Let's assume you have a reason to have reasonably high Wisdom bonus (+3) as a Monk or (particularly) Sage (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/sage), or you were potentially looking to take Unarmored Training (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/equipment-sphere#toc30).

How good is Zodiac Tattoos, and should you just ignore the option, basically dump Wisdom bonus (if Monk), and just pick up actual leather armor? I mean, you are effectively gaining the scaling magical armor AC...but I don't think anyone picks that, and you could just pick up higher tier armor (with ACP reduced to 0), and not spend a feat.

[tyckspoon]

I don't see anything that says it doesn't stack with actual armor, so if you're willing to invest the necessary feat/talent/other resources into it you can use it to get extra armor special abilities; your actual armor could have up to its regular +5 (and/or bear the flat GP cost abilities that the tattoos are forbidden to have) and your tattoos can bear a different +5. Depending on what angle you're looking to optimize that could be pretty valuable.

If you just want AC, tho, AC Bonus + Unarmored Training is going to be better than just about any armor you can find, especially if you can get it on a mostly full BAB build.

[Fouredged Sword]

Not useful as an ac source. Does not stack with armor bonuses and you do not get the ac as if you wore +1 leather. So, for the cost of +6armor you get +5 ac.

What it IS good for is to pair with bracers of armor AND wis to ac. Select special properties to add to your tatto, use the bracers for ac bonus, and still qualify for wis to ac.

Now, if your wis sucks or ypu lack wis to ac, +1 leather armor is better.

[stack]

Unarmored training doesn't stack with braces of armor, so that is when you take the feat. Monk/sage is probably better off with bracers and saving a feat unless they face a lot of dispels/sunders/jail time etc. or really want the item slot open.

[Hellpyre]

It's good for what it is, which is a way to go unarmored without giving up the special abilities that you could get on normal armor. It's a way to take Unarmored Training and not lose out. If you can fit it, and you want the unarmored badass fluff, go for it.