How wild shape affects AC

[jk7275]

I am in a newbie group and how wild shape affects AC along any other stats. There seems to be some confusion over what the druid str or dex will be if he changed in to say an ape

Can someone give a step by step what changes or maybe some examples

[RifleAvenger]

Example: You are a 5th level medium Druid. You Wildshape, as the spell Beast Shape 1, into the form of a small Animal. You get +2 Dex size bonus and +1 AC Natural Armor, increasing your AC by a total of 2. Your Str will not change.

You can become a medium animal instead, getting +2 Str size and +2 AC Natural Armor bonuses. Total AC change of +2. Your Dex does not change. This is also as Beast Shape.

I think the intrinsic size bonuses of creatures are actually Str and Dex size bonuses/penalties, which overlap instead of stacking w/ wildshape. I might be wrong about that, though. I don't know what happens if you're already a small character, as opposed to medium.

As you level up further, your wildshape can emulate further spells, such as higher levels of Beast Shape, Elemental Body or Plant Shape. In all cases, wildshape works as the spell it is emulating, except that it lasts hours/level or until you change back as a non-provoking Standard Action.

[Firest Kathon]

The change of armor class while changing shape can be quite confusing. I recommend you figure this out in advance before a game and do not try to calculate it on the fly during the game.

The rules for Wild Shape are taken from a number of polymorph spells: Beast Shape (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/beast-shape), Elemental Body (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/e/elemental-body), and Plant Shape (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/plant-shape-i). They all follow the same pattern of rules.

Regarding your AC, here is what changes:


You lose

The size modifier to AC of your normal form (+1 for small characters, +0 for medium characters)
The armor AC modifier of your armor, unless it has the wild (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-armor/magic-armor-and-shield-special-abilities/wild/) enchantment (as per the rules of the polymorph (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic#TOC-Transmutation-Polymorph) subschool)
The shield AC modifier of your shield, unless it has the wild (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-armor/magic-armor-and-shield-special-abilities/wild/) enchantment (as per the rules of the polymorph (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic#TOC-Transmutation-Polymorph) subschool)

You retain

Any AC bonus from magic items that function continuously (e.g. a Ring of Protection) [You cannot use any activated magic item while wild shaped, but the effect of an item you activated before still applies]
Any AC bonus from active spells (e.g. Shield of Faith)
Any AC bonus from class features (e.g. a monk's AC bonus)

You gain

The size modifier to AC (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat/#Table-Size-Modifiers) of your new form
The natural armor bonus to AC as per the spell, if any

if you have an enhancement bonus to natural armor, e.g. from an Amulet of Natural Armor (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/a-b/amulet-of-natural-armor/), this still applies.
If you get a different natural armor bonus, e.g. from a class feature such as the Dragon Disciple (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/dragon-disciple/), only the better one applies.

If you get a Dex bonus or penalty from the spell, this also influences AC accordingly



An example:

You have a +1 hide armor, a Ring of protection +1, Dex 13. Your normal AC is 17 = 10 + 1 (13 Dex) + 5 (armor) + 1 (deflection). You use Wild Shape to change in a small animal as per Beast Shape I. Your new AC is 15 = 10 + 2 (15 Dex) + 1 (natural) + 1 (size) + 1 (deflection). If you had changed into a large animal as per Beast Shape II, your AC would be 15 = 10 + 0 (11 Dex) + 4 (natural) + 1 (deflection).