Thri Kreen and Barbarian - AC

[furby076]

Hi. I just built, for test, a Thri Kreen Barbarian, in DND Beyond, but the Thri kreen ac bonus (13+dex) doesn't stack with the Barbarian ac bonus (dex + con). Is this correct? Anyone know the reasoning why?

[JackPhoenix]

You only get one method of base AC calcualtion. That means unarmored defense, natural armor, normal armor or Mage Armor are mutually exclusive.

[Psyren]

Also, Thri-Kreen AC isn't Dex+Con, it's 13+Dex. This is useful if you have 15 Con or less for instance.

[furby076]

Got it. Thanks guys.

Also, can thri kreen wear armor in 5e, assuming their class gives them proficiency

[Boverk]

Got it. Thanks guys.

Also, can thri kreen wear armor in 5e, assuming their class gives them proficiency

They can wear armor, but they would lose the AC provided by their carapace.

For example, a Thri-Kreen with 14 dex (so +2 modifier) and medium armor proficiency could either choose to wear no armor and have an AC of 13 + 2 = 15 with no armor or wear Half-Plate and have an AC of 15 +2 = 17

unless you have very high Dex, if you have medium or heavy armor proficiency, wearing the armor will probably give you a higher AC (though you might have disadvantage on stealth, armor costs money, etc.)

[RogueJK]

Also note that a Thri-Kreen is the only Barbarian who could grapple an enemy (1x primary hand), wield a shield (1x primary hand), and TWF (2x secondary hands with Light weapons like Shortswords/Handaxes), all at the same time.

This is handy (literally), because Barbarians get bonuses to grappling but that often leaves them unable to make weapon attacks, plus Barbarians also present one of the best-case scenarios for TWF - especially with certain subclasses like Ancestral Guardians or Zealots.