Quote Originally Posted by GeneralVryth View Post
You guys are still dancing around shields, which in practice are likely to be the bigger problem. Also, class specific proficiencies are just destined to get messy.

Besides adding/increasing strength requirements, if don't want to change classes much I like the idea suggested earlier in the thread of just breaking Medium and Heavy Prof into a Simple and Complex (or Martial) option. All of the racial traits that give armor profs become simple martial profs. All class features that give them also become simple. And then when you get to level X (5?) in a class that gave a simple Medium/heavy Prof, you get the complex version. Still need to deal with Shields though.
Could bring back arcane spell failure. Lol.

Clerics can cast in armor because they cast divine spells. Ditto for paladins and druids.

But wizards, sorcerers, etc., cast arcane spells and that means they have spell failure for using a shield or wearing armor. Bards would have to suck it up until they get to their subclass or something.

Even though (I think) I was the person to bring this up, it occurs to me that I might be looking at the wrong thing. I think maybe my problem isn't with armor - it's with the shield spell. A wizard with 20 AC? Ok, that's cool. Hit points are still low, still gonna avoid melee. Doesn't really change much.

A wizard with 20 AC that can selectively raise it to 25? That's getting ridiculous.