A little question about 3.5 Armor Class

[Jeivar]

(Yeah, I'm not the most D&D - savvy person out there)

I'm in the process of making my 6th level elven goth, dual-axe wielding rogue/swashbuckler princess of darkness with a silly name, and now I'm trying to jack up my AC. If I wear +2 studded leather (with gothic spikes, naturally ), AND a Ring of Protection, or Bracers or Armor, do the bonuses stack?

Thanks.

[Babale]

Bracers of Armour are Armor bonus to AC, so no, they don't stack.

Ring of Protection does.

[Riffington]

However, the bracers of armor will help her if her dead sister's ghost ever tries to attack her.

[dariathalon]

The ring would stack with the armor, but the bracers would not. It all comes down to the types of bonuses provided. In general the same bonus types don't stack.

Studded Leather (Armor Bonus)
+2 (Armor Enhancement Bonus)
Bracers of Armor (Armor Bonus)
Ring of Protection (Deflection Bonus)

[kamikasei]

Bonuses of the same type don't stack, except for dodge bonuses. Armor and bracers of armor both grant armor bonuses, so they won't stack. A ring of protection grants a deflection bonus, so it will stack. Similarly, an amulet of natural armor enhances your natural armor, not your regular armor, so it stacks too.

[Kosjsjach]

Basically, bonuses of the same type do not stack. If you have two items that provide an armor bonus, only the higher one applies.

Other bonuses to AC include natural armor, size, shield, deflection, dexterity...

The rule generally holds for all bonuses. If it's the same type, it doesn't stack. So to jack up your AC, you need to get it from a bunch of different places.

EDIT: Whoo, my first time being truly and thoroughly ninja'd!

[Flickerdart]

Bonuses of the same type do not stack, so your armour and your bracers wouldn't work together. You can generally get Deflection (ring of protection), armour (armour, bracers, Mage Armour), enhancement (magical armour), shield (shields, Shield), dodge (Dodge, Psionic Dodge), sacred/profane (Law Devotion), luck (Luck of Heroes), and so on. Dodge bonuses and unnamed bonuses stack.

[Jeivar]

Allrighty, I guess I'll go with Studded Leather +2, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, and with Dex 20 and the Dodge Feat, and Swasbuckler's Dodge, that brings my maximum potential AC up to 24. Not bad, I think.

Thanks guys.

[Riffington]

A thought.
You want to do this two-handed, and who can blame you? So, someone will tell you to consider levels of warblade. Fine.

Now here's the kicker. You want to be a goth, and you're trying to up your armor class. If you do go warblade, it will give you access to a lovely defensive stance with a name that is just perfect for your character: the Pearl of Black Doubt.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

(Yeah, I'm not the most D&D - savvy person out there)

I'm in the process of making my 6th level elven goth, dual-axe wielding rogue/swashbuckler princess of darkness with a silly name, and now I'm trying to jack up my AC. If I wear +2 studded leather (with gothic spikes, naturally ), AND a Ring of Protection, or Bracers or Armor, do the bonuses stack?

Thanks.

Just keep in mind that boosting AC is very expensive.

Also, Goths were Barbarians.

[Flickerdart]

Allrighty, I guess I'll go with Studded Leather +2, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, and with Dex 20 and the Dodge Feat, and Swasbuckler's Dodge, that brings my maximum potential AC up to 24. Not bad, I think.

Thanks guys.

Dodge sucks and you don't want it. Luck of Heroes is oodles better.

[Devils_Advocate]

Don't some other feats that don't suck have Dodge as a prerequisite?

[Jeivar]

Now here's the kicker. You want to be a goth, and you're trying to up your armor class. If you do go warblade, it will give you access to a lovely defensive stance with a name that is just perfect for your character: the Pearl of Black Doubt.

Dodge sucks and you don't want it. Luck of Heroes is oodles better.

Well, what are those? Complete Scoundrel, Complete Adventurer, and Complete Warrior are the only non-core books I have ready access to.

And isn't Dodge+Mobility just the thing for a speed-n-finesse type of fighter? Or am I overlooking something?

[Pharaoh's Fist]

And isn't Dodge+Mobility just the thing for a speed-n-finesse type of fighter? Or am I overlooking something?

The fact that they're poor feats?

Dodge: +1 AC to one designated opponent. For a feat slot. Yeah, no.

Mobility: +4 to AC against attacks of opportunity when moving past people. You have Tumble which allows you to avoid attacks of opportunity. This feat is useless.

[Eldariel]

And isn't Dodge+Mobility just the thing for a speed-n-finesse type of fighter? Or am I overlooking something?

Dodge is just +1 AC vs. 1 opponent; not a major benefit as it only works against opponents that target your AC, and even against only one of those, and even then, your AC is likely to be so low that you'll be hit.

As for Mobility, see this skill "Tumble", that almost completely obsoletes Mobility - opponents don't even get the AoO instead of having to hit your higher AC. Now, Elusive Target [Complete Warrior], which requires both of the feats, is actually pretty good. But you generally don't want to pick up Dodge & Mobility, unless they're required for something.

[Flickerdart]

Well, what are those? Complete Scoundrel, Complete Adventurer, and Complete Warrior are the only non-core books I have ready access to.

And isn't Dodge+Mobility just the thing for a speed-n-finesse type of fighter? Or am I overlooking something?

Luck of Heroes is Forgotten Realms and Tome of battle stuff is from Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords.

Dodge provides a tiny numerical benefit, and Mobility provides a very situational benefit. Both are awful, and sadly prerequisites for Spring Attack which is decent.

Mobility fighting doesn't really work so well in 3.5 because of the heavy reliance on full-attacks. The Scout is good at moving and fighting because of his Skirmish ability, the Dervish is supposed to be good at that too, and otherwise, Pounce, Hustle or Psionic Lion's Charge are used to deliver yourself to the foe and still get those sweet, sweet iteratives. Tumbling is also viable.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Well, what are those? Complete Scoundrel, Complete Adventurer, and Complete Warrior are the only non-core books I have ready access to.

And isn't Dodge+Mobility just the thing for a speed-n-finesse type of fighter? Or am I overlooking something?

They're pretty bad feats, but when you nab Elusive Target from Complete Warrior at level 6 or so, you're all set - it's easily worth three feats. Seriously, if you ever have any reason to pick Dodge or Mobility (like a PrC), you must take Elusive Target, because it's too good to pass up on (like many of the tactical feats).

[Spiryt]

I always wondered why exactly bracers of armor don't stack with normal armor (aside from balance reasons)

From SRD

These items appear to be wrist or arm guards. They surround the wearer with an invisible but tangible field of force, granting him an armor bonus of +1 to +8, just as though he were wearing armor

This "field" interferes with armor, or what?

[Jeivar]

They're pretty bad feats, but when you nab Elusive Target from Complete Warrior at level 6 or so, you're all set - it's easily worth three feats. Seriously, if you ever have any reason to pick Dodge or Mobility (like a PrC), you must take Elusive Target, because it's too good to pass up on (like many of the tactical feats).

Um, I'm looking at the feat list in Complete Warrior, and I don't see Elusive Target there.
EDIT::: Ahem, I found it...

Luck of Heroes is Forgotten Realms and Tome of battle stuff is from Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords.

Could you give me a description, complete with prerequisites?

[Tsotha-lanti]

Um, I'm looking at the feat list in Complete Warrior, and I don't see Elusive Target there.

Just like divine feats etc., it's separate from the main feats. General feats page 96, divine feats page 106, tactical feats page 108, weapon style feats page 112.

[Flickerdart]

Could you give me a description, complete with prerequisites?

Luck of Heroes.

Don't think I'm allowed to post Tome of Battle stuff. You don't have to be a Warblade to get it, though, just a 10th level character who takes the Martial Study feat for any strike and then the Martial Stance feat for the Pearl. The stance gives you +2 Dodge AC until end of your turn every time an enemy misses you (and they stack!).

[Jeivar]

Luck of Heroes.

Don't think I'm allowed to post Tome of Battle stuff. You don't have to be a Warblade to get it, though, just a 10th level character who takes the Martial Study feat for any strike and then the Martial Stance feat for the Pearl. The stance gives you +2 Dodge AC until end of your turn every time an enemy misses you (and they stack!).

Well, I'm starting at level 6, so that Warblade stuff is out for now, I suppose. But I liiiiike Luck of Heroes! Thanks.

That just leaves me with one more feat-slot to fill . . .

[Riffington]

Luck of heroes:
prerequisite: 1st level or cleric with luck domain.Character gains a +1 bonus on all saving throws as well as a +1 luck bonus to Armor Class.
However, then you need to deal with your drak princess being lucky... this might actually break your character concept. Maybe if your DM lets you rename it to the Devil's Own Luck.

Pearl of Black Doubt: every time someone misses you, it fills them (and others) with the dark dread that they can never hit you, adding +2 to your AC cumulatively. However, you really need to get the Book of the Nine Swords for this one. You can be 5th level if you go the warblade route.

[Chronos]

Are you sure you want two axes, instead of a sword and an axe?

And the usefulness of Pearl of Black Doubt will depend a lot on how many enemies you typically fight at once. If you're only fighting one opponent, then his first attack (the one you need the most AC against) will be completely unaffected by it, and if he hits with it (as is reasonably likely), then the second attack won't be affected, either. On the other hand, if you're fighting swarms of kobolds or the like, the first attack still won't be affected, but the attacks of the second, third, and so on kobolds to attack you likely will be.

[lsfreak]

Don't think I'm allowed to post Tome of Battle stuff. You don't have to be a Warblade to get it, though, just a 10th level character who takes the Martial Study feat for any strike and then the Martial Stance feat for the Pearl. The stance gives you +2 Dodge AC until end of your turn every time an enemy misses you (and they stack!).

All the ToB maneuvers are on the Wizards site, including all the fluff and mechanics, just for future reference if you want to post something.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a

You would need a 2-level dip into swordsage/warblade, a 1-level dip plus a feat, or two feats in order to get it. I'd always at least consider a 2-level dip into swordsage for any type of agile character due to assassin's stance + shadow blade feat + shadow hand weapon. If you really want to up the AC at the cost of damage, though, go for Pearl of Black Doubt + diamond mind weapon.

[Faleldir]

If you're going to have armor spikes anyway, use them as your off-hand weapon. You could use a greataxe for more damage, or a battleaxe and a mithral heavy shield for more AC.

[Josh the Aspie]

Keep in mind that Armor Enhancement bonuses and Armor bonuses are two different types of bonuses. Still, many DMs will explicitly say that the enhancement bonus bumps the defensive bonus given by the armor, rather than saying that the bonus is applied directly to you. Thus it is rare to find a DM that will allow the +2 armor enhancement bonus from the magical studded leather armor to stack with the +x armor bonus of the bracers of armor. I certainly would not.

[tyckspoon]

Keep in mind that Armor Enhancement bonuses and Armor bonuses are two different types of bonuses. Still, many DMs will explicitly say that the enhancement bonus bumps the defensive bonus given by the armor, rather than saying that the bonus is applied directly to you. Thus it is rare to find a DM that will allow the +2 armor enhancement bonus from the magical studded leather armor to stack with the +x armor bonus of the bracers of armor. I certainly would not.

It's been confirmed that this was they way they intended Armor Enhancement bonuses to work, although I can't remember just where it was now (Magic Item Compendium, probably; there's lots of stuff about the thought processes behind magic items in there. If not, either a Sage/FAQ answer or the Rules Compendium.)

[Foryn Gilnith]

I always wondered why exactly bracers of armor don't stack with normal armor (aside from balance reasons)

This "field" interferes with armor, or what?

Let's say you're wearing leather armor. Adding studs to your armor will increase your armor class.
Let's say you're wearing full plate, with leather padding. Adding studs to the leather padding will be supremely useless.

Same thing with the bracers of armor. The field operates exactly as armor (i.e. blocks, not deflects), will go in the same place as armor, and any blind spots in your armor it might possibly cover up will not number enough to give you an appreciable AC bonus.

[Jeivar]

If you're going to have armor spikes anyway, use them as your off-hand weapon. You could use a greataxe for more damage, or a battleaxe and a mithral heavy shield for more AC.

I'm a Swashbuckler with Dex 20. Can't use Weapon Finesse with greataxes or battleaxes.