Can you have negative AC? [3.5]

[Gamerlord]

Just curious, and what would be the implications?

[Quietus]

Yep. Shock Trooper makes this remarkably easy, and the implication is that you're REALLY easy to hit.

[Ernir]

Sure you can. Negative enough, and you become as easy to hit as the broad side of a barn (Literally. Check the PHB page 166).

This is actually an idea I want to try sometime when I can find a game that can tolerate a bare-chested, raging, frenzying, shock-troopering barbarian type.

EDIT: This assumes you are talking about D&D 3.5.

[Alaris]

I don't know if you can, but even if you could, the only implication would be that anyone rolling a 2 or higher would automatically hit you. Natural 1 is still an automatic failure, so it doesn't matter if you roll a 1.

[Curmudgeon]

AC is just a number compared to other numbers (attack rolls). You can have a negative attack number, such as a low- or medium-BAB 1st level character fighting with two weapons without Two-Weapon Fighting: their attack bonuses are -6 (primary hand) and -10 (off hand). And you can have a negative AC.

There are no special changes to how D&D operates if either of these numbers is negative.

the only implication would be that anyone rolling a 2 or higher would automatically hit you.

Not necessarily. The above 1st level TWF character could roll an 8 for their off hand attack and still miss AC -1.

[lsfreak]

Charging with Shock Trooper, Banzai Charge, a Warchanter ally, Rage, and Frenzy, you get net yourself a penalty of (Level*3+8) to your AC in order to gain your level as a morale bonus to attack, and quintuple your level in damage bonus. If you wanted to, I'm sure you could get it lower via other feats and such.

A cloak of displacement, a keen bodyfeeding falchion, and Robilar's Gambit may be in order, though.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Charging with Shock Trooper, Bonzai Charge, a Warchanter ally, Rage, and Frenzy...

"SMALL TREES!!!"

[lsfreak]

"SMALL TREES!!!"

THEY MAKE NO SENSE! AHHHH!

Fix't.

[Gamerlord]

THEY MAKE NO SENSE! AHHHH!

Fix't.

WHY ARE WE TALKING LOUDLY ABOUT TREES?!

[Spiryt]

WHY ARE WE TALKING LOUDLY ABOUT TREES?!

Because they're harder to hit than raging shock trooper.

[Eloi]

Why would you want to have a negative AC? I don't know if thats possible, but I'm sure with enough cheese, you probably could.

[true_shinken]

Banzai 万歳 【ばんざい】
(int,n) hurrah, long life, congratulations, cheers, (P)

Bonsai 盆栽 (lit. tray cultivation) is the art of growing trees, or woody plants shaped as trees, in containers. Bonsai is sometimes confused with dwarfing, but dwarfing more accurately refers to researching and creating cultivars of plant material that are permanent, genetic miniatures of existing species. Bonsai does not require genetically dwarfed trees, but rather depends on growing small trees from regular stock and seeds. Bonsai uses cultivation techniques like pruning, root reduction, potting, defoliation, and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-sized trees.

[lsfreak]

Why would you want to have a negative AC? I don't know if thats possible, but I'm sure with enough cheese, you probably could.

Armor has two possibilities: pimping it till you're untouchable, and ignoring it. At low levels AC is good, but by mid-levels, attack bonuses tend to outstrip AC rather rapidly if it's not be focused on. The natural thing to do, then, is turn you useless AC into something useful - like trading it for bonuses to attack and damage. Hence Shock Trooper (Power Attack takes up your AC instead of your +atk), Warchanter (drop your AC by up to your BAB, and gain a bonus on attack equal to what you sacrificed), and Banzai (not Bonzai) Charge (drop your AC by up to your BAB, gain a bonus on damage equal to what you dropped). When you're pounce-charging for 5 times your level in minimum damage, it doesn't matter what your AC is, because whatever you hit is dead.

Though of course, all of those put together tends to come across as rather more powerful than is ever needed. Shock Trooper alone is good enough to get the job done, generally.

[Spiryt]

When you're pounce-charging for 5 times your level in minimum damage, it doesn't matter what your AC is, because whatever you hit is dead

If there are some archers around, or generally some more monster besides the one Trooper hacked from clavicle to pelvis, this can kinda suck...

[lsfreak]

If there are some archers around, or generally some more monster besides the one Trooper hacked from clavicle to pelvis, this can kinda suck...

Hence cloak of displacement (20% concealment) and Robilar's Gambit - as soon as someone takes a melee swing at you, you get to hit them back. They'll hit once, but they'll die after (though of course Large creatures are exempt - but you should probably hit the biggest thing first). EDIT: Also, the keen bodyfeeding falchion. If you crit, you get temporary hit points equal to half the damage dealt, which means 5*level in temporary hit points or more after a crit. This, too, can be problematic in certain circumstances.

Archers can be a problem, but the build generally uses a barbarian or frenzied berserk base, so you've got tons of hit points. 3.5e archers tend to be a bit on the hard side to pull off well, since sources of bonus damage aren't extremely common, at least not like monsters with huge melee attacks are. If it's really a problem, you can (hopefully) grab Air Devotion (as a swift action, give arrows a 50% miss chance against you).

Of course, I don't recommend actually doing this. Shock Trooper is plenty enough, and even that you often won't need to use to full. Pounce + a few points of PA is going to be enough.