mrpopstar
Sparkly Dude
A level 1 fighter equipped with medium armor and shield would have AC 17 before considering Dexterity modifiers using my table.That seems a bit extreme. Heavy armor is incredibly vital to certain character concepts. Denying all heavy armor to a level 1 character means that those characters would never last long enough to acquire heavy armor. You can't be a tank with an AC of 14 (including shield).
I don't think denying a level 1 character a single point of AC until they raise enough funds to access heavier armor is as extreme as you imply. There's a significant cost barrier to accessing heavy armor AC 18 in the present rules as they stand.It would make Dexterity significantly more important than it already is. It would basically become the new Constitution, where everyone needs it at least above average, or else you will die.