D&D 5E Definitions, please! What are Bounded Accuracy and RAW?

[dave2008]

Warforged Fighter 1, Artificer 1 has an AC of 24 base at 2nd level. Shield comes online at 4th level to get it to 29. Probably has a access to a buff spell like shield of faith for AC 31 by 4th level as well.

It's an outlier but it doesnt require any sort of mega stats to perform.

First I said no magic buffs - so Shield doesn't count. Also, we don't have a warforged or artificer.

More importantly, I was talking specifically about my game, I even said "my players." My point was, it is only easy (to get sky high AC) if you allow it to be easy. Heck your talking about books that came out 5-6 yrs after the PHB. My group is still playing in the game we started when 5e came out!

 

[Flamestrike]

First I said no magic buffs - so Shield doesn't count. Also, we don't have a warforged or artificer.

In your games maybe.

OK then - Fighter 1/ War wizard 2. AC 21, with an at will AC of 23 with a reaction. Also has access to shield and so forth, and when concentrating on a spell from 10th level adds an extra +2.

More importantly, I was talking specifically about my game, I even said "my players." My point was, it is only easy if you allow to be easy. Heck your taking from books that came out 5-6 yrs after the PHB. My group is still playing in the game we started when 5e came out!

Good for you.

I was showing how it easy it was to buff AC generally. I have no idea what rules your game uses.

 

[Mannahnin]

TBF, you showed a couple of specific narrow cases that allow for an exceptional AC. They're "easy" in that if the given class, race, and equipment are made available by the DM they require no other special hurdles to acquire, but they're not "common" in that you have to pick some pretty narrow options and prioritize those numbers over other character choices (like playing a different class or race).

That being said, anything over 20 tends to be pretty darn high for monsters of the first two tiers, anyway.

 

[el-remmen]

I am thankful for this thread because I didn't know what "bounded accuracy" meant either (though I had a sense of what it might mean) and finally discovered what RAI means! (I knew RAW already).

I also find the armor class discussion interesting both for the outlier case of getting a very high AC (only a worry if you have an entire party of warforged fighter/artificers I guess) and for the opinions on AC bonuses for magical items (something I have been actually thinking about putting out there for some PCs to find b/c they get hit and at least two of them seem to go down almost every battle). In my other group, the 3rd level characters have found Mariner's Scale Mail +2 (though it is the only magical items so far beside some crossbow bolts +1 and healing potions).

Edit to add: In the game I ran on Saturday, the PCs were sweating trying to hit some dudes with 17 and 19 ACs respectively.

 

[Horwath]

I am also thinking of additional bounding of accuracy to replace +X on weapons and armor with:
Weapons +1d6/+2d6/+3d6 damage and for armors +1/+2/+3 HP per your level to your HPs
No +X shields.
Only Ring and Cloak of protection for +AC

 

[DND_Reborn]

I am also thinking of additional bounding of accuracy to replace +X on weapons and armor with:
Weapons +1d6/+2d6/+3d6 damage and for armors +1/+2/+3 HP per your level to your HPs
No +X shields.
Only Ring and Cloak of protection for +AC

Interesting... D&D is so varied!

In my games, we actually boosted AC and decreased HP, yet your ideas would do (more or less) the opposite.

Huh...

 

[auburn2]

What in the name of Fizban's hairy buttocks is bounded accuracy??? I keep seeing the term, but have no idea what it means. A search turned up about 1000 more mentions of it than I cared to wade through, and that's ALL they were: mentions.

Likewise the heck is RAW?


Thanks in advance to all who respond with help!

Bounded accuracy means thing like armor class, difficulty checks for skills and such does not increase with levels and things like attack rolls and saving throws increase little .... i.e. they are bounded. This means classes get better at things they are specailized in but they don't get godlike and the other classes can still do those things.

This is in contrast to 3.5E where attack rolls for martial characters and saving throws went up every singe level. After relatively few levels a character who was not investing heavily in a skill could no longer do that skill effectively at all in game. Similarly someone like a wizard had virtually no chance of hitting enemy with an attack after a few levels. This railroaded characters and the choices they made at early levels forced a certain play style for the entire game. Characters had to keep investing points in the areas they wanted to be good at or fall behind.

In 5E on the other hand, characters can still be good at things at higher levels. A wizard with a high dexterity may have a +3 to stealth at first level and is pretty good at sneaking, at 16th that +3 is still pretty good. He is not as good as the guy who has proficiency in stealth, who now has +8 but is still good.

 

[Horwath]

Interesting... D&D is so varied!

In my games, we actually boosted AC and decreased HP, yet your ideas would do (more or less) the opposite.

Huh...

yeah, HPs are very high in 5E. Might be good if every attack does half damage and magic armor give damage reduction instead of extra HPs/Higher AC

Maybe 6E will be half damage on every attack miss and some abilities to deny "miss damage"

 

[dave2008]

In your games maybe.

OK then - Fighter 1/ War wizard 2. AC 21, with an at will AC of 23 with a reaction. Also has access to shield and so forth, and when concentrating on a spell from 10th level adds an extra +2.

Good for you.

I was showing how it easy it was to buff AC generally. I have no idea what rules your game uses.

We use the RAW AC rules. I don't typical give magical armor (at least not with AC bonuses) and we don't multiclass (5e default). Our group (lvl 15) is 2 fighters, a thief, a ranger (scout), and a wizard. No one typically has an AC above 20 (plate + shield).

I'm sure it is easy to allow high AC if you want, but it is trivially easy to keep it limited by RAW.

 

[dave2008]

I am also thinking of additional bounding of accuracy to replace +X on weapons and armor with:
Weapons +1d6/+2d6/+3d6 damage and for armors +1/+2/+3 HP per your level to your HPs
No +X shields.
Only Ring and Cloak of protection for +AC

I give magic items that increase damage without giving bonus to hit and it works well. I personally see no need to increase player HP with armor. If I want magic armor I just give it some other magic trait.