3.0 Bracers + Ring Force Shield?

[kigmatzomat]

Hi all,

I was recently rolling up some magic items and wound up with a set of bracers of armor +7 and a ring of force shield.

Per the SRD "Bonuses from armor and a shield stack. This bonus is an armor bonus, so it does not stack with other effects that increase an armor bonus, such as the mage armor spell or bracers of armor." The logic to me is that bracers of armor/mage armor create a force field that include the user's gear, such as armor. Seems fully rational.

But it seems that a ring of force shield will still stack with bracers of armor because they are "armor and shield" of the same kind and that bracers' force field will not extend to wrap around the ring's force shield.

Does anyone have any references, preferably a FAQ entry I've missed or a Skip-era Sage? I really don't trust Customer Service to give advice on tying my shoes.

 

[irdeggman]

Per the DMG ring of force shield basically conjures up a shield (it canbe wielded by the wearer as a normal shield). Hence it would act just like a shield. It doesn't use terms like "deflection bonus".

And teh entry for bracers states "just as if he was wearing suit of armor".

So the two would stack. Again note that they don't use similar bonus types in the description.

 

[dcollins]

No, the two would not stack. Armor bonuses from bracers of armor do not qualify for the "suit of armor" exception to stacking limitiations. From the 3.0 FAQ, p. 29:

Does the magic armor bonus provided by the mage armor
spell or bracers of armor stack with nonmagic armor?
Would they stack with each other? Would they stack with
magic armor? Would it stack with a magic or nonmagic
shield? Why or why not? In the previous edition of the
game, the mage armor spell description specifically said the
spell didn’t stack with armor or other defensive spells. Why
doesn’t the current version of the spell so state?

Because it doesn’t have to. A mage armor spell provides an
armor bonus, as do bracers of armor. Two armor bonuses do
not stack, so a mage armor spell does not stack with bracers of
armor. Nor will a mage armor spell or bracers of armor stack
with a shield, which also provides an armor bonus. Note that
the armor bonus from a shield stacks with the armor bonus
from a suit of armor you wear, but that’s a special property of
shields and an exception to the stacking rule. Neither the mage
armor spell nor bracers of armor are suits of armor, so the
armor bonus from a shield does not stack with either of them.

 

[Unseenlibrarian]

They do stack: In 3.5, The ring of force shield provides a shield bonus to AC. the Bracers provide an armor bonus. Shield and armor bonuses are different things in 3.5.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

They do stack: In 3.5, The ring of force shield provides a shield bonus to AC. the Bracers provide an armor bonus. Shield and armor bonuses are different things in 3.5.

... Which is why they stack in 3.5, but apparently do not in 3.0.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

... Which is why they stack in 3.5, but apparently do not in 3.0.

Though it could be used to show the intentions of the rules… In which case it could be house ruled.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Though it could be used to show the intentions of the rules… In which case it could be house ruled.

Which I think is what I'm going to do. Normal shields have the "special property" of stacking with normal suits of armor so it makes sense that force shield will have the special property of stacking with full-body force armor.

Thanks folks.