+5 Adamantine Armor Spikes of Defending

[Hejdun]

I'd allow him to do it, simply because it cost him 72,000 gp to do so. That's a hell of a lot of gold to spend on a weapon that you won't use much, and if used simply for the AC, there are other, more cost effective ways to raise it.

 

[kreynolds]

I'd allow him to do it, simply because it cost him 72,000 gp to do so. That's a hell of a lot of gold to spend on a weapon that you won't use much...

I guess the fact that it's a weapon you can't be disarmed of, short of destroying your armor, doesn't make the cost worth it? How about the fact that grappling someone with armor spikes is a real pain in the rear, mostly due to the fact that they always have a light weapon available to attack you with, and the weapon deals normal damage instead of subdual? They already get enough, IMO.

 

[Weeble]

Re: Re: Re: Re: +5 Adamantine Armor Spikes of Defending

No problem. I missed that. Hows this for an answer?

Treat it just like a frickin' defending weapon.

Sorry for the mini-mini-rant.

Showing your age again huh?

 

[kreynolds]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: +5 Adamantine Armor Spikes of Defending

Showing your age again huh?

Huh? Hey. Wanna join me for cake?

 

[Gromm]

I'd allow him to do it, simply because it cost him 72,000 gp to do so. That's a hell of a lot of gold to spend on a weapon that you won't use much, and if used simply for the AC, there are other, more cost effective ways to raise it.

There might be more cost effective ways, but I'll bet none of them stack with everything. 72k isn't that much to get a +5 dodge bonus all the time. In fact its way too cheap considering it doesn't take any item slots, and doubles as a +5 weapon whenever you need it. Min cost should be at least 100k (Ring of Prot +5 is 50k, and this doesn't take a slot and is also a +5 weapon).
Its really no different than having a +5 Defending Sickle that can't be disarmed. Just having the sickle at your side doesn't give the bonus so this is no different. It has to be used in combat to defend (see it as magically parrying incoming attacks and maybe it makes more sense).

 

[Weeble]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: +5 Adamantine Armor Spikes of Defending

Huh? Hey. Wanna join me for cake?

How about some pizza

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Defending mentions "weapon of choice," so he can probably only leech AC off of the dagger that he used in the Spring Attack; in theory, that's also the dagger he'd have to use in any AoOs, since it's his chosen primary weapon for the round.

So if you have two weapons with Defending and you can only attack with one of them, you could only activate Defending on the one that you actually used; since you aren't using the other one, it doesn't do anything for you.

I dunno.

Obviously if you are using a greatsword to attack with you are not "wielding" the +5 Defender Gauntlet.

But your description puts a really big constraint on normal TWF that does not seem supported by the rules.

There is nothing unbalancing about someone with a +5 Defending Gauntlet in his left hand while attacking with a Bastard Sword in the right, even if he does not attack with his left hand.

A Rogue could wear a mithril buckler +5 and get a better AC bonus for half the cost.

A Wizard could do better with all kinds of other defensive magic items. Cloak of Displacement?

Only the Monk gains some perverse advantage. Even then he is buying an item at weapon prices that is primarily defensive. He could just buy a +6 Ring of Deflection. Or Bracers +8.

Doesn't seem like much of a problem to me as long as your restrict the definition of "wielding" to keeping that hand open and unused.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

There might be more cost effective ways, but I'll bet none of them stack with everything. 72k isn't that much to get a +5 dodge bonus all the time. In fact its way too cheap considering it doesn't take any item slots, and doubles as a +5 weapon whenever you need it.

Gauntlet/glove is a well defined slot.

If you want to give up your Gloves of Dexterity +6 or Gauntlets of Strength +6 and pay a premium above and beyond that, I do not see a problem.

 

[Valdier]

Gauntlet/glove is a well defined slot.

If you want to give up your Gloves of Dexterity +6 or Gauntlets of Strength +6 and pay a premium above and beyond that, I do not see a problem.

I think sometimes people just lack the basic ability to read.

We are talking about armor spikes... not gloves or gauntlets.

Also, the great thing about defending items working when you aren't using them, take a whole stack of useless defending items and just "have" them to stack the bonus AC for cheap. Defending spiked gaultlets, 2 of them, Defending armor spikes, defending off hand weapon... make them admantine (free +2), then make them +1 defenders, 11k gold for +2 AC that stacks with everything, including itself.

 

[jontherev]

I think sometimes people just lack the basic ability to read.

We are talking about armor spikes... not gloves or gauntlets.

Also, the great thing about defending items working when you aren't using them, take a whole stack of useless defending items and just "have" them to stack the bonus AC for cheap. Defending spiked gaultlets, 2 of them, Defending armor spikes, defending off hand weapon... make them admantine (free +2), then make them +1 defenders, 11k gold for +2 AC that stacks with everything, including itself.

Adamantine weapons don't confer bonuses to AC, if that's what you are inferring. I think you have to be using the defending weapon to get its bonus. In the case of the TWF who is not taking a full attack action, I guess you wouldn't get the benefit of the defending weapon unless you attack with it. Either that, or apply the standard TWF penalties to the one attack and let him use the offhand defending weapon bonus to AC.