AC and description

[UngeheuerLich]

another annoying thing is, that the gnome has no resist poison 5... it wears an amulet of health (i don´t mind is the other bonuses are already include, should not be included or whatever)

 

[Lizard]

wow, noone adresses my issue:

its not the fudge of getting higher AC which bothers me.

It is the LOWER AC of the Minions and the slinger.

17 DEX, lether armor and end up with 13 AC?

with a reflex score of 14?

This is almost certainly a stat block error. Armor always adds to reflex defense; I cannot imagine any situation where it would be deliberately lower. Especially if it's light armor.

As a side note for those who view armor as "purely cosmetic", consider the storytelling/narrative value. Armor is supposed to tell you something meaningful about your opponent. Barring unusual, very DM-driven circumstance, the guy wearing ten tons of spiked plate should be hard to hit with swords, easier to hit with spells or attacks against defenses other than armor. While you CAN just say, "Oh, his armor and reflex defense is the same, he's just wearing plate 'cause it's cool", doing so is "cheating" the player in a way -- it's giving him information about narrative expectations which isn't valid, and that's not something you want to do casually or without context. ("When you strike him, you realize something -- the armor he's wearing is made of air and shadow -- he's garbed in illusion.") This then provides a different clue, something which could swing the battle. ("Dispel magic on the big guy, stat!" "But dispel magic doesn't work that way anymore!" "Smeg!")

 

[UngeheuerLich]

This! ^^

Thanks for support Lizard!

I also read something in a good old book:
ADnD High Level campaigns

it adresses that issue:
Players should get clues from description what to expect! (Physics in the real world will give you hints what to expect, rules should do the same in your game world... not to the extend as 3.5 of course, but as guidelines)

 

[JohnSnow]

wow, noone adresses my issue:

its not the fudge of getting higher AC which bothers me.

It is the LOWER AC of the Minions and the slinger.

17 DEX, lether armor and end up with 13 AC?

with a reflex score of 14?

This is the most annoying thing. And when you have a direct comparison between two kobolds, the slingers with armor and dragonscale shields with no armor, how should the players judge by the description alone which is the foe with higher AC.

Two possible explanations:

1) The stat block for the slingers is wrong.

2) The kobold slingers aren't proficient with leather armor, and therefore get no bonus for wearing it. Otherwise, their AC should probably be 15, or maybe 16.

Given all the unanswered questions, I'm going to be waiting for the actual rulebooks before I run anything. Besides, that gives me time to build the setting around Winterhaven.

 

[Korgoth]

Conan is almost impossible to hit even when he's wearing no more than a leather Speedo. These Dragonshields are Kobold Conans (and those shields are pretty fancy when in the hands of a trained Kobold).

By contrast, the slinger is trained as a slinger because of his uncanny habit of accidentally walking into pikes and dwarvish mauls. Or perhaps his hidden "Slinger Training" feat that allows him to use Kobold Frangible Pot Munitions (KFPMs) has the downside of causing him to have the "deer in headlights" reaction to live steel. His leather armor is the only thing that keeps him from having an AC of 4.

 

[The_Fan]

Perhaps the kobolds are not proficient in the armor, and so don't get the bonus?

 

[thalmin]

Hopefully we will know once we get the rules..

 

[WyzardWhately]

This rather begs the question, though. Why not then just let the PCs have the AC appropriate to their level and role, and let them pick whatever window dressing they like?

 

[Korgoth]

This rather begs the question, though. Why not then just let the PCs have the AC appropriate to their level and role, and let them pick whatever window dressing they like?

Games are about making interesting choices (good ones, anyway). Why take away an interesting choice unless there's some compelling reason to do so?

 

[Staffan]

This is almost certainly a stat block error. Armor always adds to reflex defense; I cannot imagine any situation where it would be deliberately lower. Especially if it's light armor.

Hmm. Looking at the character sheet posted at Wired, AC adds "armor/abil" whereas the other defenses add "abil". Could be that you use the best of your Dex/Int bonus and your armor bonus.