AC of your 10th lvl character?

[Harmon]

While GMing these last few weeks I noticed something that seemed odd to me, so I formulated a question (this one in fact).

What should the AC of a 10th level character be on the average?

Considering that Mages might have higher for Mage Armor, Shield, Dragon Skin, etc., and a Plate Mail clad Fighters with nothing to buy but AC bonus and pretty swords. A monk I would think could have the highest, but lets not shoot for the moon, what is to high and what is not high enough and what is roughly average?

 

[Moon-Lancer]

as a vop druid, I can get a AC of 38 at level 9. Its probably going to be the same at level 10.

the ac of 38 is only for 9 rounds. after that, it drops to 32 for an hour and a half, and after that it drops to 28 all day long.

 

[ForceUser]

At 10th my dwarf barbarian/fighter had +2 dwarven full plate, a +2 ring of protection, and a +1 amulet of natural armor. With an 8 Dex, his AC was 22. When he entered a whirling frenzy (rage variant from Unearthed Arcana), his AC increased to 24. If needed, he could activate his bracers of shielding to gain a +4 shield bonus, making his AC 28. If fighting giants, this became AC 32.

 

[JustKim]

It depends entirely on the PC's resources. AC usually takes a back seat, so if the DM skimps on treasure, it's going to scale very slowly. Most of my characters at or near level 10 haven't broken AC 20 and probably will not. In a game where we received a big cash reward for completing a quest, I had a Cleric with AC 36 at ~10th level.

 

[Chimera]

My Monk 4 / Rogue 6 has;

+3 Dex (14 /+2 item)
+2 Wisdom (14)
+3 Bracers of Armor
+2 Ring of Protection
+1 Monk Belt (as 9th level Monk)
===
AC 21 (22 when Dodging)

He's the lowest of the 3 melee types. The Ranger is AC 24 and the Fighter AC 27.

He's the pocket battleship of the group - lightly armored, lower BAB, but fast and hard hitting. He does 3d6+4 damage* on a hit and +3d6 sneak attack.

(* Aestetic Rogue + Monk Belt + Improved Natural Weapon, 18 Strength)

 

[Peter Gibbons]

What should the AC of a 10th level character be on the average?

I think the DMG2 puts a typical "tank" at 18 + 1/2 character level (so it'd be 23).

For comparison, my current character is a 9th-level tank with AC 26 (sometimes buffed to 29). The rest of the group considers his AC to be quite impressive.

 

[Thanee]

I'd guess about 25 could be considered a pretty good AC at that level for a fairly balanced character (not one completely focused on AC).

Bye
Thanee

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'm in an Eberron campaign, but we don't have a heavy fighter, so it's messed up when it comes to AC.

I have a wizard who can achieve an AC of 27 (only one round of combat required), but lots of monsters can easily hit that.

There's an elven paladin with AC 23 to 28 (can use a shield and a defending weapon) ... but he's a Dex monkey with a mithral chain shirt. Even so, he gets beat on a lot.

We have a soulknife with AC 23, which is definitely not enough. He gets beat down every session.

Our cleric has an AC of 25 as well - he's heavily armored, but doesn't have a Ring of Protection, anything of natural armor, or Dex boosting items. I think a cleric of that level would probably have the same AC or a point higher (he has Dex 12).

Our psychic warrior has an AC of 23, but for some reason she doesn't get beat on a lot. (I think she uses vigor a lot, though.)

Our rogue has an AC of 24, but he's a goblin. A human or half-elven rogue with the same equipment and equivalent stats would have an AC of 22. (He dual-wields though, which hurts his AC a bit.)

 

[comareddin]

That is why every fighter should get expertise if he meets the presequiates

 

[Endur]

My favorite character retired at 10th level (6th level Paladin, 1st level Fighter, 3rd level Dwarven Defender)

His AC was:
+1 Mithril full plate = +9
16 dex(14+2 enh) = +3
+1 Large Shield = +3
Dwarven Defender = +1
+1 Ring of Protection = +1
Base Armor Class = 27
Situational Modifiers
+1 Dodge vs. 1 Enemy = +1
+4 Defensive Stance = +4
+4 vs. Giants = +4
So, depending on circumstances, AC was between 27 and 36

Additionally, Diesa (a cleric with the Animal & Plant domains) often cast several spells on him
+3 Magic Vestment on Armor = +2
+3 Magic Vestment on Shield = +2
+5 Barkskin = +5

So his usual armor class was between AC 36 and AC 45