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Armor Specialization (Plate)
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<blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 4772438" data-attributes="member: 2011"><p>Nobody is disputing that as a general rule of thumb, this basic assumption is reasonable.</p><p></p><p>The point is, is it worth a -2 to attack the squishier targets when there is also a fair chance that the Fighter is also going to get a free hit on you?</p><p></p><p>If it were just a matter of -2, it would be a squishier PC no brainer decision, even with the game world physics where a Wizard in the back can sometimes have one of the best ACs in the group. Enemies might not know that. Challenged enemies do know that they are both penalized for attacking squishies and the Fighter gets a free swing if they try.</p><p></p><p>An enemy should be disincentivized to ever attack the Wizard if the enemy is challenged and attackable by the Fighter unless there are extenuating circumstances. As an example, the Wizard is sustaining a Flaming Sphere (or the situation is one where the Wizard can easily attack multiple foes with area effects on multiple rounds). In that case, killing the Wizard might often be the best course of action for most of the NPCs, regardless of the Fighter getting in a free swing. But, this should be the exception instead of the rule unless the DM just feels like giving a lot of free swings to the Fighter in order to shorten the encounter. Some DMs are like that. They play the encounter not with the best tactical interests of the monster, but in the best interests of the players (note: players, not PCs).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="KarinsDad, post: 4772438, member: 2011"] Nobody is disputing that as a general rule of thumb, this basic assumption is reasonable. The point is, is it worth a -2 to attack the squishier targets when there is also a fair chance that the Fighter is also going to get a free hit on you? If it were just a matter of -2, it would be a squishier PC no brainer decision, even with the game world physics where a Wizard in the back can sometimes have one of the best ACs in the group. Enemies might not know that. Challenged enemies do know that they are both penalized for attacking squishies and the Fighter gets a free swing if they try. An enemy should be disincentivized to ever attack the Wizard if the enemy is challenged and attackable by the Fighter unless there are extenuating circumstances. As an example, the Wizard is sustaining a Flaming Sphere (or the situation is one where the Wizard can easily attack multiple foes with area effects on multiple rounds). In that case, killing the Wizard might often be the best course of action for most of the NPCs, regardless of the Fighter getting in a free swing. But, this should be the exception instead of the rule unless the DM just feels like giving a lot of free swings to the Fighter in order to shorten the encounter. Some DMs are like that. They play the encounter not with the best tactical interests of the monster, but in the best interests of the players (note: players, not PCs). [/QUOTE]
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