Average AC for 10th lvl *RTTTOEE SPOILER AHEAD*

[Dr. Zoom]

Dr. Zoom, Graltok's way is just fine if the bad guys get them as cheaply. Can you imagine the misses? Their combats probably last twice to three times as long as they should. Give your PCs high level, high magic items, as long as the bad guys also have +4 Vorpal Swords, it's equally as dangerous.

Of course his group may rule 0 anything they like. But I disagree with your reason. The PC's will always have this advantage, and the villains they face will rarely have it unless the DM gives all his bad guys bracers of armor, which stretches credulity. Besides, he said they did it because they did not want it to stack with rings of protection. My suggestion points out that it is far more overpowered and unbalancing if it stacks with armor.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

+2 full plate, +2 large shield, +1 Dex, +1 deflection gives AC 25.

+2 full plate armor = 10

+2 large shield = 4

+1 dex = 1

+1 deflection = 1

10 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 16

10 (base) + 16 = 26.

You are cheating yourself out of 1 point of AC.

 

[GralTok]

Well ... as you say I'll try to get them non-stack with armor as it should be... They make them stack I never asked why they shown me how to play third edition... ( I hadn't played D&D in 3 years) so I didn't ask question but I'll get it cleared... will make the fight harder...

The game with my cleric meet high challenge rating but see the pc:

Dwarf cleric lvl8
Half-Orc barbarian lvl7
Half-dragon wizard lvl5
half-dragon wizard lvl5(this one suck ... because he just made copy paste the first one... xcept that the first is blue this one green)
Half-Fiend Sorceror lvl2
Half-Fiend Fighter lvl2

(Most of the time only 4 PC are in the game...)

So as we fight high CR this isn't too overpowered... well .. else than we gain xp faster but that's the way we like it...

 

[ForceUser]

My 11th level Fighter/Wizard/Bladesinger can easily achieve a 44 Armor Class within two rounds of combat.

28 base AC (20 touch/20 flat-footed)
6 Armor bonus (+2 mithril shirt)
4 Bladesong bonus
4 Dex bonus
2 Deflection bonus (+2 ring of protection)
2 Natural armor bonus (+2 amulet of natural armor)

+

4 Haste bonus
7 Shield bonus

That's a 39 AC normally, and 44 full Expertise. All perfectly legal. At 10th level she had, oh, a 35 AC or so. I've gotten a couple gear upgrades since then.

The last 3E campaign I ran, I had a player with a 10th level paladin who had a 27 AC or so. It's perfectly acceptable and part of the normal progression. As someone else pointed out, change up the routine sometime and challenge the group in other ways.

 

[Garmorn]

A large shield has a +2 armor bonus without any magical enhancements. If they are magical +2 shields then their total armor bonus is +4, not +3. So the total AC's for your characters are 26 and 34, respectively.

GralTok, I respectfully suggest your group rethinks your house rule for the Bracers of Armor. Having it stack with rings of protection is not a problem because you rarely see a ring with too high a bonus. But if they stack with armor, then they do become overpowered. Use your own character as an example.

Mistyped and did not catch it. My shield is only a +1. Have not had the time to upgrade to +2, but do have the cash and I am planing on it next time we get a chance.

Oh yea, this is a lot better then earlier edditions where AC stopped at -10 while THACO's continued to climb to the point that lots of fighter types only need a 1 to hit.

 

[Gizzard]

I notice that the one character from the "Game of Death" thread who has been already posted has an AC23 before buffing. I assume these guys are as optimized as you can get given level 10 and the standard amount of treasure per the DMG guidelines.

OTOH, I'm not sure worrying about melee combat at level 10 is quite the right focus; the potential for enemies to cast extremely dangerous spells makes ultra-high ACs less of an issue than they'd be at a lower level. "Thats a nice suit of armor," says the evil wizard, "Perhaps you'd like to work for me? I'm sure you'll see things my way as soon as I finish casting this spell."

 

[Gromm]

Very true Gizzard.
Lvl 10 is where things get interesting for fighter types. They have the high AC to stand a chance going toe to toe with the big boys, the hit points to survive, and the attack to dish out damage, but a single mage can easily take them out with a single spell.
I've found at around level 9 or 10 mages and clerics become vital members of the party keeping the fighters alive and on your side, the fighter's role becomes to fight other fighter types and protect the spell casters (esp mages) from other fighter types.

Plus the nastiest touch attack in the game comes next level (Harm). Even if rule 0'd most people make it a Will save, not the fighter's strong suit by any means.

 

[Darkness]

Oh yea, this is a lot better then earlier edditions where AC stopped at -10 while THACO's continued to climb to the point that lots of fighter types only need a 1 to hit.

Wasn't it -12? (Or was that only for dragons and such?)

 

[Thanee]

What kind of attack bonuses do the creatures you let them encounter have!?

I mean, seriously, AC 26 or even AC 30 should be quite easy to hit at that level! Attack bonuses of about +16 or +18 should be very well possible.

Bye
Thanee

 

[RogueJK]

What kind of attack bonuses do the creatures you let them encounter have!?

I mean, seriously, AC 26 or even AC 30 should be quite easy to hit at that level! Attack bonuses of about +16 or +18 should be very well possible.

Why stop at +16 or +18? Throw a Colossal Monstrous Scorpion against them. 2 claws at +49, and a sting at +44. If the sting hits (and it will) then they have to make a Fortitude save against DC 54 or take 2d8 points of Strength damage.

And it's only CR 11.