CapnZapp
Legend
The easiest fix is to not change the crunch at all, but instead make the fluff fit the crunch given.
That is, keep the mechanics, but rename the spell "Fey Guardians" or something and explain it as "small ghostly woodland guardians flit around you, inching away incoming blades and arrows just so".
This way, there is a plausible explanation for the way the spell does much more work when you're out in the open, than when you hide behind a tree.
Sure you can fix the spell's mechanics too, say by saying Barkskin works like AC 16 heavy armor with no strength requirement or stealth disadvantage, and thus works like you'd expect with shields and cover (i.e. a shield gives you AC 18 and good cover gives you AC 21).
But the easiest fix is to remove the "Barkskin" name, since that evokes the idea of static armor. With "magical adaptive armor", it's much easier to buy the otherwise super-wonky way your AC isn't helped by shields or cover.
That is, keep the mechanics, but rename the spell "Fey Guardians" or something and explain it as "small ghostly woodland guardians flit around you, inching away incoming blades and arrows just so".
This way, there is a plausible explanation for the way the spell does much more work when you're out in the open, than when you hide behind a tree.
Sure you can fix the spell's mechanics too, say by saying Barkskin works like AC 16 heavy armor with no strength requirement or stealth disadvantage, and thus works like you'd expect with shields and cover (i.e. a shield gives you AC 18 and good cover gives you AC 21).
But the easiest fix is to remove the "Barkskin" name, since that evokes the idea of static armor. With "magical adaptive armor", it's much easier to buy the otherwise super-wonky way your AC isn't helped by shields or cover.
