Confusion in Monk's Belt

[Thanee]

Wis 28, Bracers of Armour +8, Monk's Belt

That's +18 total to AC, while Full Plate and Shield give +20.

It's not really too good, it's just too cheap, if it is worn by a non-monk with a high Wis.

And, of course, the AC bonus is better, since it also raises touch AC.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Rystil Arden]

That's +18 total to AC, while Full Plate and Shield give +20.

It's not really too good, it's just too cheap, if it is worn by a non-monk with a high Wis.

And, of course, the AC bonus is better, since it also raises touch AC.

Bye
Thanee

So if your Dex is 20 or higher, the Monk's Belt is universally better for Wis 28
For Wis 32 or more (par for a Druid or Cleric at level 20 after Tomes, stat raises, and +6 item), the Monk's Belt is always better, regardless of Dex.

And don't forget that beyond the touch AC issue, the full-plate is also reducing movement, giving ACP, etc.

 

[Victim]

The problem with the Monk's Belt is that it's too good for very high level characters. It is a totally must-have item for any high-level caracter with a very good Wis. It's too good, purely for the AC.

Paladin in shining platemail? Uh-uh. Start with Wis 16, +6 enhancer, +5 Inherent, +1 level (Wis 28), Bracers of Armour +8, Monk's Belt. That's AC 27. Plus Dex. Plus Int if you're a duellist. Consider a Ftr 10 / Du 10 with 16 Wis, 16 Dex, 16 Int. +10 to each from Inherent Bonuses and enhancers. Bracers +8 and Monk's Belt. That's AC 36 straight off.

Oh boy, with high stats and nigh unlimited resources, you can get a crappy AC. With finite wealth, there are far better ways to increase AC.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Oh boy, with high stats and nigh unlimited resources, you can get a crappy AC. With finite wealth, there are far better ways to increase AC.

There's actually no way (unless they added it in splatbooks) to get more AC from stats and items alone (not counting feats, class abilities, etc) than using Bracers, Amulet of Natural Armour, Ring of Protection, and Monk's Belt if your Wis bonus + (Dex bonus - 3, minimum 0) = 11. So 16 Wis and 32 Dex (the Rogue build), 32 Wis and any Dex bonus at all (the Cleric build), or 24 Wis and 24 Dex (the half and half build) would all be advantage Monk's Belt (because AC ties that of armour and shield while freeing up hands, no ACP, no movement restrictions, and affecting touch AC)

 

[Hypersmurf]

The RPGA has set a precedent for just the +1 AC bonus, however.

Doesn't the RPGA treat all FAQ answers as canon?

-Hyp.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Doesn't the RPGA treat all FAQ answers as canon?

-Hyp.

Obviously they couldn't treat all FAQ answers as canon, since at times the FAQ contradicted itself.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Obviously they couldn't treat all FAQ answers as canon, since at times the FAQ contradicted itself.

That always puzzled me when I heard about the policy, too...

-Hyp.

 

[Jack Simth]

Let's see... infinite recources AC, ignoring anything both could have in equal measure (Ioun Stones, Amulets of Natural Armor, Rings of Protection, size small + Reduce Person, and so on).

+5 Mithral Fullplate, +5 Animated Tower Shield, +3 Dex: +26 (or +5 Mithral Fullplate, +3 Dex 16, +5 Animated Heavy Shield: +24)
Monk's Belt, Wis 32 (16 base, +5 level up, +5 Tome, +6 Peripat), Dex 26 (16 base, +4 Tome, +6 Gauntlets), +8 Bracers of Armor: +28.

Now, if you're pushing your Dex and Wisdom that much anyway, the Monk's belt is better, hands down. If for whatever reason you can't use good armor or shield (an Arcanist or a Druid), again, the Monk's Belt is very useful. Epic, the Monk's belt becomes exceedingly useful. For just about everyone else? Mithral Fullplate and an Animated Shield will win out.

 

[Crosshair]

It's funny everyone keeps bringing up the infinite resource bit and high-level tradeoffs of the monk's belt.

The question comes from our 42nd level campaign, actually. I have 20 levels of monk, so I get the wisdom bonus from class. The character that bought the monk's belt, however, is not a monk and in fact a cleric....wisdom through the roof.

In my perspective it seems ridiculous to grant a stat to AC through monetary means. Why don't they just throw in Intelligene like the duelist and Charisma deflection to deflection like some creatures.

Seems there is no agreed ruling on the situation, could we duke it out a bit longer?

 

[Slaved]

It says you get the AC bonus of a 5th level monk so you get wisdom bonus +1.

But it sounds like you are expecting balance from an epic game, and pretty far into epic at that. I think that is where the problem is coming from. At epic levels many parts of the game break down.

If you like you could make an epic rule that limited the nonepic monks belt to wisdom scores of 36 or less and make an epic version that gives more but also costs a lot.