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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5874658" data-attributes="member: 92305">Interesting. I think I'm more partial to the Conan RPG still, though.  Many hail the Conan RPG as one of the best versions of the d20 system ever to see print. There are three basic AC's in Conan.  A character's Parry AC.  A character's Dodge AC.  And, the character's Flatfooted AC. Parry AC is modified by STR. Dodge AC is modified by DEX. So that, right there, allows for weak, quick foes (thieves) or traditional fighter types. Both ACs are improved by level, too (like a BAB).  Thus, the barbarian class will start off strong with a Parry, but the class allows for much bigger bonuses to Dodge at higher levels.  With a Soldier, it's the opposite.  So, the type of class dictates which defense type grows the fastest.     Usually, a player will select the defense with the highest AC, of course, but some attacks restrict defense choice.  For example, a person can only Dodge ranged weapons and Touch attacks.   And, there are special combat maneuvers that require the player to chose one defense over the other.  The Dance Aside maneuver, which allows the character to immediately move 5' during the combat (which can be combined with the character's 5' step on the character's turn in order to move a total of 10' that turn) without drawing an Attack of Opportunity.  This happens if the attack throw is equal to less than half the character's Dodge AC. A shield typically increases the character's Parry AC unless the character is defending against ranged attacks, in which case the shield bonus is applied to the character's Dodge AC.    As an example, Caelis, from my game, a 3rd level Barbarian, is AC 19 on his Parry.  He got that by... +1 Base Parry Mod (barbarian 3rd level Parry bonus)+4 STR mod+4 from large shield. And, Caelis is AC 13 for Dodge.... +2 Base Dodge Mod (barbarian 3rd level Dodge bonus)+1 DEX mod   Let's say Caelis is wearing a chainmail shirt.  This armor provides DR 5.  On a seccessful hit, the attacker's total pen is 8.   Stronger characters who prefer to bash through armor will pick heavier weapons.  DEX based fighters don't get to modifiy the pen with their STR, but they do have finess opened to them. This helps with weapon selection.</blockquote>

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