DEX, Ref Defence, AC and Armour

[mach1.9pants]

I have reading the crunchy info that has been garnered from DDXP. First of all, thanks to all you (lucky) guys who are getting this info to the far end of the world!
I have also been (attempting) to reverse engineer the crunch to get as much info about the rules as possible- i shall be doing the 'fight of 200 Kobolds' like many other ENers! One thing that has struck me is the relationship that is in the title.
We know that:
1. Ref Defence= 10 + (INTorDEX mod) + 1/2 per level + Shield + others (e.g. class)
2. AC (Defence?) = Ref Defence + Armour + others (I am sure- not seen any at DDXP)

However, I think there must still be some sort of max DEX/INT bonus to AC for certain heavier armours. It is the only thing that seems to explain the +6 armour bonus for both plate and scale in the DDXP characters. IIRC it was mentioned before that Fighters get the full value of their DEX(or INT) in armour- although it may have been in R&C and suerceeded.
Has anyone got anything official, or good guesses on how this relationship works?

 

[DreamChaser]

Here's what I have so far:

Halfling Paladin AC 10 + 1 (Dex) + 1 (Size) + 2 (Heavy Shield) + 7 (Plate) = 21

this leads me to believe that Plate has a max Dex of +0

The reason I think that plate is +7 (and no +6) is by way of the idea of streamlining that is happening in other places so there would be little need (especially at this early stage) for multiple armors with the same +. Hide works out to +3 on the ranger, Chain to +5 on the cleric, Scale to +6 on the fighter, so +7 for plate. I know that this is major guess work.

I have also noted an unaccounted for +3 for both wizard and warlock that I'm not sure on.

Wizard = 10 + 2 (Dex) + 3 (?) = 15
Warlock = 10 + 2 (Leather) + 0 (Dex) + 3 (?) = 15

I think that they may have a "mage armor" class feature that falls into the "Some...class features are already added into the character's statistics..."

DC

 

[Jack99]

Shield does not give a bonus to AC. It was stated in the magic item article

His armor class comes from +8 (plate) +1 (dex) and +1 (size)....

at least that is my guess.

Actually, that was a piss poor guess, considering the other characters....

 

[Mouseferatu]

Shield does not give a bonus to AC. It was stated in the magic item article

I believe what was stated in the magic item article is that shields don't give magic bonuses to AC...

 

[Jack99]

I believe what was stated in the magic item article is that shields don't give magic bonuses to AC...

Oh

Thanks

 

[Jack99]

Okay, i think:

leather armor = +3 AC
hide armor= +4 AC (max +3 dex/int modifier)
chain armor = +5 AC
scale armor = +6 AC
plate armor to be +7 (no dex/int modifier - probably fixable with a feat or at higher level)

 

[Peter LaCara]

Here's my theory on why the plate armor only granted +6 AC: It's on a halfling. We also saw that the Kobold Skirmisher, another small creature, gained a lesser bonus from hide armor than the ranger.

So. I'm guessing small size provides a blanket bonus to defenses, but reduces the effectiveness of your armor. That'd be... kinda weird, but I can see the logic for it.

 

[Szatany]

Okay, i think:

leather armor = +3 AC
hide armor= +4 AC (max +3 dex/int modifier)
chain armor = +5 AC
scale armor = +6 AC
plate armor to be +7 (no dex/int modifier - probably fixable with a feat or at higher level)

What if max dex from armor applies to Dex but not Int? Would make Int more useful for some characters (as it seems pretty dump right now).

 

[The Little Raven]

(as it seems pretty dump right now).

It's about time that Charisma wasn't alone being the dumpstat for 99% of characters.

 

[Stalker0]

Its interesting to note that some powers provide a penalty to AC, but don't mention a penalty to reflex defense.

It is quite possible that with certain modifiers on you reflex defense is actually higher than your AC!!