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*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Do you want some better AC with that experience?
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<blockquote data-quote="Winterthorn" data-source="post: 3715788" data-attributes="member: 1702"><p>Hi, this may have been done by others before, but I wanted to share this house tweak on AC for feedback.</p><p></p><p>I have a house rule in my campaign that PC heros receive a bonus to their AC <u>equal to 1/2 their total BAB (rounded down)</u>. Thus, for example, a 10th-lvl Sorcereress would have an additional +2 (+5/2 = +2) to her AC due to experience earned, while her 6th-lvl Fighter/4th-lvl Rogue ally would have an additional +4 (+6 plus +3, all divided by 2 = +9/2 = +4). </p><p></p><p>This modest bonus is in addition to the usual sources of improving it. </p><p></p><p>A friend of mine asked why BAB gets better with XP but AC does not. We discussed this and he suggested tying a gradual improvement to AC to how BAB improves - it would be easy to remember and easy to calculate for multiclassed PCs.</p><p></p><p>I had some rules considerations to make though. I decided that unlike a dodge bonus to AC, this bonus was always "on" as long as the PC was conscious and able to move. So experienced PCs are a little less vulnerable when flat-footed than their newbie peers. I guess one could say it is sort of a 6th sense to AC derived from all that combat experience. Because it is tied to BAB, low level charcters hardly notice the benefit, but that 20th-lvl Fighter will be really happy to charge into a fight with an extra 10 to his AC! A 20th-lvl Wizard would have an extra +5 to his AC which could be useful but not essential in most circumstances. In fact this little extra to AC may help non-spellcasting characters to keep up a bit better with the spell power of casters - it could be particularly good for warrior-types dealing with all those summoned monsters coming from the enemy! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>By the way I have used this tweak for a number of months and it seems everyone in my camapign likes it. As a DM I'm fine with it as I am a tad stingy on handing out magical armour and weapons. Additionally my players are the kind to favour mobility in battle, very much like many action scenes in films, and so the AC boost permits lighter armour and hence fewer movement restrictions! If ever I feel things get wonky and too easy for player's, I have many subtle means as DM to amp up the challenge for players <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> So far so good though <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>The only thing I'm not sure about is whether I should qualify this bonus as a <em>competence bonus</em>, or an <em>insight bonus</em>, or create a new bonus type called <em>experience bonus</em> (which seems a little overdone IMO). Or simply leave the bonus unqualified. No rules quandry has occurred in game yet where I have to make such a call.</p><p></p><p>Thoughts and feedback?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Winterthorn, post: 3715788, member: 1702"] Hi, this may have been done by others before, but I wanted to share this house tweak on AC for feedback. I have a house rule in my campaign that PC heros receive a bonus to their AC [u]equal to 1/2 their total BAB (rounded down)[/u]. Thus, for example, a 10th-lvl Sorcereress would have an additional +2 (+5/2 = +2) to her AC due to experience earned, while her 6th-lvl Fighter/4th-lvl Rogue ally would have an additional +4 (+6 plus +3, all divided by 2 = +9/2 = +4). This modest bonus is in addition to the usual sources of improving it. A friend of mine asked why BAB gets better with XP but AC does not. We discussed this and he suggested tying a gradual improvement to AC to how BAB improves - it would be easy to remember and easy to calculate for multiclassed PCs. I had some rules considerations to make though. I decided that unlike a dodge bonus to AC, this bonus was always "on" as long as the PC was conscious and able to move. So experienced PCs are a little less vulnerable when flat-footed than their newbie peers. I guess one could say it is sort of a 6th sense to AC derived from all that combat experience. Because it is tied to BAB, low level charcters hardly notice the benefit, but that 20th-lvl Fighter will be really happy to charge into a fight with an extra 10 to his AC! A 20th-lvl Wizard would have an extra +5 to his AC which could be useful but not essential in most circumstances. In fact this little extra to AC may help non-spellcasting characters to keep up a bit better with the spell power of casters - it could be particularly good for warrior-types dealing with all those summoned monsters coming from the enemy! :D By the way I have used this tweak for a number of months and it seems everyone in my camapign likes it. As a DM I'm fine with it as I am a tad stingy on handing out magical armour and weapons. Additionally my players are the kind to favour mobility in battle, very much like many action scenes in films, and so the AC boost permits lighter armour and hence fewer movement restrictions! If ever I feel things get wonky and too easy for player's, I have many subtle means as DM to amp up the challenge for players ;) So far so good though :) The only thing I'm not sure about is whether I should qualify this bonus as a [i]competence bonus[/i], or an [i]insight bonus[/i], or create a new bonus type called [i]experience bonus[/i] (which seems a little overdone IMO). Or simply leave the bonus unqualified. No rules quandry has occurred in game yet where I have to make such a call. Thoughts and feedback? [/QUOTE]
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Do you want some better AC with that experience?
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