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Message: <blockquote data-quote="discosoc" data-source="post: 6705337" data-attributes="member: 6801554">I think there are basically two categories of classes/specs that get access to medium armor:1.  They have a thematic or mechanical need for a somewhat beefy AC without also really needing a high dex.  Clerics are good examples of both of these since they've historically often been associated with beefier armor options than wizards, yet really have no specific use for dexterity.2.  The class will ideally use heavy armor, but the expense of a good suite of it is high enough that they probably won't get it for several levels at least.  Classic case of a fighter using scale mail because it's all he can afford at first.  He has better options to look forward to or work towards, but in the mean time, he can at least count of a reliable 16 AC (with shield) to start with.My main piece of advice is to not be too liberal with handing out the heavy armor for a few levels, for the sake of making certain characters feel 'complete' or 'optimal' or whatever.  Even if they kill a person wearing full plate, it should be clear that a somewhat significant investment will need to be made to have it refitted for them (a goal to work towards) rather than just donning it and having a level 2 run around with AC 21 (something like a shield fighter).  And that means most proper CR enemies will be +3 to hit in most cases, which means the fighter is getting hit on 18+, and that he's getting crit 33% of those hits.  If the enemies are humanoid, they probably would be smart enough to just ignore that guy and focus on the less armored targets, which the player would probably complain about since he wants to be the tank.  If the enemies are not so smart, they may wail on him rarely doing anything, while the rest of the party mops up.  That's technically what the players probably want, but it gets really boring really fast because no one is having to use their special abilities since they can just slowly wear them down while the tank does his thing.And *that* can lead to some bigger problems where you begin to think your players are just better than average, or min-maxed, or otherwise capable of dealing with higher CR creatures.  So you start to throw tougher fights at them only very quickly find that the damage scaling is pretty aggressive, and you can one-shot characters quite easily if you aren't careful.  One aoe effect, or maybe you misjudge something like a Hobgoblins Martial Advantage ability (+2d6 damage on a successful hit once per turn) turned against the healer because Hobgoblins are tactical.Lastly, one thing you're going to notice is that despite your best efforts, different classes are going to hit periods where they seem to vastly outshine the other characters, and you'll probably never find a real even or balanced scenario.  My groups example came in the form of the Paladin wanting to be a tank, but the Moon Druid could shift into a better tank starting at level 2, and really didn't stop outshining the Paladin until close to 8.  The Paladin, meanwhile, can tank well enough, but has been pigeonholed into the role of bursty damage through smites despite preferring to tank.  And no matter how good he may be, *very* few enemies are going to focus on the guy wearing full plate and a shield when there is huge snake or polar bear right next to him.</blockquote>

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