How does my dwarf fighter have the lowest ac of my party?

[Tyrich]

I have scale, and every 2nd round I have a shield (25 ac with shield)... the rogue and cleric have over 27... They wear light armor or whatever so the rogue adds his dex mod (which is extremely high) to his ac... and the cleric adds his int (very high) to his ac... Did they read the rules wrong or something? It says if you're wearing light or no armor you add the highest of your dex/wis mod to your ac. I really don't understand how a lowly rogue can have more ac than a shielded fighter...wtf?! help plz!

 

[the8bitdeity]

Firstly It's DEX or INT mod for AC.

Secondly what level are the PCs?

For instance I'm a 2nd Level Warforged Fighter with Shield. My AC is 20
10 + 1 (half level adjust) + 7 (scale) + 2 (shield)

Rogues frequently have AC bonuses with respect to OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS, make sure that bonus isn't being statically added.

 

[the8bitdeity]

... (Double Post)

 

[Tyrich]

Firstly It's DEX or INT mod for AC.

Secondly what level are the PCs?

For instance I'm a 2nd Level Warforged Fighter with Shield. My AC is 20
10 + 1 (half level adjust) + 7 (scale) + 2 (shield)

Rogues frequently have AC bonuses with respect to OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS, make sure that bonus isn't being statically added.

in the PHB it says "If you're wearing light armor or no armor, also add your dex or int mod, whichever is higher. They get to add to their ac almost every level, while mine just gets the bonus from half level. This doesn't seem to make sense. How does a dual wielding rogue with light armor have a higher AC than a shield wielding dwarf with scale armor?

 

[darkadelphia]

If you're playing in a high level game, remember to add your masterwork armor bonus (PHG 214) armor levels 16 and higher has a higher base adjust--further, this is better for heavy armor than it is for light which makes up for wizards, rogues and rangers getting to add their stats to AC.

 

[the8bitdeity]

in the PHB it says "If you're wearing light armor or no armor, also add your dex or int mod, whichever is higher. They get to add to their ac almost every level, while mine just gets the bonus from half level. This doesn't seem to make sense. How does a dual wielding rogue with light armor have a higher AC than a shield wielding dwarf with scale armor?

It's difficult to comment without context.

One thing I have seen people mistake is double counting their half-level mod.

For instance, let's assume a level 2 Rogue with a 20 DEX wearing non-magical leather.

It's AC would be 10 + 1 (1/2 Level) + 2 (Leather) + 5 (DEX) = 18 (Two less than my 2nd Level Fighter wearing Scale).

I know with some of my newer fellow players they were adding their DEX MOD + 1/2 LEVEL which is NOT the case AFAIK since your half - level mod is already accounted for in AC

 

[Rafe]

I'm confused as to why there's an issue. AC is calculated very easily.

Chainmail is not Light armour and thus the Cleric can't add Dex or Int (whichever is higher). So the Cleric should only have 10 + 1/2 level + 6 (chainmail). That's it. The Rogue would have 10 + 1/2 level + 2 (leather) + Dex or Int. That's it. That's obviously less any magical enhancement bonuses.

So it seems like the Cleric has messed up his AC. Dunno about the Rogue (or yourself) since you haven't stated what level you guys are.

... why are you using your shield every other round?

 

[James McMurray]

If you're all level 8 (Scale 9 + Shield 2 + Level 4 + 10 = 25) then they would need a +7 stat mod to have your AC (Leather 4 + Level 4 + 10). Since you can only have a 22 by 8th level, they must have at least spent an extra feat getting better than leather armor.

Look at how many feats they've spent on AC. You haven't spent any. The wizard has spent at least one for leather armor, possibly more. Unless they've got better gear than you, the rogue has also probably spent a feat to get better than leather.

If you spend a feat on Plate, will you be back on par with them?

ACs typically bounce back and forth between who has the best. If it's any consolation, you can almost certainly take a beating better than they can, meaning you've both got comparable overall defenses.

 

[Victim]

The rogue is possibly getting a +1 shield bonus from TWF and TWD.

 

[Oldtimer]

They get to add to their ac almost every level, while mine just gets the bonus from half level.

There is something seriously wrong with that statement. Everyone just gets the bonus from half level. Why are they adding to their AC every level? That´s just wrong.