D&D 5E If you had natural armor, would you wear manufactured armor?

[Corinnguard]

I do wish there was some nod to combining natural armor and manufactured armor - something as simple as "use the AC of the best and add 1 to the total." A more complex wording might be "use the best AC of the two. If the other is light armor/hide, add +1, or +2 if the other is medium or +3 if the other is heavy." So, a lizardfolk wearing scale mail would be around 16 (scale grants AC 14, lizard natural armor is AC 13 - about the equivalent of medium armor so +2).

In 3e and PF1, it was possible to stack your natural armor bonus with your manufactured armor bonus. Any idea on why stacking your natural armor with manufactured armor was dropped before 5e showed up?

 

[Dausuul]

In 3e and PF1, it was possible to stack your natural armor bonus with your manufactured armor bonus. Any idea on why stacking your natural armor with manufactured armor was dropped before 5e showed up?

5E made a big effort to strip out as many stackable bonuses as possible, especially from attacks, AC, and save bonuses/DCs. This both streamlined the rules and kept attack and defense values within a controlled range (more or less), which in turn made each monster usable over a wider span of PC levels.

 

[MGibster]

After all, the human body has plenty of armor built in. Your skull is a helmet; your ribcage is a breastplate; your subcutaneous fat is an all-over gambeson. Doesn't stop us from manufacturing additional armor and layering it on top.

I can't help but think when faced with any scenario where I might be stabbed, slashed, or bludgeoned to death I am unlikely to breath a sigh of relief knowing my body has plenty of armor built into it. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure various societies developed shields and armor because they found skulls, ribs, and subcutaneous fat to be inadequate protection during armed conflicts.

more armour is good become the living tank we always were meant to be

I mean, I can't argue with this logic. Practically speaking, as long as I can afford the armor and it doesn't limit mobility too much this just seems like a win.

 

[Immoralkickass]

MCU Thor is impervious to most damage but he still wears armour. So yeah, i would.