Improving Your Touch AC

[TarionzCousin]

Touch Attacks

Some attacks disregard armor, including shields and natural armor. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either ranged or melee). When you are the target of a touch attack, your AC doesn’t include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. All other modifiers, such as your size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) apply normally.

What helps a character raise his Touch AC?

1. A high dexterity;
2. The Dodge feat;
3. Size Small or Tiny;
4. Deflection Bonuses (such as what?);
5. Take at least 2 levels of Wilder, a psionic class which gives you an additional bonus to your touch AC equal to your Charisma bonus (as long as it's not higher than your normal AC).

What else?

What are some useful deflection bonuses that a character can acquire?

 

[Beckett]

Shield Ward (feat from PHB2) lets you add your shield bonus to your touch AC (as well as grapple checks and a few other things).

 

[Moon-Lancer]

combat expert. Pritty good when fighting mages. just turn that baby on to full and you have a pritty good chance of avoid touch attacks.

 

[hong]

Take a monk level; Wis bonus to AC.

 

[Votan]

4. Deflection Bonuses (such as what?);

Ring of Protection (DMG magic item).
Shield of Faith (1st level Cleric Spell).

Shield of Faith
Abjuration
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

This spell creates a shimmering, magical field around the touched creature that averts attacks. The spell grants the subject a +2 deflection bonus to AC, with an additional +1 to the bonus for every six levels you have (maximum +5 deflection bonus at 18th level).

Not a bad 1st level spell . . .

 

[FireLance]

I think there's a psionic feat in Races of Stone that allows your armor bonus to add to your touch AC.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Shield of Faith (1st level Cleric Spell).

Not a bad 1st level spell . . .

I should have known that Clerics would have something in this category.

This info is great so far. The real question: will there be enough new information to get to ten replies? Fifteen?

Thanks, y'all.

 

[Caliban]

What helps a character raise his Touch AC?

1. A high dexterity;

Gloves of Dexterity (+2 to +6) enhancement bonus, Wish/Tome (+1 to +5) Inherent bonus

Racial modifiers and/or level bumps (unnamed bonus)

Template adjustments (good luck getting a template that doesn't take your character out of play.)

2. The Dodge feat;

Also: Mobility (+4 dodge when provoking an AoO), Combat Expertise (+1 to +5 dodge when taking the attack action.), Improved Combat Expertise (up to Bab in dodge bonus), various other feats in certain situations.

3. Size Small or Tiny;

Reduce Person is a 1st level spell, gives you a +2 dex bonus and reduces your size by 1 category.)

4. Deflection Bonuses (such as what?);

Ring of Protection (+1 to +5), Shield of Faith (+2 to +5 depending on level), various other clerical spells give a modest deflection bonus that won't stack (protection from evil, shield other, etc.)

5. Take at least 2 levels of Wilder, a psionic class which gives you an additional bonus to your touch AC equal to your Charisma bonus (as long as it's not higher than your normal AC).

What else?

6. Insight bonus

Dusty Rose Ioun Stone (+1 Insight), various psionic powers (defensive precognition etc.)

7. Class bonus

Various classes give an unnamed or dodge bonus to AC as you gain levels in them. Dwarven Defender is a good one, as is Dervish, but there are many others.

8. Abilities that allow you to apply other stats to your AC bonus.

Generally class abilities, like Monk (wisdom), and there are classes that allow other abilities to apply (can't remember them right now).

9. Other named bonuses to AC.

Primarily from 3rd party products, there are a few things that give a unusual type of named bonus to AC, and generally it will apply to touch AC. For example, I have a character that has a helmet that gives a +2 Sacred bonus to AC.

You can't really count on these types of AC bonuses unless you have a lenient DM.

 

[blargney the second]

Concealment, cover, and miss chances all help lots. Being in melee imposes -4 to their attack unless they have Precise Shot.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

The psionic feats is Invest armor, which requires Heavy Armor Optimization, whcih requires 4 BAB. And only works in heavy armor. The scary thing is with Shield ward and that feat, you can end up with a touch AC equal to your normal Ac as magical bonuses count also.

Nice against touch spells and even nicer against attacks that start with touch attacks.