Mage Armor: Armor Bonus or Enchantment Bonus?

[Dark Jezter]

A little earlier at my session, the party's sorcerer cast mage armor on my barbarian (who has a +1 chain shirt). Now, I told him that the spell describes the spell as providing a +4 armor bonus to AC, and since chain shirt already provides a +4 armor bonus to AC, so it wouldn't provide any benefit to my barbarian. But he believed that the spell provided the same AC bonus as an armor enchantment, so it would increase my AC by 3.

So, who is right?

 

[Erebus]

You are.

 

[Taloras]

Yes. its an armor bonus. it does not stack with the armor bonus granted by armor(although it would with a shield).

 

[Hypersmurf]

Of course, it's not necessarily a wasted spell - incorporeal attacks go right through the +1 chainmail, but they can't ignore the mage armor.

Does mage armor work against Brilliant Energy weapons, BTW?

-Hyp.

 

[Azure Trance]

Oh, another armor question:

If a bonus is unnamed, is that a category all unto itself which can't be added onto (ie, unnamed +4 bonus replaces unnamed +2 bonus, or they combine for +6?)

 

[Hypersmurf]

As a general rule? They stack.

But in some cases, it's up to the DM to decide if two unnamed bonuses are "the same bonus". Sometimes it's arguable as to whether something is unnamed or not

-Hyp.

 

[Iku Rex]

(although it would with a shield).

The armor bonus from mage armor wouldn't stack with the armor bonus from a shield.



Oh, and a +1 chain shirt provides a +5 armor bonus.
(It has a +1 enhancement bonus to armor.)

 

[AuraSeer]

(although it would with a shield).

This is not correct. According to the FAQ, neither Mage Armor nor bracers of armor stack with a shield.

 

[Taloras]

Ick. ok. i guess i was thinking of how a shield stacks with other armor, and how mage armor was an armor bonus.

 

[Caliban]

Ick. ok. i guess i was thinking of how a shield stacks with other armor, and how mage armor was an armor bonus.

Don't worry, this will most likely be changing with 3.5


A shield will then provide a Shield Bonus that will stack with any other AC bonus, except for other shield bonuses.

The shield spell will also provide a Shield Bonus. It will also probably be reduced to a +4 AC bonus from all directions. (No re-orienting your shield.)