Max Dex bounus for Armor + Reflex Saves

[Lord Zardoz]

Here is the question:

When wearing say halfplate, your Max Dex bonus is 1. Now, it is obvious that if you have a Dex of 18, your only going to get a +1 bonus to your AC.

Now, should your reflex save bonus for high dexterity be limited by the Max dex bonus of the armor, or should the max dex bonus only affect your AC calculation, and not your saves or skill checks?

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[Ealli]

If you read the description of "Maximum Dex Bonus" it says "This number is the maximum Dexterity bonus to AC that this type of armor allows." [Emphasis mine. Page 104 of the PHB.]

On saves, there are a couple of ways of looking at the logic here. One, what the heavier armors lack in reaction time they make up for in extra protection. Two, reflex saves do not rely on mobility but on how quickly you can tell yourself to react.

On skills, the heavier armors already have an armor check penalty and most skills that are affected by this are dex mod skills. It is not neccessary to double penalize these skills.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

The max dex for armor applies only to your AC. You still apply all of your dex bonus to reflex saves, skills, initiative, etc.

BTW, the max dex for half-plate is +0, not +1.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

That is what I thought. The reason I brought it up is that the more harsh interpretation is what was implemented in Neverwinter Nights. Since I was uncertain of the specifics involved, I figured I would ask here.

Now, I am going to go ahead and make a fuss on the Bioware forums, but only after I confirm that the reduced Dex bonus is what is used for saves.

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[Dr. Zoom]

Note also that NWN gives half-plate a +1 max dex instead of the 3e core rule +0. I thought you might be asking because of NWN. I have noticed quite a few discrepancies between this CRPG and 3e core rules, too. Not that I think that is a bad thing. I really like NWN. But it is not exactly the same as D&D 3e either. Close enough, though.