D&D 5E No Armor: Addiing Proficiency to AC

[Blue]

My concern with proficiency bonus is that it's like double dipping - your AC is going up two ways by level instead of just by one or by none (for medium/heavy armor wearers). That said, it's not a bad idea - the game does expect some non-Dex AC increases, be it purchasing plate instead of chain, having more spells to use oen for barkskin/mage armor, Wis or Con increases for monks or barbarians.

However, the big issue with no armor meaning no AC is that it really makes Dex the end-all-be-all for combat. It can be ranged attack and damage (i.e. firearms) and the best source of AC (outside proficiency which everyone gets).

Remember that AC is how hard your are to be hit - perhaps armor proficiency simply translates into a bonus to AC because you are trained in dodging instead of training in moving well wearing heavy things. You would expect the U.S. Marshal to be able to dodge a broken whiskey bottle better then the accountant.

 

[Mercule]

I thin you're talking about a setting where the weapons have so far outstripped the available armor that no one bothers to wear any. Think not just Wild West or Victorian England, but also Star Wars (barring stormtroopers, whose armor doesn't seem to do them any good anyway).

In such settings, STR is a dump stat, and that's OK. Let's face it, STR is a dump stat in real life for most people, even cops. There isn't much call for STR-based fighters when most mooks have guns (or light sabers, or legendary katanas)--professions adapt with the times. The viability of the STR fighter (inc. barbarian, etc.) in this kind of setting depends then on the prevalence of guns and the occasional need to dominate hand-to-hand combat where guns are not available, or grapple so as to take prisoners. So with STR fighting reduced to corner cases like this, most people who learn to fight will learn dex-based fighting.

The point of all the above, is that I think that players avoiding STR-based fighters is a feature of such settings, not a bug, and I don't think PCs that would normally have heavy armor proficiency should be given extra AC to make up for it. I wouldn't want to artificially push characters into a fighting style that is ineffective for the period.

In such settings, HP are really 90% luck, and I agree with prior posters that the 5E solution is that HP are essentially your character's main (ablative) source of protection, much more than AC. Most characters who want to fight will put points in Dex and Con, and those who want Str will take it because they want to be brawlers.

In short, I think your idea of adding prof. bonus to AC for all characters will work fine. Rather than removing Unarmored Defense completely, you can just allow Barbarians to use Con rather than Dex if their Con bonus is higher, and allowing Monks to use Wis rather than Dex.

Then there a few optional rules you can consider to flavor the setting:
* A feat/class/skill that gives a sneak attack bonus for attacking first in duels (e.g. Iajitsu in 3E Oriental Adventures, which also works OK for wild west).
* "Wounds": every time you drop to 0 HP, and every time you take a critical hit, you lose a HD from your reserve.

Saved me a lot of typing.

The example of the Wild West game is a perfect example of the "dex is king" setting. It's baked in and shouldn't be fought.

If you look at the AC values for the best in each category (light, medium, heavy), you get this:
Light: 17 (at 20 dex)
Medium: 17
Heavy: 18

It's already competitive and doesn't need modification.

Also, every setting has reasonable light armor. I've got a full-length duster; it's definitely armor. Even in Star Wars, they often wore heavier gear.

I'd leave it all well enough alone, but if you really think you've got a setting that demands something to level it -- and I can see the argument that a shield would look stupid in the West -- then step everything up a notch:

- Any class w/o armor proficiency, currently, gets nothing.
- Any class w/ light proficiency get a +2 base AC, but doesn't actually have armor proficiency (call it "Combat Training").
- Any class w/ medium proficiency gets the above, plus actual light armor proficiency (which is likely to be rugged, but subtle gear -- like leather).
- Any class w/ heavy proficiency gets the above, plus medium armor proficiency (which probably qualifies as obvious combat armor).
- There is no true heavy armor.

The biggest concern I have is in the advancing AC.

 

[Rod Staffwand]

Couldn't you do Armor Without The Armor?

Light AP = AC 12 + Dex
Medium AP = AC 14 + Dex (max 2)
Heavy AP = AC 18 (No Dex)

A PC can choose to calculate any option available to them or upgrade with the requisite feats. I'd just disregard disadvantage to stealth, cost and weight requirements and call it a day.

Shields are a thornier problem. The easiest solution would be to just remove them as an option. Tanks would be less tankier, but it wouldn't be a deal-breaker.

I'd also remove the finesse weapon requirement from Defensive Duelist to allow anyone with the feat to use a reaction to dodge or defend against an attack. This seems thematic for swashbuckling and modern action.

 

[Stormonu]

Although all of this has been focused primarily on modern games, what about this modification?

AC starts at 8, not 10.

Everyone has proficiency in Unarmored (if you want to be Gygaxian, Wizards don't gain this proficiency - possibly even Sorcerors or Warlocks too, however it would make AC spells must-haves).

Reduce the AC of all armors by -2 (Thus a Chain Shirt would be AC 11; Shields would provide a base +0).

If you are proficient in armors, you add your proficiency bonus to your AC (monsters already have this calculated in). You could add in a feat "Evasive" that grants you +1 Dex and doubles your proficiency bonus to AC while wearing no armor.

(Optional) Medium and Heavy Armors have ablative quantities: When you take damage, subtract 1d4 from the damage you take. If you wear Heavy Armor, subtract 1d6 from the damage you take. (Certain classes may gain abilities or feats that can increase the die size by one).

(Or Option #2) Medium Armor provides Resistance to Slashing weapons. Heavy Armor provides Resistance to Slashing and Piercing weapons.

Spells that grant AC bonuses would be unmodified