TerraDave said:
John S,
You have a "margin of error" on every defense. The +10 isn't random, its based on how AC currently works (and is the replacement for rolling a d20 for saves). The +3 was a constant that just poped right out, across every defense. A constant is very different then +1 here, +2 there, ect. And AC tied to strength is valid speculation. Its a proxy for encumbrance of armor, and the build (and hide) of the creature.
I mean, of course we don't know, but its not like you just don't know less then we do.
You sure?
Yes, there's a certain "margin of error" in my numbers. But I couldn't get the Pit Fiend even
close without finding around another +10. Given the Paladin's "divine grace," a Charisma bonus to defenses made sense to me as something a devil
might get. And, as I said, the Paladin's "divine grace" provides a precedent.
My "+1 here, +2 there" and "+3 someplace else." is similarly based on a precedent. That precedent, in this case, is the
Star Wars Saga Edition. In SAGA, characters get "kickers" to their defenses of between +0 and +2 (for base classes), or ones as high as +3 (for Prestige Classes). Those vary from class to class, with each class having specialties. No class gets +2 to all three. IIRC, Jedi get a +1 to every defense. If I had my SAGA book handy, I'd give you a better example. I'll get back to you on that. Suffice to say that a 10th-level SAGA character might have defense values of FORT 23, REF 21, WILL 22 (without factoring in stat bonuses or equipment). One difference should be noted: SAGA increases defenses by +1/level, not +1/2 levels as Fourth Edition does.
By contrast, deriving an AC bonus from Str, while it can be
justified, is a totally new concept that lacks precedent. Because of that, I find it less than convincing.