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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9250324" data-attributes="member: 58172">ABILITY BONUS TO ACWhile you are Unencumbered, you can add an Ability Bonus to your AC either from Strength mainly by agilely dodging or from Dexterity mainly by manually blocking. If you become Encumbered, you incur a disadvantage to all Athletics checks, such as to Jump, Fall, Tumble, Climb, Balance, Run, or Swim.ARMOR ENCUMBRANCEYou can wear an amount of armor whose total AC is upto 10 + your Strength without becoming Encumbered. You must have Training in the armor. A shield doesnt count toward this total. Any special AC bonus such as from a magical enhancement to an armor doesnt count toward the total for the Armor Encumbrance, but the armor itself does.Example. You have Strength +3 (Score 16), thus are wearing Chain Armor of AC 13 without Encumbrance. Additionally, you can add your Ability Bonus to your AC from either Strength or Dexterity. You have AC 16. You can move agilely while wearing Chain. If you use your offhand for a shield, your total is AC 18.Notes.Regarding the 2014 rules, the armors can no longer limit Dexterity or slow Speed. Dexterity is cautious precision and armor doesnt interfere with this. Armor can interfere with Athletics checks, including to impede a strenuous Run or Climb or Swim. Any Encumbrance, whether from armor or a heavy load can interfere with Athletics.On the one hand, a Shield costs the use of the offhand, and conceptually benefits from either agility or manual dexterity. It would be odd if the Armor Encumbrance discourages the use of a shield. On the other hand, an AC 16 or 18 being normal at level 1 is notable within the bounded accuracy game design. Tentatively, this high AC a perk for high Strength characters. Additionally, to wear a plate suit armor that grants AC 18 or AC 20 with shield is also normal at level 1, if the character has a Background from a wealthy family or working for a patron.With a Strength +5, normally at higher tiers benefiting from feat investments, a character can wear upto Half Plate while remaining unencumbered. Thus the total with shield is AC 22.A character must have Strength +1 (Score 12 or 13) to remain Unencumbered while wearing a padded or leather tunic, and Strength +2 (Score 14 or 15) to wear the socalled "studded leather". (By the way, since the studded leather is nonsense, I interpret this armor as a full cured leather suit worn over a gambeson and with guards for limbs.) Note, a character with Strength +1 and Dexterity +3, can wear the padded or leather tunic without Encumberance, thus add the full Dexerity +3 on top of it, totaling AC 14 or AC 16 with a shield.Here, the consequences of choosing to be Encumbered are mild. The character can walk around normally. The Encumberance only interferes with Athletics stunts. This Encumbrance is normal for characters wearing Heavy Armor. However, to be "Heavily Encumbered" is a different category and its impediments more severe.A Rogue character concept that Jumps around and does gymnastics and parkour, needs a high Strength anyway.Note, "while you are Uncumbered" you "can" add your Ability to your AC. But if both the Strength and Dexterity are negative bonuses, you dont have to. The AC is normally at least AC 10.The effect is intentional. Normally, Heavy Armor always causes Encumbrance. Generally, lower Strength characters are better off wearing Heavy Armor, and higher Strength characters are better off being agile while wearing a chain or scale tunic, a brigandier (scale cuirass), or even a breast plate (plate cuirass). Superhuman Strength can be found agile in half-plate (solid metal cuirass with metal limb guards but without the chain reinforcment at joints).</blockquote>

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