Whats a reasonable AC at 10th level?

[amethal]

Are there any guidelines for where your AC should be at at particular levels?

My ECL 10 Tiefling 9th level binder has an AC of 30. It doesn't seem particularly high to me, but opponents are struggling to hit me. I think the DM needs to improve his monsters.

Opinions?

My AC consists of 10 +5 armour (+1 mithril shirt) +3 shield (+1 darkwood heavy shield) +1 natural (amulet of natural armour) +3 deflection (ring of protection +3) +2 insight (binder class feature) +6 Dex (starting Dex 14 [32 point buy], +2 racial, +2 enhancement [gloves of Dex], +4 unnamed bonus from vestige [Paimon]) = 30

 

[mikebr99]

Are there any guidelines for where your AC should be at at particular levels?

My ECL 10 Tiefling 9th level binder has an AC of 30. It doesn't seem particularly high to me, but opponents are struggling to hit me. I think the DM needs to improve his monsters.

Opinions?

My AC consists of 10 +5 armour (+1 mithril shirt) +3 shield (+1 darkwood heavy shield) +1 natural (amulet of natural armour) +3 deflection (ring of protection +3) +2 insight (binder class feature) +6 Dex (starting Dex 14 [32 point buy], +2 racial, +2 enhancement [gloves of Dex], +4 unnamed bonus from vestige [Paimon]) = 30

Well... if your AC is better then your corresponding CR Red Dragon... then you are doing all right!

what is this (+4 unnamed bonus from vestige [Paimon]) from?

Mike

 

[Rhun]

30 is fairly high for 10th level, but not ridiculously so. I'm not sure what you've been fighting, but there are plenty of things that should still be hitting him.

My group of 12th level PCs have ACs ranging from a low of about 24 up through a high of 38 or so. The only thing I've seen that could be used as an AC guideline is the charts of NPCs in the DMG. And I think that would be a lower limit of what the PC's AC should be, since the NPCs won't be equipped as well as your PCs.

 

[amethal]

what is this (+4 unnamed bonus from vestige [Paimon]) from?

The binder's main class ability is the ability to bind vestiges. Each vestige gives you different powers, and you can change them daily.

Once I reached 8th level, I was able to bind to two vestiges at once. Since then, one of them has always been a vestige called Paimon, and I rotate the other one (to keep things interesting).

One of Paimon's abilities is he grants me +4 to my dexterity score so long as I am bound to him. Ability score boosts are very unusual for vestiges; I think there's one that improves strength (I'm too low level to bind to that one at the moment) and that's about it.

(Binders are in Tome of Magic.)

 

[3d6]

I think the normal guideline is that you should aim for an AC of 20 + your level, so you're right on target.

 

[Kafkonia]

I had a higher AC at a lower level (8 I think?) and I'm not a terribly good munchkin/optimizer, so I don't think that yours out of line.

Unfortunately, being three several months and a couple of PCs ago (that group is on hiatus while we do the SCAP) I can't give you a precise breakdown. But it involved magical full plate, a heavy shield, and awakening his demonic heritage (aka FCI feats.) I think a couple of his clerical spells might have helped out too.

 

[nute]

My AC consists of 10 +5 armour (+1 mithril shirt) +3 shield (+1 darkwood heavy shield) +1 natural (amulet of natural armour) +3 deflection (ring of protection +3) +2 insight (binder class feature) +6 Dex (starting Dex 14 [32 point buy], +2 racial, +2 enhancement [gloves of Dex], +4 unnamed bonus from vestige [Paimon]) = 30

It looks like you've put a significant amount of effort into making this character difficult to hit. How does he measure up to the other party members in benefitting the team? Is he a melee/ranged combatant? If so, is his combat ability relatively close to his peers'? Is he supposed to be the skill monkey?

What role *does* a binder fill, anyway?

 

[Draxo]

Depends on your DM.

I consider 30 a pretty huge AC. Most campaigns you play in from a lower level tend not to have AC's that high unless the DM put in 'magic mart, your one stop for everything you could ever possibly want'. Or unless you have a crafter mage, a lot of downtime and spare XP. I tend to consider about 24-26 to be a fairly general AC for that level. 30 is the kind of AC i think of a 14th level having.

 

[blargney the second]

Wow.. my crusader is the hard-to-hit tank of our 10th level group and he's at AC 24.
-blarg

 

[amethal]

It looks like you've put a significant amount of effort into making this character difficult to hit. How does he measure up to the other party members in benefitting the team? Is he a melee/ranged combatant? If so, is his combat ability relatively close to his peers'? Is he supposed to be the skill monkey?

I often have the best AC (when the barbarian bothers to use his shield his is higher). My hit points are good, and I'm +13 to hit with my keen rapier. My saving throws are easily the best in the party. However, I do 1d6+3 on a hit, and even with a crit this is often pretty useless since the DM likes putting in creatures with DR 10/cold iron and similar.

My role in the party is as the meat shield. I move to flank to allow the rogue to sneak attack, or give the barbarian a +2 to hit (allowing him to increase the points he puts into power attack).

My secondary role is as "last man standing". With good saving throws, immunity to fear and slippery mind as class features and (as of last session) a ring of evasion I hope to survive a magical attack which cripples the party, and (hopefully) rescue everybody. However, the DM has so far shown no sign of throwing something like that at us

What role *does* a binder fill, anyway?

Whatever role he wants

Somedays I summon a warhorse and make lance charges. Other days I cast cure minor wounds at will. Sometimes I turn undead as a cleric of my level, and other days I am an expert at detecting magic and can cast dispel magic every 5 rounds. I never get trapfinding though - damn sacred cow rogues ......

At the moment I can see invisibility at will, since finding out yesterday (the hard way) that our party's mystic theurge is apparently incapable of countering invisible opponents.

Of course, the druid came up with a reasonable ad hoc solution. Listen checks, followed by sending in the animal companion to sniff out the enemy, followed by an exploratory flamestrike. If you hear screams, you've narrowed it down to 4 squares ....