Armor Class

Name	Armor Class
Type	Combat
Term spelling variations	AC, Armor Bonus, Armor Bonuses, Deflection Bonus, Dodge Bonus, Dodge Bonuses, Enhancement Bonus, Enhancement Bonuses, Natural, Natural Armor, Shield Bonus, Shield Bonuses
Version	SRD
Sources	System Reference Document on page 0

Your Armor Class (AC) represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on you. It's the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit you. Your AC is equal to the following: 10 + armor bonus + shield bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier Note that armor limits your Dexterity bonus, so if you're wearing armor, you might not be able to apply your whole Dexterity bonus to your AC. Sometimes you can't use your Dexterity bonus (if you have one). If you can't react to a blow, you can't use your Dexterity bonus to AC. (If you don't have a Dexterity bonus, nothing happens.) Other Modifiers Many other factors modify your AC. Enhancement Bonuses Enhancement effects make your armor better. Deflection Bonus Magical deflection effects ward off attacks and improve your AC. Natural Armor Natural armor improves your AC. Dodge Bonuses Some other AC bonuses represent actively avoiding blows. These bonuses are called dodge bonuses. Any situation that denies you your Dexterity bonus also denies you dodge bonuses. (Wearing armor, however, does not limit these bonuses the way it limits a Dexterity bonus to AC.) Unlike most sorts of bonuses, dodge bonuses stack with each other.

Source Copyright: System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

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