Armor Class
Armor Class
Defense represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on a character (or object). It is repersented on the Character Sheet by Armor Class or 'AC' for short. It’s the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit a target. The average, unarmored civilian has a Defense of 10. A hero’s AC is equal to:
10 +Equipment Bonus + Shield Bonus + Dexterity Modifier + Size Modifier + Natural Armor + Misc
Armor Class or rather 'AC' is located just below the section for the 6 Abilities which is to the top left of the Character sheet. It is followed by several boxes to the right of it. The number in the AC box is the total of the values of the proceeded boxes.
- Equipment Bonus
If the character wears armor, it provides a bonus to the character’s Defense. This bonus represents the armor’s ability to protect the character from blows. Armor provides a minimum bonus to anyone who wears it, but a character who is proficient in the use of a certain type of armor receives a larger bonus to Defense. Sometimes the character can’t use the equipment’s bonus to Defense. If an attack will damage the character just by touching him or her, the character can’t add an equipment bonus (see Touch Attacks).
- Shield Bonus
If the Character has any shield equipment this can provide an additional bonus to the wearers AC.
- Dexterity Modifier
If the character’s Dexterity is high, the character is particularly adept at dodging blows or gunfire. If the character’s Dexterity is low, the character is particularly inept at it. Sometimes the character can’t use his or her Dexterity bonus. If the character can’t react to a blow, he or she can’t use his or her Dexterity bonus to AC, this is called being 'Flat Footed'.
- Size Modifier
The bigger an opponent is, the easier it is to hit in combat. The smaller it is, the harder it is to hit. Size modifiers are shown on the Table below.
| Size | Size Modifiers |
|---|---|
| Size | Size Modifier |
| Colossal | –8 |
| Gargantuan | –4 |
| Huge | –2 |
| Large | –1 |
| Medium-size | +0 |
| Small | +1 |
| Tiny | +2 |
| Diminutive | +4 |
| Fine | +8 |
- Natural Armor
Most of the time this only applies to creatures or animal companions who have naturally thick skin and large furs that may had protection.
- Misc
Any other bonus mentioned by items or other rules that do not pertain to one of the above.
Other Modifiers
Other factors can add to a Character's defense are noted below.
- Feats
- Some feats give a bonus to Defense.
- Natural Armor
- Some creatures have natural armor, which usually consists of scales, fur, or layers of thick muscle.
- Dodge Bonuses
- Some other Defense bonuses represent actively avoiding blows. These bonuses are called dodge bonuses. Any situation that denies the character his or her Dexterity bonus also denies the character dodge bonuses. Unlike most sorts of bonuses, dodge bonuses stack with each other.
- Magical Effects
- Some campaigns may include magic. Some magical effects offer enhancement bonuses to armor (making it more effective) or deflection bonuses that ward off attacks.
Touch Attacks
Some attacks disregard armor. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either a ranged touch attack roll or a melee touch attack roll). The attacker makes his or her attack roll as normal, but the character’s Defense does not include any equipment bonus or armor bonus. All other modifiers, such as class bonus, Dexterity modifier, and size modifier, apply normally.
A place to record a Character's Touch AC is located on the Character Sheet just below the location for recording AC.
Flat Footed
Some times Character's are caught unaware of an attack or in some other way unable to react. This causes them to be considered 'Flat Footed'. When this happens remove the Dexterity bonus from the total AC.
A place to record a Character's Flat Footed AC is located on the Character Sheet just below the location for recording AC and to the right of the Touch AC box.
Combat Technique Offense and Defense
Combat Techniques are described in more detail on the Techniques page. Here is a short summary. Combat Techniques are special moves Characters can preform that do not necessary do damage but instead attempt to place a condition or similar effect on a target. Such as Trip which doesn't do damage but causes a target to fall to the ground and become Flat Footed. A Character has an Offense score that acts like the Accuracy bonus on an Accuracy check. The opposing number isn't the targets AC but there Combat Technique Defense. The scores are the following:
Combat Technique Offense: Affinity Bonus + Strength Mod + Size Mod Combat Technique Defense: 10 + Affinity Bonus + Strength Mod + Dexterity Mod + Size Mod.
CTO and CTD are found just below the Touch and Flat Footed sections on the Character sheet. CTD is below CTO.