Armor Class
AC represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on a character (or object). Its mostly shown by Armor Class and Combat Technique Defense.
Armor Class or 'AC' for short is the primary variable that represents a Character's defense again most every day combat situations. It’s the number that character needs to achieve to hit a target using an Accuracy check. The average, unarmored civilian has a Defense of 10. A hero’s AC is equal to:
10 + Armor Bonus + Dexterity Modifier + Size Modifier + Natural Armor + Misc
Editing Character Sheet: 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.
| 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 |
- Armor 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).
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Editing Character Sheet: 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.
Editing Character Sheet: 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.