Rules
Tattoos
Fighting Styles
Special Maneuvers
Proficiencies
Skills
New Feats
Optional Rules
Articles
Defense Bonus
DM Notes:
Ok, admit at one time you've imagined playing a swordsman who wears no armor yet is unmatched in battle. Or played a mage and wished that you were wearing full plate when that ogre had attacked you from behind.
Being a huge Star Wars fan I was quick to purchase the d20 core rules when they were released last year. The first thing I noticed about the classes, was that they had added a defense bonus to the classes. I was very skeptical of this idea, especially in a fantasy setting. However, time has given me a new perspective on this concept and so I am making an attempt to integrate the defense bonus into the D&D setting.
I should make a note at this point, that these rules have not been thoroughly play tested. I'm making a few gut decisions that I think will keep a balance to the system.
Defense Bonus
Each character class and prestige class grants an inherent bonus to defense. This is an armor bonus and does not stack with normal armor except in the case of higher level fighters and paladins (see Armor Compatibilitybelow). Wearing armor replaces the defense bonus of the class. So why wear armor you ask? Certainly a more experienced character is very difficult to hit and in many cases armor offfers lower protection than the characters base defense bonus. Armor has an advantage in that, like many items in a fantasy setting, it can be enchanted with magical properies that can offset and and surpass the simple defense granted by class.
Armor Compatibility:
Fighters of 5th level and Paladins of 10th level or higher recieve the special ability armor compatibility. This ability allows them to stack their defense bonuses from class levels with any armor they might be wearing. Note, in the case of a multi-classed character, only the defense bonus from fighter or paladin levels stacks. In the case of a mulit-classed fighter/ paladin, the character must be of Ftr 5/ Pal 10 in order to add the defense from both his classes.
Multi-Classing:
Defense bonus for multi-class characters is calculated by adding the defense for all classes then subtracting 2 for each core class beyond the first. For example, Bartuk is a Ftr 5/ Rog 2, his defense bonus is 4(Ftr) + 5(Rog) - 2(# of classes-1 * 2) = 7. Defense bonuses from prestige classes are added to the defense bonus of the core classes.
Base Defense
The Base Defense Bonus for each class can be calculated by taking the base Reflex save + 2. These values are summarized by class in the table below. The base defense bonus for prestige classes is equal to the base Reflex save.
| Level | Fighter, Wizard, Sorceror, Druid, Paladin, Barbarian, Cleric, Ranger | Rogue, Bard, Monk |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | 5 | 8 |
| 10 | 5 | 9 |
| 11 | 5 | 9 |
| 12 | 6 | 10 |
| 13 | 6 | 10 |
| 14 | 6 | 11 |
| 15 | 7 | 11 |
| 16 | 7 | 12 |
| 17 | 7 | 12 |
| 18 | 8 | 13 |
| 19 | 8 | 13 |
| 20 | 8 | 14 |
l News l Links l About the Raven l Sitemap l
Original content ©1999–2001 Brian D Swedorski. New content ©2025–2026 Jeff. User-submitted material remains the property of its respective authors.