No AC, Just Save and Use Protection (3.5e Variant Rule)
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No AC, Just Save and Use Protection[edit]
This variant is a creation based on a personal dislike for seperation between armor class and saving throws as well as how armor actually works.
No Armor Class, Just Saving Throws[edit]
This is the simplest part of this variant, no creature or object has an armor class anymore. Instead, attack rolls are opposed by a Reflex save and you add any deflection, dodge, and size bonuses to your Reflex save. Shields provide a deflection bonus, not a shield bonus. Anything that granted a bonus or penalty to AC, now grants said bonus or penalty to your Reflex save or to your Protection score (see below).
Static Defense, Variable Offense[edit]
To simplify combat and reduce die rolls, saves are equal to 10 + base save bonus + ability modifier Fortitude: Constitution, inverse size modifier for AC Reflex: Dexterity, size modifier for AC, deflection, dodge Will: Wisdom
Save DCs are now bonuses to a d20 roll, simply subtract 10 and add that number to your d20 roll.
RNG for attack rolls[edit]
Base attack scales much faster than base saves do and thus there are two solutions, increase save progression or decrease base attack progression.
1) Increase saves: add 1/2 HD to all saving throws, any save DC now which used 1/2 of a value as a base now uses the full value (for example: poison has a DC of 10+1/2 HD + Con would now be d20 + HD + con).
OR
2) Decrease Attack: add 1/2 BAB to attack rolls instead of BAB. Add +2 if any levels include a good progression, +1 if any include a medium progression.
Protection[edit]
Protection reduces the damage you take on a round per round basis. Protection functions as a pool of temporary hit points that refresh at the start of your turn. Unlike most forms of temporary hp, Protection points are lost before any damage may be applied to your actual hp and are not technically temporary hp and so you may have another source of temporary hp (such as false life) even if it says it would not stack.
Protection is equal to your (armor bonus x (base attack bonus/5)) + natural armor
Natural armor[edit]
Natural armor values must be adjusted, reduce natural armor for large and larger creatures by 1 point + 1 per size larger than medium (2 for large, 3 for huge, 4 for gargantuan, 5 for colossal, and 6 for titanic).
Fighting Defensively[edit]
The bonuses from fighting defensively, taking a total defense action or using the combat expertise feats apply to both reflex saves and protection. The bonus to protection is applied to the armor bonus.
Other Considerations[edit]
The +2 bump for having a good save is only ever gained once.
Use the fractional base attack bonus and saves variant from Unearthed Arcana. The basis of this is each level of a class grants a fractional bonus to base attack (good=1/1, medium=3/4, poor=1/2) and saves(good=1/2, poor=1/3).
Spell "DC"s are d20 + 1/2 caster level + casting modifier + Misc.
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