Discover the mechanics of Unarmored Defense in D&D with our guide.
Each Dungeons & Dragons character class represents a different fantasy archetype. There are lethal Fighters, armoured Paladins, powerful Wizards, and crafty Rogues. Of all these exciting classes, two stand out for a particular reason—the Barbarian and the Monk. These two classes can opt to use a feature called Unarmoured Defense at level one.
The Unarmoured Defense mechanic simulates a character so adept at fighting without armour that it becomes an advantage. Unarmoured Defense gives a character a base armour class (AC) of ten plus your Dexterity modifier, plus your Consitution modifier (for Barbarian) or Wisdom modifier (for Monk).
Unarmoured Defense For Barbarians
Barbarians start with proficiency in light and medium armour, making half-plate the most effective armour a Barbarian can wear early on. However, they also have a class feature called Unarmoured Defense.
Fantasy barbarians (and their Roman Empire-era inspiration) often wore less armour than their enemies. Unarmoured Defense represents a Barbarian's natural ability to avoid damage while not weighed down by armour.
Barbarians start the game with the least amount of gold of any class, making Unarmoured Defense useful in saving some coin early. There's no need to spend gold on armour!
Unarmoured Defense confers the following benefits for Barbarians:
- When not wearing armour, your armour class (AC) equals ten + your Constitution modifier + your Dexterity modifier.
- You can still use a shield while benefiting from Unarmoured Defense
Some players would argue that Unarmoured Defence bonuses are insufficient and that Barbarians are better off wearing armour. Certainly, early on, you may get a higher AC from wearing armour.
However, Barbarians don't depend on AC as much as they do their large pool of hitpoints (especially at higher levels). Unarmoured Defense can be thematic, fun, and effective, especially as you level up.
A Barbarian's core ability scores are usually Strength and Constitution . Part of Unarmoured Defense's bonus comes from Dexterity, which is not usually a key ability score for Barbarians. However, many Barbarian abilities like Rage and Reckless Attack are designed to compensate for lower attack rolls.
Depending on your preferences, you could run a Barbarian with a Strength as low as 14, freeing up points for Dexterity.
Unarmoured Defense For Monks
Like Barbarians, our historical ideas about fighting Monks often feature unarmouredcombatants (like the Shaolin Monks). Monks in martial arts films and other media often have superhuman reflexes.
In D&D, a Monk's reflexes are represented by the Unarmoured Defense feature. However, the Monk's version of this feature works differently from the Barbarian's.
Unarmoured Defense for Monks confers the following benefits:
- When not wearing any armour, your AC equals tenplus your Dexterity modifier plus your Wisdom modifier.
- As a Monk, you cannotuse a shield while benefitting from Unarmoured Defense.
Many players feel that Unarmoured Defense for Monks is underpowered for several reasons. First, Monks can't use a shield while gaining the benefits of Unarmoured Defense, making it significantly less powerful than the Barbarian version of this feature. Some DMsallow Monks to use shields as a house rule to compensate for this.
Secondly, to maximise Unarmoured Defense, a Monk needs to pump ability score points into Dexterity and Wisdom. This doesn't leave much room for points in Constitution. Monks are a multi-ability-score-dependent class, needing Dexterity, Wisdom, and Constitution to operate optimally. It can be challenging to balance these three attributes perfectly.
Unarmoured Defense As A Class Feature
Unarmoured Defense can also be a variant class feature for any class with proficiency in light and medium armour. Taking Unarmoured Defense as a class feature replaces all your otherarmour proficiencies (except for shield proficiency in Constitution-based classes).
There are two types of Unarmoured Defense, depending on the character's primary ability scores:
- Constitution-based: When not wearing armour, your AC equals 10 plus your Dexterity modifier plus your Constitution modifier. You can still use a shield and gain these benefits.
- Wisdom-based: When not wearing armour or using a shield, your AC equals 10 plus your Dexterity modifier plus your Wisdom modifier.
Depending on your class, abilities, magic items, and other factors, armour might be better than Unarmoured Defense. However, the scantily-clad Barbarian or Monk is a fun archetype to roleplay. Whatever choice you make, have fun.
