Because she's a cleric, Ragnarok. She's not a rogue or a warlock.
Barbarians should have starter AC of 10+Dex+Con because they have Unarmored Defense. So, Ragzlin, I would expect, should have an AC of maybe 14 or 15 (10+Dex of maybe 1+Con of maybe 3 or 4).
Clerics should start with either Leather, Scale Mail or Chain Mail depending on their domain and their Dexterity stat. If you have a high dexterity and focus on stealth as a cleric, then yes. Leather is more appropriate. So, someone like Shadowheart should start with Leather because she is supposed to be a cleric of Shar of the domain of Trickery. Can she wear Scale? Yes, but Scale provides a Disadvantage to stealth rolls.
So, one could argue that Minthara is of the Trickery domain and Leather is therefore appropriate. Leather + 1 then works for her. OK. I can maybe live with that. However, if that is the case then they need to rework her stats. She should have high Dex and low Strength. She should be equipped with a Shortsword or Rapier, for she would be more proficient with a Finesse weapon than a Mace because she could then hit better with a Finesse weapon.
So, if they are going that route, she should have like Dex 16 at least and would thus have AC 12 for her Drow Leather Armor + 3 for Dex + 2 for her shield = 17 AC total. She should also then be using more trickery based spells and attacks, slipping into shadows, using Invoke Duplicity, etc, and again, she should be using a Finesse weapon to hit better with. She'd gain a +3 just for her Dex with a Finesse weapon as opposed to like a +1 for Mace.
You could also argue that maybe she's a strong cleric of the trickery domain and not particularly awesome at stealth and other trickery domain abilities. Okay. Fine. She has higher strength than dex and uses a mace. If you don't have a high Dex, then it is stupid to have Leather armor. If her dex only provides a +1 or +2, then it is best to give her Scale Mail + 1 for a base of 16 AC + 1 or 2 Dex. Then give her a shield and make it harder to hit her.
But regardless, the problem I have is that Minthara is not a starter character. She's an experienced person at Level 5. She should not be given some basic starter equipment. Clerics can wear Medium Armor at the very least. So even if she's of the trickery domain, she can still wear a Breastplate + 1 which would provide a base AC of 15 + Dex (max 2) and it wouldn't hinder stealth. So why not give her a similar armor set as a standard Cleric would have with a +1 to it. If she has 15 AC to start +1 or 2 for Dex, that's AC 16 or 17 and then add her shield to it for a total of 18 or 19 AC, assuming she'd have only a base shield and not a Shield + 1, which wouldn't be a huge deal for a boss to have.
So, again, I ask, why give her a Leather + 1 when she could have a Breastplate + 1 which is better and doesn't hinder stealth? I'm not asking for a huge spike in AC. I'm just saying she should be at least somewhere around what your cleric could and should be in terms of AC by this point in the game.
And for the love of God, do NOT change the appearance.
