Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Technical & Gameplay Problems Patch 9 druid bugs list

There may be some slight disconnect in discussion, so to be clear on my end: I'm not talking about how it currently works in BG3 or how the game claims it works - I was just posting initially to correct a mistake in the definition for how the spell is meant to work in core 5e rules. To Zozo, if you want to run Barkskin a different way in your games, and you prefer to run it differently at your tables, that's great, and it's fine; the rules are meant to be adapted by players in whatever ways their personal tables and groups find most enjoyable. Formally, however, in 5e rules, Barkskin works as I described, and that is not really open for debate - you can take it or leave it, I'm not trying to convince you; it is what it is, and I'm just sharing that information.

It has got its place, but it's niche - as many spells are.

Let's go back to our multiclass character example, and lets suppose that they also have some druid levels as well!

So, the Draconic bloodline sorcerer monk barbarian Druid (assuming 16 in all relevant scores) has to go deep under water, and possibly fight, and they've used their wildshape ability to shift into a sperm whale! Excellent tanky creature... 8 dex, and low AC. They now, as a whale, have the following options:

As a Sperm Whale, they cannot benefit from their shield or their magic items, but they have natural armour option: Base AC method (Natural Armour) = AC 13
Mage Armour (is still on them, so still available): "Base AC = 13 + Dex Mod" - If they use Mage Armour as their AC calculation method, their final AC will be (13 -1(Dex) + 2 (Shield of Faith) = AC 14)
Draconic Bloodline: "Base AC = 13 + Dex Mod" - If they use their bloodline as their AC calculation method, their final AC will be (13 -1(Dex) + 2 (Shield of Faith) = AC 14)
Unarmoured Defence (Monk): "Base AC = 10 + Dex + Wis" - If they use their Monk training as their Ac calculation method, their final AC will be (10 -1(Dex) +3 (Wis) + 2 (Shield of Faith) = AC 14)
Unarmoured Defence (Barbarian): "Base AC = 10 + Dex + Con" - If they use their Barbarian training as their Ac calculation method, their final AC will be (10 -1(Dex) +3 (Con) + 2 (Shield of Faith) = AC 14)

BUT! They have Barkskin on them: If AC>16 then AC=16!

So, as a sperm whale, they can now benefit from the 16 AC minimum that Barkskin grants, since none of their other available options take them to an AC higher than that in this form.

The spell definitely has a place - usually when defence is more important than using your concentration on an aggressive or offensive spell - protecting a low AC companion that you can't keep safe otherwise, or buffing the defence of a low AC wildshape. It could be stronger, yes, and it's niche, and not ideal or useful in many situations, and as a result it is a rarely used spell, compared to it being a staple in older editions.