[Kolde]

I'm not trying to argue, but for this discussion I really would like to know the math that you think would get a BG in Thay to 49 AC. That's a simply incredible number to me. With magic gear at pretty much a max of +3 here I just don't see how you get there even if you include the VERY temporary bonuses like Divine Shield which uses up a Turn Undead attempt. Other than Divine Shield I don't see where the BG gets any extra AC over RDD, WM or Mr. Plain Vanilla Fighter..

S'all good, discussing is how we all learn. :) The AC is counting in divine shield. 10 (base), +11 (Fullplate +3), +6 (Tower shield +3), +3 (deflection), +3 (natural), +3 (dodge), +4 (tumble), +1 (dex), +10 (Divine shield if they have invested in cha and gear) = 51 actually... Compared to the theoritical max of 41 for a WM and 45 for a RDD

And as DarkRanger said, Divine Might and especially Divine Shield are only trivial if you don't invest in charisma. With buffs and gear its not exactly difficult to get 30 cha by higher levels for +10 AC and +10 divine damage for 10 rounds (60 seconds). No a BG cannot sustain output, they are very much burst damage and defense, its kinda their niche. They can boost AC to silly numbers and can boost damage if they want, just about managing the amount of uses to need. Generally at higher levels they should be able to manage 13-18 times/day depending on if they have an extra turning item for 13-18 minutes of AC and/or damage boost to divide up. Not to mention getting to add their (hopefully massive) Cha bonus to Saves gives them another edge in defense over other melee classes.

In summary what I'm trying to say, is while a BG may not be as obvious in its boons, it is by far a weak class, though it does require a bit more work and planning than simply clicking and waiting for the other thing to die. It can be a powerful class if played to its strengths. Now a BG that ignores charisma is gonna be disappointing and fall behind other melee classes.