Re: Loot
I guess the question for Pipre really is, how much are you getting in the mix in terms of combat. I realize you were just almost put down by the Stag Lord and his bow (as were almost all of us), but if combat were to go as planned, how close do you have to be to be effective?
Vik and I are front-line. Percy is best when he can get into a flanking position, etc, etc. Your best armor option is likely the MW or +1 Studded leather or if we find a chain shirt or magical chain shirt that could work for you, right?
I'm assuming your Dex bonus is high-ish...
So I definitely see both the long term need/desire for you to augment your AC magically and the short term need to keep yourself from being an automatic hit if someone gets up close.
My AC is sitting at a 22 right now, the higher I drive that theoretically, the fewer times I get hit and thus the better tank I am.
I'm sure there is some OP table somewhere that tells you the best distribution of these things, and if someone has better insight than me I'm happy to hear it out and learn more.
That said, I've got a +1 Heavy Steel Shield as a magic item and now have a +1 longsword, though I do hope we can transfer it's magic to my family blade (MW Longsword) and then we'll have a MW Longsword someone else can use :).