On page 97 of the ACKS rulebook it says that surprised characters lose any shield benefit to AC for the surprise round. Should lose the AC bonus from high DEX as well?
This is discussed in detail in this thread:
http://www.autarch.co/comment/5035
The short answer: Yes, a character's DEX bonus still applies to AC if they are suprised. In ACKS your Dexterity doesn't modify your CHANCE of being surprised, but in recompense we allow it to still apply to your AC when surprised.
In short, characters with fast reflexes can still be caught off-guard, but if they are caught off guard they start to recover faster, so they get their AC bonus.
Having read that thread I have a question. Attackers do not get a bonus to attack from positioning unless specifically stated otherwise (thieves and acrobatics). Does that mean attackers ganging up on a target get no advantage regardless of number? So four arcs surround someone and that doesn’t give them any benefit?
In addition I wonder how often can someone be surprised in a combat. Can the Elf Ranger or Explorer with the Ambush proficiency hide and shoot every round as long as there is enough cover for him to hide in?
A dense wood coupled with the 4+ difficult to spot thing would make them extreamly deadly in their favored surroundings.
Four attackers ganging up don’t usually need much more advantage than ignoring shields for some members, having more attacks per round, and the ability to restrict which direction the target flees in. But if they do, look at the Wrestling rules. One or two orcs holding someone down while the other two curbstomp? Yummy.