Dexterity As Armor Class

I'm regularly baffled at the disinterest afforded to the prime attributes in Dungeons and Dragons. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of Dexterity.

With the switch (for many) to ascending AC, Dexterity acts as a perfect stand-in for Armor Class, for those players who want to play a swashbuckling character. DMs could allow players to use the higher of their character's Dexterity score or the AC provided by the character's armor.