Combat Option: Active Shield Defense.

Combat Option: Full Round Action

Active Shield Defense

Most of the time characters use their shield in a passive manner because they are concentrating on attacking the foes. The shield is there to intercept the blows but it’s done almost at an instinctual level.

When using a shield actively to defend yourself you put your shield in harms way to absorb the incoming attacks. You may still attack as normal.

Benefit: Your shield provides double the base shield armor class bonus (small shield +2, large shield +4.) then all the feats, enhancements, class bonuses apply.

The Catch: When the attack roll is an odd, and it is a miss, the attack hits your shield. Your shield then takes damage from the attack.

The Downside: Your shield will eventually be destroyed.

Odd balls: You can not combine this action with Total Defense. You may combine this action with fighting defensively.

The reason I use odd, it to simulate that the shield will now be hit 50% of the time. I don’t want more dice rolls so odd seems right because a 20 is a hit no matter what.

You can not use a Buckler or a Tower Shield when attempting shield defense. The buckler is too small, and the tower shield too large (I’m not too sure this limitation is needed.)

I don’t know if touch attacks that land on an odd number should still hit the shield because the effect should typically travel to the wearer. But if I recall I think touch attacks ignore the shield bonus anyway, so that should not be an issue.


Please give me some advice if this seems cool.

Thanks all.

It's definitely cool and probably balanced--it provides neat, gritty fantasy versimilitude at the cost of some added complexity.

I only worry that adamantine shields might be too good, but that's a special case.

And: "Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!/spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered/a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!"

dema said:

Odd balls: You can not combine this action with Total Defense. You may combine this action with fighting defensively.

Click to expand...

How so? You don't have the requisite action types needed to fight defensively while using this Shield Defense. Same for Total Defense, actually.

Interesting thought.. altho not the way I would implement it.

I currently have a rule that allows characters to burn an available AoO to throw their shield in the way of the attack. More in this thread.

I think it would be interesting to add a slight variant of what you propose to my current rules:

Combat option: As part of a full-attack action in which you are not weilding two weapons but carrying a shield, you may choose to take -2 to all attacks that round in exchange for +2 to AC. This represents a more active defensive use of your shield. You cannot perform a Shield Bash in the round you use this option.

I'm all for anything that makes shields a little more enticing than they are with the base system. Right now, we are just using the popular house rule of all shields being +1 above their normal AC bonus. I was actually thinking of something along the lines of giving shield weilders a bit of a bonus for fighting defensively and total defense. Would there be a way to incorporate your idea into those 2 options? We use the armor and shield damage (it's part of an auto-script in DM Genie that's built into the Armor as DR variant script) so having a consequence of more damage to the shield would seem like it would be a good balancing effect to the bonus AC. Wheels......are.....turning........

mistake, beleeted

A weird consequence of this system is that rolling a 1 on the attack roll (normally horrible!!) allows a person to hit your shield and possibly break it.

I like to boost Combat Expertise with shields to mirror the way Power Attack favors two-handed weapons.

When using a shield and Combat Expertise, instead add twice the number you substract from your attack roll to your AC.

Very good points

I did not think about the 1 roll issue. I can assume that a natual 1 is a complete miss to avoid that issue. The adamantine shields well, we will have to have people with adamantine weapons which is bound to happen.

The expertise option DanMcs mention is very elegant and adds just enough without being over the top.

Would you have this Expertise option work the same for all types of sheilds? just double the AC for -1 of the attack. I think I've heard of that option elsewhere.

Primitive Screwhead
I also like the sacrifice your shield as a last ditch effort to avoid an attack. I would like a mechanic that would allow one to succeed or fail in this. Like an attack roll vs the attacker touch AC or something. If you succeed you intercept the blow, and the mechanic for bashing though the shield takes over. This would gave a nice cool factor.

I'm not a fan of keeping track of Damage Points for armor and shields. This was just an idea I thought of. The nice part of this system I think was using odd rolls to simulate a shield hit without having to roll for yet another mechanic. Kinda like a bundled mechanic.


I would like to hear more about the combat expertise option.

The way I play shields.

Bucklers only provide a bonus to melee attacks, and it's a +1
Small shields +1 vs all attacks
Large +2
and Tower as in the PHB.

How would this beefed up Combat expertise work. I guess as simple as the Power Attack option, with the 1:2 ratio?

Sounds sweet to me.

For fighting defensively and total defense why not just double the shield bonus.


BTW this all started because I saw 13th Warrior again recently, and remembered the match where each warrior had 3 shields to go though, and one was running out of them. Don't want to spoil anything.


Thanks all.

If you like, you could lift the palladium system. This is my 3.5 conversion

When a enemy attacks you cant choose to:

Parry: Use your weapon to intercept thier attack. If you beat thier attack roll using (1d20+lowest Bab+ Defelection) the attacked is parried.

Block: You use a shield to stop a enemy attack. Make a block roll (shield ac+dex) equal to or higer then the attack roll to block. Normal sunder rules apply.

Dodge: You attempt to get out of the way of a attack. Roll (1d20+dex+dodge) Equal or higher and you are able to avoid the attack.

Note: Defencive stance stacks with block dodge and parry.

---Rusty