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<blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 3665067" data-attributes="member: 51942">Well, you have a fine reason for using Deities and Demigods stuff, and I like PHB2 things.&nbsp; My campaigns have the house rule that you can choose rules from core+campaign setting+ one splat book of choice.&nbsp; The reasoning behind this being that the worst excesses come from odd combinations of rules that were mostly compared to core material, and not meant to be mutually combined.&nbsp; So instead of Deities &amp; Demigods, PHB2 (an excellent book, I think) is used here.&nbsp; I have no problem with the boost caused by Melee Weapon Mastery, which is why I named it as an interesting option, but I didn't include it in any calculations, because you're right, it's best to keep to core material for clarity.Since Animated shields are core, they're not comparable to Vow of Poverty.&nbsp; And though they are powerful, they're a valuable addition to a class that's not too powerful in it's own right, at the right moment (namely high levels).&nbsp; An animated shield only really starts to come to it's own at levels 10+, at which point fighters aren't going to become overpowering because of it.&nbsp; You can get greater AC boost by choosing (non-core) CW feat buckler specialization which allows you to use a buckler even while wielding a weapon.&nbsp; That does cost a feat, of course, but I'm just saying, there are other ways of getting mechanically almost the same boost.A ring of shield is provides one less AC than an animated shield at a comparable but slightly lower cost because it's usable by monk's and wizards and others without shield proficiency.&nbsp; It's a reasonable trade-off.&nbsp; The ring is still valuable to a monk, it's just provides less AC,&nbsp; and I'm sure if you're creative you can make a more powerful version of the ring too ;-), at greater cost, of course - at least, I, as DM, would allow it if a player came up with a reasonable suggestion.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="eamon, post: 3665067, member: 51942"] Well, you have a fine reason for using Deities and Demigods stuff, and I like PHB2 things. My campaigns have the house rule that you can choose rules from core+campaign setting+ one splat book of choice. The reasoning behind this being that the worst excesses come from odd combinations of rules that were mostly compared to core material, and not meant to be mutually combined. So instead of Deities & Demigods, PHB2 (an excellent book, I think) is used here. I have no problem with the boost caused by Melee Weapon Mastery, which is why I named it as an interesting option, but I didn't include it in any calculations, because you're right, it's best to keep to core material for clarity. Since Animated shields are core, they're not comparable to Vow of Poverty. And though they are powerful, they're a valuable addition to a class that's not too powerful in it's own right, at the right moment (namely high levels). An animated shield only really starts to come to it's own at levels 10+, at which point fighters aren't going to become overpowering because of it. You can get greater AC boost by choosing (non-core) CW feat buckler specialization which allows you to use a buckler even while wielding a weapon. That does cost a feat, of course, but I'm just saying, there are other ways of getting mechanically almost the same boost. A ring of shield is provides one less AC than an animated shield at a comparable but slightly lower cost because it's usable by monk's and wizards and others without shield proficiency. It's a reasonable trade-off. The ring is still valuable to a monk, it's just provides less AC, and I'm sure if you're creative you can make a more powerful version of the ring too ;-), at greater cost, of course - at least, I, as DM, would allow it if a player came up with a reasonable suggestion. [/QUOTE]

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