Anybody else hate facing?

[IceBear]

I'm with Vaxalon, the tower shield is not meant for single melee combat - it's meant for ranks. Don't use a tower shield for what it's not meant for.

That said, maybe if you allow that Pressing the Attack feat from Dragonstar to also allow you to reposition your tower shield as a free action (instead of taking the 5ft step) it might help.

IceBear

 

[smetzger]

As just a general shield, tower shield are not that great for individual fighters, just as it was in real combat. In real combat, tower shields were used in line formations, were moving the shield wasn't necessary. They are very effective in moving up against archers and in tight corridors, but out in the open field by yourself they are particularly weak.

Exactly, the Paladin player IMC uses a Tower Shield to advance and then drops the shield.