Can I use a tower shield for total cover in meelee?

[Particle_Man]

Ah Tower shields my love
Spreads go around corners rendering cover from Tower shields useless. i.e. fireball and others.
You'd be able to protect yourself from any touch spells because they require an attack
I'm not sure about general target spells, I mean technicaly you shouldn't be able to see someone with total cover.

You don't get total cover, but you at least get the reflex save bonus from regular cover. Better than nothing.

 

[Whimsical]

I have a druid that uses a tower shield. At first because in 3.0 it was a shield that wasn't metal that a druid could use. When I converted to 3.5, I took a Tower Shield Proficiency because I had a nice magical one (only -5 armor check penalty.) What I love is how my druid can avoid attacks of opportunity by going full cover, then moving. And before the FAQ, I could go full cover and cast healing spells and buffs without incurring an an attack of opportunity, which was nice because I have almost no ranks in Concentration