Can I use two shields at the same time?

[Rel]

I'm glad my thread is still alive and kickin several days after I last checked on it.

I'll admit to being a bit of a powergamer because I like for my characters to be effective and fun to play. I don't think I'm much more of a powergamer than the rest of our group so it doesn't feel that way most of the time. It's all relative ya' know.

What I can say with authority is that while I may seek to make my characters as effective as I can, it does not tend to come at the expense of their personalities. I think my characters tend to really come alive and they are not just a "pile of stats". So see, I'm a spotlight hog as well as a powergamer.

I'm less interested in what the Sage has to say about spellcasting with a small shield than I am in what TLC (my affectionate nickname for The Lone Corndog) thinks about it. If he doesn't like the idea of me casting spells while laden with a shield, fine by me.

The character is shaping up nicely as a 0/0 apprentice Ranger/Cleric and his backstory flows very well into the (limited) information I have about the campaign. So I'm pleased with him. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Saeviomagy]

To all those naysaying the idea of fighting with two shields - I've seen a hong-kong action movie where one of the bad guys does that exact thing. Can anyone help me out with the name?

Simply put - it looked pretty cool, and given that D&D isn't exactly a historical recreationist game anyway, why not let it slide?

 

[Saeviomagy]

Oh, and pick up wooden shields - then you can bramble them to your hearts content... The only restrictions on the spell are that the weapon involved must have a wooden striking surface, which a wooden shield certainly must have.

 

[Drakmar]

from what I have seen on whack japenese and chinese weapons "kote" are rl weapons/armour..

two sheilds.. like the two bucklers strapped to the back of two katars? that looks cool.. and is a feasible..

o.. and europeans also used sheilds to deflect.. especially knights.. you never just blocked a knight's sword.. to much power behind it.. trust me.. I have had a sheild smashed from doing that.. o.. and a jarred shoulder...

for two shields to be effective in this manner.. they would have to be purpose built. cause there are two ways you can really hold a shield.. one.. strapped to your arm.. or two.. in a punch grip.. both grips allow you to do different things with the shield.

just make sure you have a cool warcry.. like "THUNDERSMASH!!!! RAAAAAHHH!!!!!"

 

[reapersaurus]

Rev - do NOT apologize for making a character that uses shields.

Your choice of weapon could easily have been as flavorless as a Mercurial Greatsword, or Bastard Sword, and strangely people probably wouldn't have even noticed.

And you are NOT really powergaming.
Going cleric it will probably be around level 9 that the damage even becomes passable, so I don't see any reason why people are thinnking you're getting anything super-powerful going here.
Really, without Rhino Hide armor, a shield basher just can't do that much damage compared to Scimitars with Improved Critical, etc.
Oh - on the suggestion to use Brambles - if all you've got are 2nd level spells, than of course use it, but the 3rd level spell of Spikes is 10 times better.
WAY longer duration, and a big bonus to damage.

Have a high Charisma and throw Divine Shield into the mix and you're REALLY having fun.

 

[Rel]

And you are NOT really powergaming.
Going cleric it will probably be around level 9 that the damage even becomes passable, so I don't see any reason why people are thinnking you're getting anything super-powerful going here.
Really, without Rhino Hide armor, a shield basher just can't do that much damage compared to Scimitars with Improved Critical, etc.
Oh - on the suggestion to use Brambles - if all you've got are 2nd level spells, than of course use it, but the 3rd level spell of Spikes is 10 times better.
WAY longer duration, and a big bonus to damage.

Have a high Charisma and throw Divine Shield into the mix and you're REALLY having fun.

Thanks for your continued support, reapersaurus. I'm well aware that this guy is not going to be the nastiest combat machine to ever roll down the pike. When I talk about being a "powergamer", I mean in the sense that once I pick a certain speciality for a character, I look for ways to make him very good at what he does.

We have a smaller than average party (as per usual) with only three characters so it is important that this guy be able to be flexible in what role he fills. Flexibility is (ironically) his speciality. He will be able to fight passably well but I'll leave the worst of that to the Paladin. He will principally be the party cleric with perhaps a slightly greater emphasis on buffing (since he'll want to buff himself to be a better fighter) than usual. He will be the party woodsman too, able to track and find water and shelter with his Wilderness Lore skill. He will also be the designated guard for the party Wizard, who last I heard was going with a 10 Dex. I'm hoping the Bull Rush effect from my shield bashes will be able to keep the bad guys at bay while the Wizard casts spells or otherwise flees beyond reach of the enemy.

When it comes to fighting, I have lots of options. I can bash with both shields or keep one in reserve for defense. I can raise or lower my AC slightly depending on whether I bash with the large or small shield. Once I get Shield Charge (at 3rd level) I will have the option to open the combat with a charge and perhaps get another charge or two in later, so long as I don't leave the Wizard's cheese out in the wind.

But the good thing is that the character is not totally married to the "shield fighting" style. Obviously, first pick of magic weapons should go to our party Paladin but if I find a juicy mace or sword or axe (remember I'm proficient in martial weapons since I started life as a Ranger), I can use a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. Two Weapon Fighting still lets me bash if I want to (albiet at a rather low AC).

As I rise in level and get access to better spells (Brambles at 4th and Spikes at 6th), my shields will become better weapons and I will have other spells to raise my combat efficacy. In short, I'm excited about playing the character because he will be very versitile. But his personality should be no less interesting and the campaign premise should offer lots of great roleplaying opportunities.

Now, one final rules question:

One can "ready" or "loose" a shield as a MEA. In fact, both are listed as the type of actions one can take for free during a normal move if you have at least a +1 BAB (which I won't until 2nd level). What exactly do the terms "ready" and "loose" mean to you? Here's what I think I can do:

I am fighting a bad guy using both my shields. 20 feet away is our party Wizard. He gets hit with an enemy crossbow bolt and goes down like a sack of potatoes (I virtually guarantee this will happen in the early days of this campaign). I want to go heal the wizard.

So I break contact with my foe (drawing an AoO, but dem's da breaks) and move over to the fallen Wizard. As I move, I "loose" my shield (to me, this means I take it off my arm but I still have it on my person). Upon arrival at the Wizard, I have a free hand and cast Cure Light Wounds. The Wizard's eyes flutter open and he knows that he will live to cower at the rear for another day.

On my next turn, I want to re-engage the bad guy I was fighting before (let's assume that he's right where I left him). I move 20' back to him and as I go, I "ready" the same shield that I previously "loosed" and by the time I arrive at the bad guy, I can bash him with that shield if I want to.

Is that the same interpretation that you guys have?