Deflect arrows and buckler

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Can you deflect arrows with a buckler strapped to your arm?

I rule no -- the intent of the rule is to have the hand comepletely free. The wording of the feat implies that the hand must merely be holding nothing, in which case Deflect Arrows works with both a buckler and a small shield -- the second case of which strikes me as utterly rediculous, but within the literal wording of the rules (and the individual with whom I'm having a discussion is rather focused on the literal interpretation, for obvious reasons).

Thoughts?

(Sacrifices 100 XP and a 500 gp blue sapphire to cast Summon Hypersmurf).

 

[spunky_mutters]

I would just add that the hand is not holding nothing with a small shield. A small shield (and any non-buckler shield) is explicitly gripped by the hand (as per the shield description). The small shield merely allows something else (non-weapon) to be held in the hand along with the shield grip.

In the absence of any other text to clarify, it seems allowable. The only thing close is the FAQ entry ruling that you have to drop a buckler to cast spells with a somatic component, even though your hand is free.

I would probably rule that unless the individual in question was in the position of having foregone the AC bonus for the buckler at the end of the previous turn, he is not in a position to use the free hand.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Yep, I read too much into the small shield description.

The buckler still doesn't make me comfortable, though. I'd prefer a free hand to mean an unencumbered hand, not one that's simply not holding anything -- it's not like the buckler is weightless, even if it's masterwork.

 

[spunky_mutters]

If you go by customer service/the Sage/FAQ (and I wouldn't), the buckler is pretty much useless. The only difference from a small shield is that you can't bash with a buckler. I think as long as you require players to take a free action to change from free hand to buckler, simply determining which one is in play, it's not too bad. You could always apply the buckler attack penalty (-1) to the Ref Save to deflect (although that won't work in 3.5), if you think it needs something.