Dual shields

[DonTadow]

Does a feat exist, or it already possible to wield two shields at once. I"m not concerned with keeping the bonus of one of them, just had a concept for a character. Thinking of wielding a spiked shield in one hand and a normal shield in the other.

 

[Darklone]

Simply do it. You need TWF to lessen the penalties, and the shield armor bonuses don't stack, but otherwise it works.

Don't forget though, that shield bashes count as off hand weapons, only half str bonus therefore.

 

[smootrk]

Interesting, though I would probably rule that the off-hand must take the large shield, and the primary hand must take small shield or buckler.

I know there is no handedness in the game, but I think this would be analogous to the rules for Two-Weapon Fighting. Penalties would apply, but it should be a net plus to AC. Buckler would be ideal, as the character could wield a weapon in that hand as well (choosing AC bonus or attack ability from round to round).

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Its already possible just like TWF with a twin longswords, altho as stated the Shield bonuses don't stack..and Shield Bash is always an 'off-hand' attack {meaning 1/2 Str bonus}

You could, by RAW, weild two shields and use an attack action to bash with one or the other of them.

When you bash with a shield, you lose that shields benefits to to AC. There are only two shields that you can bash with..the Heavy and the Light... which are both on the weapon chart. TWF rules and feats would apply as normal.

The only odd part would be tracking which shield counts towards AC..and then throw in the twist of taking the Two-Weapon Defense feat...which would allow both shields to be used in a bash and result in a Shield bonus to AC

So, if you were weilding twin light shields and had the TWD feat, you could bash with one or both of the shields and still have a +1 to AC...

 

[Iku Rex]

I need a FAQ posting bot

Don't forget though, that shield bashes count as off hand weapons, only half str bonus therefore.

and

Shield Bash is always an 'off-hand' attack {meaning 1/2 Str bonus}

I'll just quote the FAQ again.

Can a character make a shield bash attack using the
shield as a primary weapon or can it be used only as an offhand
weapon?
While the rules describe a shield bash as an off-hand
weapon, that’s simply an assumption (that your primary hand is
holding a weapon). There’s nothing stopping you from
declaring your shield bash as your primary weapon. Of course,
that means that any attack you make with your other hand
becomes a secondary weapon.

 

[Storyteller01]

'Plots & Poisons' has feats and a martial style (ala Oriental Adventures) that allows you to fight with two shields. The martial style allows you to keep both bonuses, as well as have the bonuses count for attacks and damage. It's VERY feat intensive though.

It's 3rd party, but that also makes it Open Content. I can type of a quick summary if you're interested.

 

[Quartz]

Don't forget that the attack part of the shield is seperate from the defence part: that +5 shield isn't +5 to attack. By the RAW it's theoretically possible to have a non-epic shield with +20 in enchantments: consider a Heavy Fortification Shield +5 of Bashing +5, Holy Avenger. Now make each part seperately intelligent.

 

[DonTadow]

'Plots & Poisons' has feats and a martial style (ala Oriental Adventures) that allows you to fight with two shields. The martial style allows you to keep both bonuses, as well as have the bonuses count for attacks and damage. It's VERY feat intensive though.

It's 3rd party, but that also makes it Open Content. I can type of a quick summary if you're interested.

Hi story I'd be very interested if you could post a summary. Much appreciated.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Thanks for posting the FAQ, however I tend to think that the limitation of 1/2 strength should be intentional since the shield is not designed to maximize the strength of the weilder in an attack....

I read the phrase "...using it as an off-hand weapon.' to refer not to whether its held in the primary or secondary hand, but to how much strength can be focused through it.

 

[Iku Rex]

Thanks for posting the FAQ, however I tend to think that the limitation of 1/2 strength should be intentional since the shield is not designed to maximize the strength of the weilder in an attack....

I've never bashed anyone or anything with a shield, but I'm quite confident that I'd be able to do it with more power if the shield was on my right hand. I find it difficult to believe that any "handed" person would not feel the same way with regards to their primary hand. :\

Restricting shields to off-hand attacks does not make sense from an in-game point of view, it is not logically supported by the rules as written and the main guy responsible for the 3.5 Player's Handbook says it's not the intent.