Help with defense against touch attacks!

[Hypersmurf]

That's allowed then?

No reason why not...

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

That's allowed then?

That seriously reduces the effectiveness of Shield in melee.
Which is fair enough - Shield is very powerful.

I suppose the defending fighter could be taking 5ft steps away from the enemy each round. That would force it to either put up with the Shield or move & lose full attack...

If you move away, that would allow the enemy to walk around you .... easier flanking.

Yes, all of the character deaths in my newbie group have been caused by bad luck with the shields. (I let them draw a sketch how the shield is headed and then I moved the monsters.)

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Whether you're incorporeal or not, and whether your opponent has a shield spell or, indeed, a tower shield, you can make that step if B and F are both empty squares. Even if there's someone standing in C.

-Hyp.

The trick here is to always use Shield at an angle. Hence it blocks from B, and is either blocking D or F as well. Your foe can move, but since Shield is invisible, he has a 50% chance to wind up blocked by it anyway. Then on your turn you angle it again, and the game continues.

My fighter/mage used this tactic all the time, he used to call it the Guess the Orientation Game.

 

[RigaMortus]

Just curious, but how does an opponent know which way a shield (the spell) is facing so they can side-step it? Actually, how does he know he has a shield spell on? It is invisible, correct?

Now after he attacks and connects with the shield spell (ie, misses because of the AC bonus the Shield spell provided) he might have some idea that there is magic at work here protecting him. So his attack appeard to vere off because he hit some magical deflective surface, but that could be from a Mage Armor as well. So why would he automatically assume he could side-step it?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Just curious, but how does an opponent know which way a shield (the spell) is facing so they can side-step it?

He can't. But if he has any ranks in Spellcraft, or if the party mage has given him some tactical tips, he knows it only covers half the field, so he has a 50/50 chance of winning at "Guess the Orientation", as noted above.

So his attack appeard to vere off because he hit some magical deflective surface, but that could be from a Mage Armor as well. So why would he automatically assume he could side-step it?

If it could be either Shield or Mage Armor, where's the disadvantage in sidestepping? Unless there are other tactical reasons to stand still, your 5' step doesn't hurt... if it's Mage Armor, no big deal, if it's Shield, 50% chance of a big reward.

Also, again, the party mage may have informed you what it means when his magic missiles "splatter" before reaching their target...

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

So his attack appeard to vere off because he hit some magical deflective surface, but that could be from a Mage Armor as well. So why would he automatically assume he could side-step it?

Shield is distant from the guy who wears it, mage armour is like a worn armour.

Anyone who knows those spells (and player characters who had these spells cast on themselves now and then do) should be able to sidestep them.

About the angle trick: That's why I've been thinking to use hex instead of square mats.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

About the angle trick: That's why I've been thinking to use hex instead of square mats.

I'll admit that I've never played on a hex map. Used to use them waaaaaaay back in high school with OD&D, but we never followed any of the rules back then or used minis or anything.

So what would using hex do? Make it impossible to use the angle trick? Or make it impossible to side-step the shield? To be honest, I don't think my DM had too many problems with the angle trick. If you think about it, the shield should always be in front of the caster, and the caster should always be moving to keep his foe in front of him (hence no facing). Since things don't work that way with Shield, the angle trick gives the mage at least a 50% chance of not having a 5-foot step completely negate his spell.

 

[Vanye]

5 ranks in tumble will allow you more of a benefit from taking a full defensive stance, with the downside that you can't attack when taking a full defence.

Tumble also increases the bonus to Fighting Defensively by 50 % (+3 instead of +2) as well. -4 to hit, +3 to AC, pretty good trade off....

 

[Vanye]

5 ranks in tumble will allow you more of a benefit from taking a full defensive stance, with the downside that you can't attack when taking a full defence.

Tumble also increases the bonus to Fighting Defensively by 50 % (+3 instead of +2) as well. -4 to hit, +3 to AC, pretty good trade off....

 

[Darklone]

So what would using hex do? Make it impossible to use the angle trick? Or make it impossible to side-step the shield? To be honest, I don't think my DM had too many problems with the angle trick. If you think about it, the shield should always be in front of the caster, and the caster should always be moving to keep his foe in front of him (hence no facing). Since things don't work that way with Shield, the angle trick gives the mage at least a 50% chance of not having a 5-foot step completely negate his spell.

Hexes would give you always a 50% chance of sidestepping the shield.

Shield should not always be in front of the caster, you can adjust it somewhere else.

Angle trick is the reason btw why I heard several DMs houseruling that shield does not work at all in melee combat.