Is Force Shield broken?????

[Demon Knight]

Gotcha...my real question is, what kind of bonus is granted by a Ring of Force Shield?

Is it an armor bonus?

Does it stack with Mage Armor? I say no, but since both are force effects, some say otherwise.

Does it stack with normal armor (like chainmail)?

 

[kigmatzomat]

Per the SRD it "generates a large shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a normal shield (+2 AC)... has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance."

I interpret that to mean that since it acts like a shield, stacks like a shield then it functions as a shield. Since worn armor works with shields then it stacks with chainmail. Since shields do not stack with mage armor (per the section on armor & shields), it does not stack with mage armor.

It should be "Force" type, so it applies to touch attacks and against incorporeal creatures.

 

[Victim]

Force effects don't protect against touch attacks.

 

[coyote6]

Force effects don't protect against touch attacks.

Well, they do, but only incorporeal touch attacks. So the +2 bonus from the force shield will count against the wraith's attack, but not from the cleric's touch-delivered harm.

(Which seems kind of odd -- "I touch the field of force, and thus you!" -- but oh well. )

 

[AuraSeer]

So the +2 bonus from the force shield will count against the wraith's attack, but not from the cleric's touch-delivered harm.

Exactly right. We had a thread about this distinction recently.

I hope "incorporeal touch attacks" get renamed in the new edition.

 

[IceBear]

Exactly right. We had a thread about this distinction recently.

I hope "incorporeal touch attacks" get renamed in the new edition.

Oh man, I should have paid attention more to Dungeon 97 when I was reading it last night. I think there was a wraith that had a stat block like "Att +7 (incorpreal touch)"

Dunno if a touch attack would be "Att +7 (touch)"

IceBear

 

[Victim]

Well, they do, but only incorporeal touch attacks. So the +2 bonus from the force shield will count against the wraith's attack, but not from the cleric's touch-delivered harm.

(Which seems kind of odd -- "I touch the field of force, and thus you!" -- but oh well. )

Yeah. I realized I could have more clear about the incorpeal touch attack versus normal touch attack thing immediately after posting.

Since equipment is treated as part of the character for stuff like fireball, and thus isn't blown up unless you roll a 1, I guess it's fair that it works the same way for touch attacks.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Well, they do, but only incorporeal touch attacks. So the +2 bonus from the force shield will count against the wraith's attack, but not from the cleric's touch-delivered harm.

Gahhh. I hadn't noticed that little bit of trivia. Hmmm. Good thing I'm GM: Rule 0 it is!

 

[coyote6]

Gahhh. I hadn't noticed that little bit of trivia. Hmmm. Good thing I'm GM: Rule 0 it is!

Oh, man, I'd hate to have to fight shadows in your game!

My group has had moments where almost every single character has a mage armor up (thanks to a sorcerer with Scribe Scroll and ring of wizardry I), even the ones in breastplates. And a few chain shirt types wear bracers of armor (leftover loot). All so they have some extra AC against those incorporeal dead guys.

All that energy & ability draining is frightening!

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Can anyone point me to the previous discussion concerning this? Myself, I'd thing the Force Shield wouldn't count against a wraith's touch attack, as it is basically a shield. Shields don't protect against any sort of touch attack. The fact that it's a [Force] effect would mean it's "real" to the wraith, but as with a ghost-touch shield, it still won't protect vs. a touch attack.

But I can see where there could be a lot of debate, and I'm interested in what others have ruled on this...