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Light Shield... Free Hand?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hypersmurf" data-source="post: 3361350" data-attributes="member: 1656"><p>Just had a browse through the latest FAQ update.</p><p></p><p>FAQ p8:</p><p><strong>My DM says that my cleric has to drop his morningstar</strong></p><p><strong>to cast spells. Is he right?</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Yes and no. To cast a spell with a somatic (S) component,</em></p><p><em>you must gesture freely with at least one hand. (Player’s</em></p><p><em>Handbook, page 140) A cleric (or any caster, for that matter)</em></p><p><em>who holds a weapon in one hand and wears a heavy shield on</em></p><p><em>the other arm doesn’t have a hand free to cast a spell with a</em></p><p><em>somatic component (which includes most spells in the game).</em></p><p><em>To cast such a spell, the character must either drop or sheathe</em></p><p><em>his weapon.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Another simple option is for the cleric to carry a buckler or</em></p><p><em>light shield instead of a heavy shield. The buckler leaves one</em></p><p><em>hand free for spellcasting, and you don’t even lose the</em></p><p><em>buckler’s shield bonus to AC when casting with that hand. <strong>The</strong></em></p><p><em><strong>light shield doesn’t give you a free hand for spellcasting</strong>, but</em></p><p><em>since you can hold an item in the same hand that holds the light</em></p><p><em>shield, you could switch your weapon to that hand to free up a</em></p><p><em>hand for spellcasting. (You can’t use the weapon while it’s held</em></p><p><em>in the same hand as your shield, of course.) The rules don’t</em></p><p><em>state what type of action is required to switch hands on a</em></p><p><em>weapon, but it seems reasonable to assume that it’s the</em></p><p><em>equivalent of drawing a weapon (a move action that doesn’t</em></p><p><em>provoke attacks of opportunity).</em></p><p></p><p>FAQ p12:</p><p><strong>The duskblade’s armored mage class feature (Player’s</strong></p><p><strong>Handbook II, 20) allows you to cast spells while wearing a</strong></p><p><strong>shield with no arcane spell failure. If the duskblade has a</strong></p><p><strong>sword in one hand and a shield in the other, can they still</strong></p><p><strong>cast spells? If not, why carry a shield?</strong></p><p></p><p><em>You need a free hand to cast a spell with a somatic</em></p><p><em>component, and to cast a spell with a material or focus</em></p><p><em>component, you need that component at hand (which usually</em></p><p><em>means you need a free hand to manipulate it). <strong>The buckler and</strong></em></p><p><em><strong>light shield both allow you to use your shield hand for such</strong></em></p><p><em><strong>activities.</strong></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>A duskblade using a heavy shield and holding a weapon or</em></p><p><em>other object in his other hand can only cast spells that don’t</em></p><p><em>include the components listed above, despite the fact that he</em></p><p><em>ignores the arcane spell failure chance for the heavy shield.</em></p><p></p><p>-Hyp.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hypersmurf, post: 3361350, member: 1656"] Just had a browse through the latest FAQ update. FAQ p8: [b]My DM says that my cleric has to drop his morningstar to cast spells. Is he right?[/b] [i]Yes and no. To cast a spell with a somatic (S) component, you must gesture freely with at least one hand. (Player’s Handbook, page 140) A cleric (or any caster, for that matter) who holds a weapon in one hand and wears a heavy shield on the other arm doesn’t have a hand free to cast a spell with a somatic component (which includes most spells in the game). To cast such a spell, the character must either drop or sheathe his weapon. Another simple option is for the cleric to carry a buckler or light shield instead of a heavy shield. The buckler leaves one hand free for spellcasting, and you don’t even lose the buckler’s shield bonus to AC when casting with that hand. [b]The light shield doesn’t give you a free hand for spellcasting[/b], but since you can hold an item in the same hand that holds the light shield, you could switch your weapon to that hand to free up a hand for spellcasting. (You can’t use the weapon while it’s held in the same hand as your shield, of course.) The rules don’t state what type of action is required to switch hands on a weapon, but it seems reasonable to assume that it’s the equivalent of drawing a weapon (a move action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity).[/i] FAQ p12: [b]The duskblade’s armored mage class feature (Player’s Handbook II, 20) allows you to cast spells while wearing a shield with no arcane spell failure. If the duskblade has a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, can they still cast spells? If not, why carry a shield?[/b] [i]You need a free hand to cast a spell with a somatic component, and to cast a spell with a material or focus component, you need that component at hand (which usually means you need a free hand to manipulate it). [b]The buckler and light shield both allow you to use your shield hand for such activities.[/b] A duskblade using a heavy shield and holding a weapon or other object in his other hand can only cast spells that don’t include the components listed above, despite the fact that he ignores the arcane spell failure chance for the heavy shield.[/i] -Hyp. [/QUOTE]
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