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<blockquote data-quote="ccooke" data-source="post: 6432570" data-attributes="member: 6695890">At no point did anyone I've seen claim that a shield is light. It isn't. I'm not sure what you're trying to refute there. Am I missing something?Edited to add: Ah, I see where the suggestion was. That wasn't me, though. I completely agree with you in that a shield should not be light.Actually, there is.One of the Ur-Rules of 5e is that &quot;specific beats general&quot;.If you use a Shield, you get to add +2 to your AC if you are proficient with them. That is a specific that overrides the general case that objects you hold do not add to your AC.There is no rule, anywhere, that says you lose the +2 to your AC under any circumstances other than no longer using the shield. That would be a specific overriding the more general &quot;shields give you +2 to AC if proficient&quot; rule but, as I said, it does not exist.You can attack with any object you can hold in one or two hands as an improvised weapon. No class automatically gets proficiency with improvised weapons, and therefore anyone attacking with a shield will be doing so with disadvantage, and without their proficiency bonus.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ccooke, post: 6432570, member: 6695890"] At no point did anyone I've seen claim that a shield is light. It isn't. I'm not sure what you're trying to refute there. Am I missing something? Edited to add: Ah, I see where the suggestion was. That wasn't me, though. I completely agree with you in that a shield should not be light. Actually, there is. One of the Ur-Rules of 5e is that "specific beats general". If you use a Shield, you get to add +2 to your AC if you are proficient with them. That is a specific that overrides the general case that objects you hold do not add to your AC. There is no rule, anywhere, that says you lose the +2 to your AC under any circumstances other than no longer using the shield. That would be a specific overriding the more general "shields give you +2 to AC if proficient" rule but, as I said, it does not exist. You can attack with any object you can hold in one or two hands as an improvised weapon. No class automatically gets proficiency with improvised weapons, and therefore anyone attacking with a shield will be doing so with disadvantage, and without their proficiency bonus. [/QUOTE]

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