D&D 5E Shield Saltiness

[tommybahama]

Hi guys,

Our sword and board Paladin in our Curse of Strahd campaign who is usually easy-going is feeling targeted by our DM because of the rule that equipping a shield requires an action and our DM says carrying a shield in town is considered a hostile act and not done in civilized society. I was wondering if any groups have experience with house ruling that equipping a shield only requires a free action or a bonus action, maybe with a stipulation that the other hand can't have anything but a single handed weapon to avoid two-handed weapon abuse. I assume that this won't break game balance but I wanted to see if anyone has experience with it?

We also have a GWM barbarian in the party that is doing about 25 hp in damage per hit with his great axe which probably adds more salt to our Pally's wounds.

 

[Flamestrike]

How often is he getting attacked in town exactly?

Dont know about you, but in a civilised town, my PCs dont wander around in armor, let alone holding a shield.

Would you? Armor isn't comfortable. Like; when you're in town you're getting around in normal clothes, not geared for war.

And how much damage is the Paladin doing with Smites? Average damage with a GWM Greataxe barbarian is more like 23 or so, and he's only hitting at +2 or 3 (but likely with advantage from reckless). A Smiting Paladin should comfortably be able to out-damage that Barbarian (but is resource dependent to do so).

 

[tetrasodium]

Hi guys,

Our sword and board Paladin in our Curse of Strahd campaign who is usually easy-going is feeling targeted by our DM because of the rule that equipping a shield requires an action and our DM says carrying a shield in town is considered a hostile act and not done in civilized society. I was wondering if any groups have experience with house ruling that equipping a shield only requires a free action or a bonus action, maybe with a stipulation that the other hand can't have anything but a single handed weapon to avoid two-handed weapon abuse. I assume that this won't break game balance but I wanted to see if anyone has experience with it?

We also have a GWM barbarian in the party that is doing about 25 hp in damage per hit with his great axe which probably adds more salt to our Pally's wounds.

Your GM is probably being a bit of a hardass if he's making the pally spend an action to equip the shield & a second action to draw+attack with sword evem if it's technically RAW ()I think) but walking around with a shield equipped could be considered akin to the folks peacefully walking around with assault rifles to intimidate. Finding the pally a masterwork/magic shield he can equip as part of drawing his longsword or something might be a reasonable compromise. I too frequetly don't allow players to walk around in obvious armor

sword and board is kind of a bad avenue in 5e

 

[commandercrud]

He needs to stop whining.

 

[BlivetWidget]

Your GM is probably being a bit of a hardass if he's making the pally spend an action to equip the shield & a second action to draw+attack with sword evem if it's technically RAW

How is it being a hardass to play by the clear rules? There are a lot of unclear rules (too many...), but if you want to equip a shield, draw a sword, and attack with the sword, that's very clearly two actions.

Don a shield: PHB146. 1 action.
Draw a sword: PHB190. Free object interaction.
Attack with a sword: PHB192. 1 action.

I agree it would be super weird to walk around town with an equipped shield, though (or any armor or heavy weapons). Also not usually necessary unless the DM is being silly with double standards by allowing roving swarms of heavily-armed bandits/monsters to run around in the city unimpeded.

To answer the OP: a free object interaction will not give you what you want because you only get one of those per turn (and it's presumably being used to draw the sword). Allowing an action to be done as a bonus action is definitely abusable by a cunning player, but that's why this game uses a DM. If the player wants this one thing, and the game as-run specifically disadvantages them otherwise, it's not a crazy solution, it's just probably not necessary. Just give them some magic bracers and do away with the shield.

 

[Flamestrike]

Your GM is probably being a bit of a hardass if he's making the pally spend an action to equip the shield

Those are the rules though. He's not being a hard ass at all.

There is a bigger issue at play here; why is the Paladin PC walking around town in full plate and with a shield strapped to his arm.

That's ridiculous. Knights don't (and didn't) walk around town doing their shopping armed for war!

 

[Dausuul]

If walking around with a shield at the ready is rare enough to draw attention, then the town must be safe enough that the paladin shouldn't need the shield much. So if the issue is coming up often, that seems like a disconnect.

Ultimately, however, it's the DM's call. Myself, I prefer to handwave this kind of thing. I don't feel it adds anything to the game to fuss over whether the PCs have their gear ready at any given moment.

Moreover, it tends to hit martials much harder than casters. Does the DM make the party wizard keep track of what time of day they cast mage armor? It only lasts 8 hours, after all.

 

[Mistwell]

How often is he getting attacked in town exactly?

In Strahd? Yeah, often. It's definitely going to come up.

Dont know about you, but in a civilised town, my PCs dont wander around in armor, let alone holding a shield.

There is little that is civilized at the heart of Strahd. Every town, village, city, or encampment is liable to turn into an ambush at any moment. The entire population is oppressed, depressed, and desperate.

Would you? Armor isn't comfortable. Like; when you're in town you're getting around in normal clothes, not geared for war.

Yes. After a single day in that adventure I'd be wearing armor and walking around with my weapon drawn as often as I could manage it.

 

[bedir than]

Frontier town in heavy armor with martial weapons? Sure
Civilized town with light armor and simple weapons? Maybe

 

[humble minion]

our DM says carrying a shield in town is considered a hostile act and not done in civilized society.

If your GM says that, but has the townsfolk display no qualms about the GWM barbarian carrying his greataxe around in town, then I'd roll my eyes about it a bit too.