Shield Spell vs. Touch Attack

[Uller]

A shield spell, however, does protect you from touch attacks.

After all the support I gave you on 5' steps...

Your right. My bad.

 

[James McMurray]

I think it should also be mentioned that the shield spell does not actually provide cover. What it provides is a cover bonus to AC. It does not have the additional effect of adding to reflex saves or negating attacks of opportunity. This is fully detailed in the erratta, and without this bit of info, the Shield spell becomes at the very least a 2nd level spell in power.

 

[Caliban]

I think it should also be mentioned that the shield spell does not actually provide cover. What it provides is a cover bonus to AC. It does not have the additional effect of adding to reflex saves or negating attacks of opportunity. This is fully detailed in the erratta, and without this bit of info, the Shield spell becomes at the very least a 2nd level spell in power.

While I agree that it would be reasonable to errata the shield in this manner, I must point out that the errata was only published in that one issue of Dragon, and did not make it into either the Official D&D FAQ (composed of Sage Advice answers), or the official PHB Errata update that happened after that issue of Dragon was published.

For whatever reason, the errata for the shield spell does not appear to have been fully ratified by WOTC.

 

[Uller]

I think it should also be mentioned that the shield spell does not actually provide cover. What it provides is a cover bonus to AC. It does not have the additional effect of adding to reflex saves or negating attacks of opportunity. This is fully detailed in the erratta, and without this bit of info, the Shield spell becomes at the very least a 2nd level spell in power.

There is no errata on the shield spell. The best we have is a Sage comment that it provides a cover bonus to AC and doesn't protect against AoOs. He didn't mention the ref save so it is debatable whether or not he meant for that to be removed as well. Since the official description of the Shield spell specifically mentions that it provides the +7 AC bonus AND the +3 ref save bonus, I am inclined to go with that(we've been playing it that way and shield spells don't seem over powered to us) and accept the sage advice to remove the AoO protection(since that isn't mentioned in the description of the spell.

 

[rhammer2]

Magic Missile is a targeted spell. Touch attack spells are not targeted spells as referred to in the quote.

A lightning bolt has an "Area". A touch-attack spell generally has a "Target" (creature touched).

"A tower shield, however, does not provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targetting the shield you are holding."

...

Uh... if you don't hold it, it falls down. It only weighs 45 lbs - not much point relying on the cover of something that's balancing on an edge, when the first half-hearted kick from an opponent will topple it over...

-Hyp.

 

[Uller]

Magic Missile is a targeted spell. Touch attack spells are not targeted spells as referred to in the quote.

No. A targetted spell is any spell that targets a creature or object(and has a "target" line in its description block). Chill Touch, Ghoul Touch, Vampiric Touch(to name a few) are all targetted spells.

 

[rhammer2]

The spells you listed are touch attacks, you must make an attack roll to effect the target. Targeted spells do not require an attack roll.

No. A targetted spell is any spell that targets a creature or object(and has a "target" line in its description block). Chill Touch, Ghoul Touch, Vampiric Touch(to name a few) are all targetted spells.

 

[Artoomis]

After all the support I gave you on 5' steps...

Your right. My bad.

Sorry about that. I try and be impartial.

edit: In fact, when I responded to your post, I didn't even note who I was responding to, so I didn't even notice it was you. How much more impartial can you get?

 

[Uller]

The spells you listed are touch attacks, you must make an attack roll to effect the target. Targeted spells do not require an attack roll.

Tell me...what makes you think that touch(and ranged touch) spells and targetted spells are mutually exclusive sets? Is there some definition of "targetted spell" somewhere that says "never requires and attack roll" or some such? As far as I know, any spell that targets a creature or object is a targetted spell...some require attack rolls(Chill Touch) and some do not(Magic Missile). This is as opposed to an effect spells that creates a magical effect in an area(Lightning Bolt) or creates/conjures an object or creature(Spiritual Weapon).

 

[rhammer2]

Targeted vs Touched Spells

The description of the tower shield is clarifying that spells such as Magic Missile can not be defended against by hiding behind the shield. The cover provided by the shield does provide the target with an AC cover bonus that touch delivered spells have to penetrate with their attack rolls.