Substitute sm. mithral shield for buckler?

[Wolf72]

and yes I'd still give him the -1 to attks, even though buckler now only weighs 2.5 lbs instead of 5

 

[Artoomis]

Absolutely not. Only a buckler (in the 3e universe) is designed to allow yoiu to strap it to your arm and use a weapon.

 

[Bronn Spellforger]

From the PHB: A small shield's light weight lets you carry other items in that hand (although you cannot carry weapons).

However, since this is a mithril shield, I think I disagree with Artoomis. Look at the description for both small shield and large shield (ie, a large shield "is too HEAVY to use your shield hand for anything else"). Their limitations are based completely on WEIGHT. If his new buckler weighs less than a small shield, he should be able to use it and his two weapons.

Of course, I'm going by my interpretation of the rules in a book. Someone who's actually USED a buckler or small shield may know otherwise.

And just an FYI -- the -1 to attack for a buckler is only for use with two weapons, not a two-handed weapon.

 

[kreynolds]

From the PHB: A small shield's light weight lets you carry other items in that hand (although you cannot carry weapons).

However, since this is a mithril shield, I think I disagree with Artoomis.

It doesn't really matter what the small shield is made out of. We're not talking about weight interfering with you wielding a weapon. We're talking about size at this point. If you're holding a dinner tray, you're gonna have a hard time swingin' that longsword around. Whether the dinner tray is made out of lead or styrofoam doesn't make a bit o' difference.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

Here's the real difference...

Bucklers and small shields have all the same bonuses and penalties, by the numbers. AC bonus, Armor Check Penalty, Arcane Spell Failure... they are all the same.

Bucklers, however, will let you do something with that hand with out having to drop the shield... You can fire a bow, swing a weapon two-handed, wield two weapons, drink a potion, etc.

Meanwhile, with a small shield, you can carry something in that hand (a torch, for example) but not wield a weapon with it. Also it can be used to make shield bash attacks as an off-hand weapon, and it can have shield spikes attached to it... Bucklers cannot.

You should not allow him to dual-wield when wearing a small shield (even a mithril one), or use a buckler to shield bash. It's one or the other.

 

[kreynolds]

Hey....I think I just hit on to something really cool...a dinner tray shield...bonus to AC...competence bonus to serving ale in battle...oh yeah...

 

[Tom Cashel]

And just an FYI -- the -1 to attack for a buckler is only for use with two weapons, not a two-handed weapon.

Yes, but this brings up the fact that if he's using the buckler-arm to do something else (i.e. wield a weapon two-handed), he does NOT get the AC bonus for the buckler.

BTW, thanks to everyone for their replies. I think I'll put a "dinner tray shield" in the next treasure horde the PCs find...

 

[drnuncheon]

Of course, I'm going by my interpretation of the rules in a book. Someone who's actually USED a buckler or small shield may know otherwise.

Anyone who's actually used a buckler hasn't used it in the way described in the PHB, since bucklers in our world aren't strapped to the arm. So all we really have to go by is the rules in the book.

J