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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hawk Diesel" data-source="post: 7513147" data-attributes="member: 59848">No, I mean why are you using 3d8 for the damage of the single hand weapon? I calculate 1d8 for the weapon + 1d8 for Divine Strike. You need 6 more levels of cleric to get +2d8 added to the weapon damage. But yes, shield damage was also off.No, from my perspective you could give the shield a +1 bonus to attack and damage with Blessing of the Forge. But you would not also get a +1 to AC. You need to specify whether the magic will be used for offense or defense.I wouldn't use that as my rationale (though I suppose it works). I just see the intention of the feat's +1 to AC as a bonus to mitigate the lower defense of choosing an extra weapon over a shield. Since wielding a shield eliminates the meaningfulness of this choice (since you are getting the best of both worlds), that would be my reason for not permitting the bonus to AC.Well, I still say it would only be a 1d8 since you are only a level 8 cleric and need to be at least a level 14 cleric to gain the increase to a +2d8. Additionally, as I re-read divine strike, it specifies that you apply the damage only once per turn, not once per attack. Thus you would not be adding 1d8 (or 2d8 at cleric 14) to each successful strike, just one.Also, benefitting from Two Weapon Fighting style does not require you to be proficient with the off-hand weapon to gain the bonus from damage. Just that it be a weapon (or improvised weapon).But when using the shield as a weapon, Tavern Brawler already ensures that you will be proficient and thus add your proficiency bonus to attack rolls made with the shield. Wothout Tavern Brawler, I would consider having martial weapon proficiency at minimum, or possessing the Shield Master feat at most, to add your proficiency bonus to attack rolls.I agree with you that both RAW and Sage Advice allow the dueling style to benefit while wielding a shield, and a very strict reading of RAW would potentially allow a person to use it as an offhand weapon and still get the damage bonus to weapon attacks. However, I think this ruling breaks the RAI (Rules As Intended). The fighting style is meant to be specifically for a character that forgoes the option of using more than one weapon, and more specifically the very name evokes images of the classic movies of dueling fencers (See Princess Bride for an example).If I had a player that had the Dueling fighting style with a shield and he intended to use it as an offhand weapon, I would make it clear that he would need to declare either before taking the attack action that he would use his shield as a weapon, and thus not benefit from his normal +2 to damage. Otherwise if he took the attack action and then attempted to use a shield as a weapon on his bonus action without declaring, I would tell him no because he had already benefitted from the damage of his Dueling fighting style.Hope that clarifies and helps.</blockquote>

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