The Buckler

[erik_the_guy]

The buckler is a medieval shield and weapon that was used mostly between 1100 and 1600 AD. It is gripped in the fist (generally in the same hand that bears a sword) and used to offer extra concealment and protection for the sword hand. Bucklers were excellent at deflecting melee attacks while ineffective for missile attacks (due to their small diameter). They also served as weapons used to bludgeon their opponents.

The following is a suggestion for a buckler for 4e D&D. It is based upon the actual medieval buckler and some of the traits that bucklers had in 3e.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckler

I think this version of the buckler is most attractive to rangers, great weapon fighters and rogues. There are no rules against using the buckler together with another shield, but many of the bonuses will not stack.

Buckler
5 gp, 3lbs, -1 check penalty.

The buckler does not grant a shield bonus to AC or REF saves. You may hold a buckler in the same hand that holds another item, weapon or implement. You may not wield it in the same hand as another shield or buckler. While wielding a buckler in the same hand as a weapon, you may make a saving throw to avoid being disarmed of that weapon due to any attack or effect. A buckler also counts as an improvised weapon. A buckler does not count as a shield, so it cannot be used, for example, with "tide of iron".
You add the buckler's check penalty to any attacks made with a weapon in the same hand if you do not have training in bucklers (any buckler feat grants training with bucklers).

The following feats are intended for use with the buckler (it is almost useless without them).

Heroic Tier Feats

Feat: Superior deflection
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Requirements: Dex 13, or proficiency with light shields.
Effect: You may use deflect the blow as an encounter power. You gain training with bucklers if you do not already have it.

Deflect the blow: encounter power
Immediate interrupt
Trigger: You are hit by a melee attack while wielding a buckler.
Effect: You gain a +2 shield bonus to AC and REF defenses against melee attacks until the begging of your next turn.
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Feat: Buckler combat training
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Requirements: Str 13, or training with heavy shields.
Effect: You treat bucklers as a mace class weapon with a damage die of 1d6, a proficiency bonus of +2, and the off-hand property. You may wield a buckler and another weapon in one hand at the same time. Whenever a power of feat uses a weapon in a hand that wields both a buckler and another weapon, you choose which to use. You gain training with bucklers if you do not already have it. You can use Iron fist as an encounter power.

Iron fist: encounter power
Minor action, weapon
Effect: make a melee basic attack with a buckler you have equipped.
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Feat: Buckler weapon concealment
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Effect: You can use Hide the weapon as an encounter power. You gain training in bucklers if you do not already have it.

Hide the weapon: encounter power
minor action, personal
Effect: you gain a +1 shield bonus to all attacks made with the weapon in the same hand as your buckler until the beginning of your next turn.
Sustain minor: make a saving throw to sustain the effect, if you fail you cannot sustain the effect again this encounter.
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Paragon Tier feats

Paragon Feat: Shield and a weapon
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Requirement: you must be trained with bucklers
Effect: Whenever you hit with an opportunity attack or a fighter's "combat challenge" attack, you add 1[W] for your buckler if you have one equipped (this includes enhancement and feat bonuses to the bucklers damage, but not any ability score modifiers).
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Paragon Feat: Heavy buckler
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Requirement: superior deflection feat, Str 15
Effect: You may treat a buckler you wield as a shield. It still does not grant any bonus to AC or REF defenses, but you may be able to use some powers that require a shield. The AC and REF bonus granted by your deflect the blow power increases to +3.
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Paragon Feat: Deadly buckler
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Requirement: buckler combat training, Str 15
Effect: bucklers you wield use a d8 damage die instead of a d6. You may use your Iron fist power up to twice per encounter, but no more than once per round.
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Paragon Feat: Hidden behind the shield
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Requirement: Buckler weapon concealment, Dex 15
Effect: When you use your Hide the weapon encounter power choose a single target within 3 squares. Make a hide check agains the target's perception at a +5 bonus. If you succeed you gain combat advantage against the target with the hidden weapon for as long as you successfully sustain the power.
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No epic feats yet, open to suggestions

 

[Alex319]

These feats are interesting ideas but some of them definitely seem overpowered. The only feats in the PHB that even offer additional powers are the Channel Divinity feats, and even those don't increase the number of power uses per encounter (because you can only use one Channel Divinity power once per encounter). Your feats provide extra encounter powers, some of which are minor actions - essentially providing free attacks. Another potential problem is that a player could use all his encounter powers with the buckler and then switch to a regular shield for the rest of the battle.

For example, suppose a player decides to wield a Versatile weapon in two hands with a buckler. When he is hit by an attack that beats his AC/REF by less than 2, he activates Superior Deflection to block the attack, and then switches to a normal large shield on his next turn. Note that the +2 from Superior Deflection is the same as the value for a large shield. Now for the cost of a single feat, he has essentially gained the benefits of a 2-handed weapon from the beginning of an encounter until he is forced to activate the power (which will be 10 rounds on average, assuming he is attacked once per round).

Some changes I would suggest:

1. Specify whether or not a player is allowed to wield a two-handed weapon and a buckler at the same time.

2. Specify whether bucklers can have enhancement bonuses to their attacks, and if so how the level/cost is calculated. (Shields normally do not have enhancement bonuses in 4e, but your "Shield and a weapon" feat's text implies that bucklers can have enhancement bonuses.)

2. Change "Deflect the Blow" to be used when the enemy declares an attack, before he makes his attack roll.

3. Reduce the power of "Iron Fist." At the paragon tier, for example, players are likely to have lots of static modifiers to their rolls, and could easily do 15-20 damage or so on a basic attack with the right powers, so essentially providing two free basic attacks per encounter for the cost of only two feats is too powerful.

4. "Shield and a Weapon" might be overpowered but I am not sure. A good point of comparison is Combat Reflexes: it gives you +1 to attack with OAs while this gives +1d6 (or 1d8) to damage, so this is more powerful. On the other hand Combat Reflexes itself is a relatively weak feat, so this might be balanced; I'm not sure.

5. "Buckler Weapon Concealment" and "Hidden Behind the Shield" seem like interesting options for stealthy characters. I would recommend switching the roles of the heroic and paragon feats though - as written now, despite the "hiding" idea for both feats, the hiding itself doesn't come into play until you get the paragon feat - the heroic feat is just a plain vanilla +1.

It would also make more sense for it to be only one attack - once you attack with it then the enemies see what you did and will not be fooled by it again. This also prevents the cheese that will inevitably result when a player figures out a way to boost his saves to the point where he can sustain the power for the entire encounter.

It also makes more sense for the power only to work with light blades, because you're not going to hide a longsword or two handed sword behind that little buckler.

A (close to guaranteed) CA for one attack per encounter is plenty of power for one feat. As for the paragon feat, +1 to one attack per encounter is probably not powerful enough, so you could raise it to +2 or +3 or give an improved critical effect (like crit on 19-20 or something like that).

 

[Kaldaen]

I couldn't find rules for disarming an opponent in the PHB. Could you point out the page number?

As for the effect of carrying the buckler, why not just have it increase the difficulty of the disarm attack, rather than provide a saving throw? Saving throws in 4E are more for specialized situations like ongoing effects.

 

[Khaalis]

I couldn't find rules for disarming an opponent in the PHB. Could you point out the page number?

There aren't any. This would have to be an entirely new house rule of its own.

As for the effect of carrying the buckler, why not just have it increase the difficulty of the disarm attack, rather than provide a saving throw? Saving throws in 4E are more for specialized situations like ongoing effects.

This depends on the OP's idea of house rules for disarming. There are a number of cases I have seen in various House Rules where people are using a similar mechanic of allowing an Immediate Saving Throw to avoid some ill effect. Its not a Core concept but it does make some sense as a viable mechanic.

An example might be a dwarven racial feat that allows a dwarf to make an Immediate Saving Throw against any poison effect, rather than making the saving throw as a round's final action.