Twin Shields And Attack Options

[Nazhkandrias]

All of these are valid points - I definitely don't want to be the player who is the "exception" to the rules, and I didn't even intend for this to be the most powerful combo - I just haven't ever seen it before! But, now that I think about it, it isn't a half-bad offensive option. The Bashing special ability is a good idea, and it makes for a memorable and pretty powerful Fighter.

You see, the main problem that I have with the Fighter is that it's a fairly flavorless class, on its own - you have to make it interesting through fighting style and feat selection. Honestly, a Human Fighter wearing Full Plate with a Greatsword and a few Power Attack feats is boring. On the other hand, give him a crazy exotic weapon or means of attack (Net and Trident Style or using bolas is a good idea - so is using a dynamic weapon like the Longaxe), some cool feats (like Blood-Spiked Charger, Cometary Collision, Frightful Presence, or Shock Trooper), and a neat motif, and voila! Your cut-and-dry warrior is more interesting than your party's long-complicated-past-that-nobody-cares-about Rogue! That was my main aim here, and I'm glad that people think of it as something fairly unique - that's just enough to make me try it out, even if I don't get that measly +2 to AC. I really just wanna turn heads at the game table.

 

[calebw]

i like the idea of using two shields. how does that work with taking a defensive action? would your ac bonus double or something ridiculous like that?

 

[Diirk]

Yes but if you have Bashing Heavy Spiked shields in each hand and Agile Shield Fighter, who cares about the additional shield AC, as you have two one handed weapons each with a base damage of 2d6+1, and only -2 to attack rolls. It's as good as a Greatsword in each hand (better because even if it was possible some how, the penalties for not having a light weapon would be greater), and you only need to buy Weapons Focus, Specialization, Improved Critical, etc. for one weapon, as opposed to a sword and board character that needs double the feats for less damage output.

I don't think shield spikes and bashing stack, as bashing is a shield enchantment for the shield, whereas shield spikes are a weapon in their own right, not just a modification to the shield. You could attack with a heavy shield of bashing (1d8 bludgeoning damage) or with its shield spikes (1d6 piercing damage).

Also heavy shields aren't light weapons, so while with agile weapon fighter you may get one offhand attack -2, it also never gets you more than 1 offhand attack.

 

[Hypersmurf]

whereas shield spikes are a weapon in their own right, not just a modification to the shield.

Shield spikes are not a weapon in their own right; they are a modification to the shield.

A shield can be used to bash as a martial bludgeoning weapon.

If you add spikes, you now have a spiked shield. The spiked shield is a martial piercing weapon.

This is different to armor spikes, where the spikes are the weapon; in the case of the shield, it is not the spikes, but the spiked shield, that is the weapon.


Shield Spikes: When added to your shield, these spikes turn it into a martial piercing weapon that increases the damage dealt by a shield bash as if the shield were designed for a creature one size category larger than you. You can’t put spikes on a buckler or a tower shield. Otherwise, attacking with a spiked shield is like making a shield bash attack (see above). An enhancement bonus on a spiked shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but a spiked shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right.

-Hyp.