Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Two Shields?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 477654" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>I'm the guy who Speaks With Stone is talking about. I have looked into this topic extensively as I am currently running a character who dual-wields spiked shields. I have a few observations on the matter if you are interested in hearing them:</p><p></p><p>1) My GM is of the opinion (as am I) that the armor bonuses from the shields do not stack. They are the same type of bonus and under the rules, like bonuses do not stack. As a result, I think that the Shield Expert feat is less useful to this style than a weapon/shield style since you will always have one of your shields in place for defense unless you attack with both.</p><p></p><p>2) I am playing a Ranger/Cleric (presently Ranger 1/Cleric 3). For sheer power, the Ranger level that I took is of questionable efficacy (I would still have taken it for roleplaying reasons - He worships Obad-Hai). However, it makes for a very versitile character in terms of deciding how much offense/defense I want to have available in any given round.</p><p></p><p>3) Rather than Shield Expert, I took Improved Shield Bash. The free Bull Rush with every attack is fun and can be effective at forcing your opponents to take AoO's from your friends who threaten them. Also note that if you opt for two weapon fighting, you can bash, 5 foot step and bash again, forcing Bull Rushes on both attacks. If you hit both times and successfully Bull Rush both times, you can move an opponent around quite a bit like this. Unfortunately, my luck at hitting has been rotten and I have not been able to do this.</p><p></p><p>4) At 3rd level, I took Shield Charge which doubles your damage from a shield bash on a charge. This can get very nasty, especially if you have some help from your friends. Last combat, I shield charged an opponent for 18 damage and Bull Rushed him 5 feet. Then an ally Bull Rushed him again on his turn and knocked him back another 5 feet, leaving me enough room to charge again and finish him off.</p><p></p><p>5) Certain Cleric spells work really well with shield bashes. They are (I think - I don't have my books with me) Spikes and Brambles which add substantially to the damage you can do with the shield. Then you double that damage on a Shield Charge.</p><p></p><p>6) Don't forget that you can Ready or Loose a shield for free as part of a normal move, so long as your BAB is +1 or better.</p><p></p><p>As cool as all of that sounds, make sure that you understand the limitations of the style too. It is heavy and bulky carrying those shields around. People look at you funny and they are difficult to conceal. Also, unless you have spells running that enhance them, those shields do sub-optimal damage considering the other weapons you could be using. It is also unlikely (unless your DM is a real nice person) that you are going to find too many magical spiked shields laying around in treasure piles. If you get a chance to commission some magic shields, take it.</p><p></p><p>And have fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 477654, member: 99"] I'm the guy who Speaks With Stone is talking about. I have looked into this topic extensively as I am currently running a character who dual-wields spiked shields. I have a few observations on the matter if you are interested in hearing them: 1) My GM is of the opinion (as am I) that the armor bonuses from the shields do not stack. They are the same type of bonus and under the rules, like bonuses do not stack. As a result, I think that the Shield Expert feat is less useful to this style than a weapon/shield style since you will always have one of your shields in place for defense unless you attack with both. 2) I am playing a Ranger/Cleric (presently Ranger 1/Cleric 3). For sheer power, the Ranger level that I took is of questionable efficacy (I would still have taken it for roleplaying reasons - He worships Obad-Hai). However, it makes for a very versitile character in terms of deciding how much offense/defense I want to have available in any given round. 3) Rather than Shield Expert, I took Improved Shield Bash. The free Bull Rush with every attack is fun and can be effective at forcing your opponents to take AoO's from your friends who threaten them. Also note that if you opt for two weapon fighting, you can bash, 5 foot step and bash again, forcing Bull Rushes on both attacks. If you hit both times and successfully Bull Rush both times, you can move an opponent around quite a bit like this. Unfortunately, my luck at hitting has been rotten and I have not been able to do this. 4) At 3rd level, I took Shield Charge which doubles your damage from a shield bash on a charge. This can get very nasty, especially if you have some help from your friends. Last combat, I shield charged an opponent for 18 damage and Bull Rushed him 5 feet. Then an ally Bull Rushed him again on his turn and knocked him back another 5 feet, leaving me enough room to charge again and finish him off. 5) Certain Cleric spells work really well with shield bashes. They are (I think - I don't have my books with me) Spikes and Brambles which add substantially to the damage you can do with the shield. Then you double that damage on a Shield Charge. 6) Don't forget that you can Ready or Loose a shield for free as part of a normal move, so long as your BAB is +1 or better. As cool as all of that sounds, make sure that you understand the limitations of the style too. It is heavy and bulky carrying those shields around. People look at you funny and they are difficult to conceal. Also, unless you have spells running that enhance them, those shields do sub-optimal damage considering the other weapons you could be using. It is also unlikely (unless your DM is a real nice person) that you are going to find too many magical spiked shields laying around in treasure piles. If you get a chance to commission some magic shields, take it. And have fun. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Two Shields?
Top