Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="thorimar" data-source="post: 930812" data-attributes="member: 11308"><p>Okay, so I read the quote from the SRD above but I still am unclear.&nbsp; It states that an off-hand weapon would suffer a penalty, which I understand because the whole weight of the buckler is on that arm.&nbsp; The SRD also indicates specifically that using a bow or crossbow does not incur this penalty.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; I always made the assumption that because the bows were used two-handed they distributed the weight of the buckler and weapon more evenly, thus eliminating the penalty.&nbsp; This interpretation I am also okay with.&nbsp; My problem is with 2-h weapons.&nbsp; I can't see how it is less cumbersome to use a bow or crossbow while wearing a buckler compared to a two-handed melee weapon.&nbsp; I think the paragraph on bucklers skips over the one scenario that they could be the most useful for.&nbsp; I play a dwarven cleric/fighter who wears a MW buckler and wields a 2-H hammer (maul).&nbsp; On those rounds I spend moving or heaing I get the armor benefit.&nbsp; When I fight I sacrifice that AC for more damage(+1/2 STR).&nbsp; But I hadn't ever taken the -1 to-hit fromthe buckler rule because it didn't totally fit.&nbsp; Has this rule been clarified anywhere else?&nbsp; Maybe 3.5 will re-write this paragraph with the answer spelled out for us.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="thorimar, post: 930812, member: 11308"] Okay, so I read the quote from the SRD above but I still am unclear. It states that an off-hand weapon would suffer a penalty, which I understand because the whole weight of the buckler is on that arm. The SRD also indicates specifically that using a bow or crossbow does not incur this penalty. Why? I always made the assumption that because the bows were used two-handed they distributed the weight of the buckler and weapon more evenly, thus eliminating the penalty. This interpretation I am also okay with. My problem is with 2-h weapons. I can't see how it is less cumbersome to use a bow or crossbow while wearing a buckler compared to a two-handed melee weapon. I think the paragraph on bucklers skips over the one scenario that they could be the most useful for. I play a dwarven cleric/fighter who wears a MW buckler and wields a 2-H hammer (maul). On those rounds I spend moving or heaing I get the armor benefit. When I fight I sacrifice that AC for more damage(+1/2 STR). But I hadn't ever taken the -1 to-hit fromthe buckler rule because it didn't totally fit. Has this rule been clarified anywhere else? Maybe 3.5 will re-write this paragraph with the answer spelled out for us. [/QUOTE]

Verification