Post/Author/DateTime	Post
spencerthomas 09-13-06, 08:40 AM	Evening, I wanted to check to see if there is anything that can be done to a tower shield ( enhancement or matieral ) that will reduce the attack penatly. Also, what is everyones take on Sword and Board fighting? I think I might have to much a love of concept and walking past practicality. Thanks, -sc
Chrono Nexus 09-13-06, 08:49 AM	I don't know that there is anything to reduce the attack penalty... but I thought that the attack penalty only applies for nonproficiency? Maybe I am wrong, I never use them... As for sword and board combat- It's fun to watch (I go to SCA events all the time), but frankly I suck at using shields. I also suck at rapiers... I usually end up wielding a claymore, since I can take advantage of it's longer reach and more powerful swings.
kjenks 09-13-06, 11:06 AM	Evening, I wanted to check to see if there is anything that can be done to a tower shield ( enhancement or matieral ) that will reduce the attack penatly. I've never heard of one. Basically, you have a form of Combat Expertise -- increasing your AC at the expense of your attack bonus. SRD === When employing a tower shield in combat, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls because of the shield's encumbrance. === Do take note of the extreme changes to the tower shield rules in the Main 3.5e FAQ. Also, what is everyones take on Sword and Board fighting? I think I might have to much a love of concept and walking past practicality. Thanks, -sc Like using Combat Expertise, sword-and-board is a compromise between inflicting maximum damage (you inflict more damage with with two-weapon fighting and even more with a two-handed weapon) and not getting hit so often. If you care not at all how often you get hit, use a two-handed weapon, Combat Brute, Shock Trooper, Reckless Rage, and spend most of your gold on Str boosts and your weapon(s) -- and your damage output goes through the roof while your AC will stink on ice. If you want to avoid getting hit most of the time, use a tower shield, Improved Combat Expertise, Greater Heavy Armor Optimization, fighting defensively with ranks in Tumble, and spend most of your gold on defense -- and your AC goes through the roof while your damage output will be laughable. Most fighters will come to a compromise in the middle of those extremes.
Tony Vargas 09-13-06, 05:01 PM	Also, what is everyones take on Sword and Board fighting? I think I might have to much a love of concept and walking past practicality. For all intents and purposes, there is no S&B. You can be a TWFer who uses a shield as his secondary weapon while recieving it's AC bonus via Improved Shield Bash, or you can be a THF who gains a shield bonus from Improved Buckler Use or an Animated Shield. Even if you don't have the DEX for TWFing, you can take Agile Shield Fighter from PHII to basically the same ends. The game just fails to enforce the trade-off inherent in using (or not using) a shield (depending on how you look at it). You can have the best of both worlds, so, once you have the feats or funds to pull it off, why wouldn't you. You might think that the Tower Shield would be an exception, since it can't bash and has a higher AC bonus - but it /can/ be Animated.
spencerthomas 09-14-06, 03:10 AM	Hmm question then. I've read animated before and it says you still take the armor check penalties. would you assume that you'd still take the -2 to attack or not becuase the discription doesn't mention its size but encumberance ( which is removed when animated. ) also, in a compare/contrast wouldn't it be more intellegent to invest in some kindof magic item that cast continual shield or somesuch? only thing I can think of that keeps animated going for it is retaining the special rules/properties like Heavy Fortification. ( nothing quite like the image of a tower shield ninja'ing behind me as a rouge tries to sneak attack :P ) -sc
Tony Vargas 09-14-06, 01:13 PM	Hmm question then. I've read animated before and it says you still take the armor check penalties. would you assume that you'd still take the -2 to attack Yes, you still take the -2 to attack. You still need Tower Shield proficiency, too, or the thing /really/ gets in your way... in a compare/contrast wouldn't it be more intellegent to invest in some kindof magic item that cast continual shield or somesuch?If you could get away with that, sure! There is no such item, though, and Shield isn't potionable, so the only core access through a magic item is scrolls and wands. The only DMG item that's anything like a continuous Shield-spell effect is the Broach of Shielding (which just absorbs magic missle damage - no AC bonus). Items that give a numeric bonus, like bracers of armor, are priced on the size of the bonus, not the level of the spell thier based on (that's why Bracers of Armor +4 are 16kgp instead of 2kgp). A theoreticaly Shield-bonus item would probably be similarly priced - quite possibly (judging from the Shield Ring), it'd be quite a bit more.
Trevan0 09-14-06, 01:32 PM	I love the Tower shield. But I also hate it. It has such a special, yet clunky mechanic associated with it. The one in the PhB is unusable, and the one present by the FAQ is unacceptable to me. So i'm basically at a loss as to what to think of it. Nevertheless, it has a special place in my heart, despite weighing 45 lbs.
dengarbountyhunter 09-14-06, 06:15 PM	Could you describe the FAQ's tower shield? It's not against the CoC as far as I know... Edit: sorry, that was totally unclear. I meant "please send the stats of that FAQ's tower shield; doing so is not a violation of the Code of Conduct as far as I know"...
kjenks 09-15-06, 08:19 AM	In the upper left-hand corner of this page is a link to "Game Rules." That leads you to a page that contains, among other things, "Game Rule FAQ." Click on those words. The next page has a link to "v.3.5 Main D&D FAQ" -- click that, too. A little more clicking may be required, depending on how your computer is configured. The revised rules are on pages 45-46 of the currend FAQ, but it changes almost every month.
Iver Gearsham 09-15-06, 01:28 PM	The -2 comes from Encumberance if you make it out of Darkwood a tower shield will be 22 or 23 lbs.. If you you use FR's Underdark book there is a armor power called Half Weight that should make it 11 to 12 lbs. more than a Heavy wooden shield by 1 or 2 pounds. See if that works for you and your DM :) .