Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Torck 09-28-04, 05:04 PM	When a cleric has a weapon in his right hand, and a small shield in his left hand, is he able to cast somatic component-spells? same question with a buckler
dirkformica 09-28-04, 05:35 PM	A light shield allows you go carry items in that hand, although you can't wield weapons, as a result you could pass your main weapon temporarily into the shield hand in order to perform the somatic gestures of the spell, and then pass the weapon back to your main hand. Bucklers actually allow you to wield a weapon in that hand with a -1 penalty to hit, so you could do the same maneuver as listed above, easily. Although I don't know if it's stipulated in the text of the rules, when I asked a similar question awhile back, the general consensus was that changing the weapon from hand to hand was a free action that must occur on your turn.
kjenks 09-28-04, 05:48 PM	Agreed. It's hard to do this same trick with a heavy shield or a tower shield. If you see a cleric doing this, ask him where his weapon is stored while he's casting. Odds are, he hasn't thought it through. It usually requires a move action to stow your weapon and another move action to draw it, but these can be combined with "normal movement" in some circumstances. Shield, Heavy, Wooden or Steel: You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A heavy shield is so heavy that you can’t use your shield hand for anything else. Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so. The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else. (See the FAQ for drastic changes in the tower shield rules, but nothing there makes it easier to cast a spell while wielding a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other.)
Mirtek 09-29-04, 09:47 AM	You can not cast spells requiring a somatic component with your shield arm. Not even if the shield is only a buckler. See the FAQ about this. But you're able, as stated above, to shortly take weapon and some shields in the same hand, cast a spell with the now free hand, and changing the weapon back after casting the spell as free actions.
ClementWillowbreaker 09-29-04, 10:50 AM	You can not cast spells requiring a somatic component with your shield arm. Not even if the shield is only a buckler. See the FAQ about this. But you're able, as stated above, to shortly take weapon and some shields in the same hand, cast a spell with the now free hand, and changing the weapon back after casting the spell as free actions. Or you could look at this for the exact (and sensible) oppposite- from the Rules of the Game- "Your hand is free when you aren't carrying a weapon, a piece of equipment, or (usually) a shield. You can strap a buckler to your arm and use your hand to wield a weapon (albeit at a penalty), so there's no reason you couldn't use your buckler hand for a somatic component. The buckler might interfere a little bit, but that's what the arcane spell failure chance for the buckler is for. You also can strap a light shield to your forearm and still carry items in that hand, but you can't use the hand for anything else (such as wielding a weapon), so there's no good reason you should be able to use that hand to complete a somatic component. Since manipulating a material component (including a focus) is part of casting the spell, it's best to consider the hand that holds the material component or focus as "free" for purposes of completing a somatic component."