Confused about shield spikes [Archive] - Wizards Community

Confused about shield spikes [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nairb45335
03-15-07, 09:17 PM I have read in other posts on the boards about enchanting shield spikes. Do shield spikes get enchanted on their own or do they share the shield's maximum pluses (+10)? I.E. you can enchant the spikes up to +10 for offense +5 hit dam, fire, defending ect. and Separately Enchant the shield portion for defense +5 to AC etc.?

So I guess my question is are shield spikes a weapon that are glued, welded or in some other way attached to shield and therefore could be enchanted before attactment or are they part of the shield?

Has an official opinion ever been made and where might I find it?

Thanks for any help
jaelis
03-15-07, 09:56 PM Shield spikes are basically treated as a separate weapon. So you could have +3 flaming spikes on a +5 ghost touch shield, and the whole thing would cost:
32000 gp (for the +4-equivalent spikes)
+64000 gp (for the +8-equivalent shield)
= 960000 gp total.

(What's more confusing is that even if you don't have spikes, you can enhance a shield as a weapon for bashing, in addition to and separately from its armor enhancement as a shield. So you could do the same thing (for the same price) as above, even if you had no shield spikes.)

The most expensive non-epic item in the game (from the core books, anyway) is a +10 attack/+10 defense shield (costing 300,000 gp).

Whether you could pull enhanced spikes off one shield and put them on another is a DM call. I'd say no, myself.
Kouk
03-16-07, 12:27 PM The PHB says that enhancement bonus from shield armor doesn't make a spike do more damage, but that the spike can be made a magic weapon "in its own right". So yes, as said above, a shield spike is a separate weapon that you just happen to stick onto your shield, it is not a part of the shield. Same goes with armor spikes.

I would rule that they can actually be removed, by having the shield have a frame built on to it, or a socket put in it for holding the spikes. But your mileage may vary.

I could swear I read somewhere that it was like a move action to take a spike off, but I thought that was stupid.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nairb45335 03-15-07, 09:17 PM	I have read in other posts on the boards about enchanting shield spikes. Do shield spikes get enchanted on their own or do they share the shield's maximum pluses (+10)? I.E. you can enchant the spikes up to +10 for offense +5 hit dam, fire, defending ect. and Separately Enchant the shield portion for defense +5 to AC etc.? So I guess my question is are shield spikes a weapon that are glued, welded or in some other way attached to shield and therefore could be enchanted before attactment or are they part of the shield? Has an official opinion ever been made and where might I find it? Thanks for any help
jaelis 03-15-07, 09:56 PM	Shield spikes are basically treated as a separate weapon. So you could have +3 flaming spikes on a +5 ghost touch shield, and the whole thing would cost: 32000 gp (for the +4-equivalent spikes) +64000 gp (for the +8-equivalent shield) = 960000 gp total. (What's more confusing is that even if you don't have spikes, you can enhance a shield as a weapon for bashing, in addition to and separately from its armor enhancement as a shield. So you could do the same thing (for the same price) as above, even if you had no shield spikes.) The most expensive non-epic item in the game (from the core books, anyway) is a +10 attack/+10 defense shield (costing 300,000 gp). Whether you could pull enhanced spikes off one shield and put them on another is a DM call. I'd say no, myself.
Kouk 03-16-07, 12:27 PM	The PHB says that enhancement bonus from shield armor doesn't make a spike do more damage, but that the spike can be made a magic weapon "in its own right". So yes, as said above, a shield spike is a separate weapon that you just happen to stick onto your shield, it is not a part of the shield. Same goes with armor spikes. I would rule that they can actually be removed, by having the shield have a frame built on to it, or a socket put in it for holding the spikes. But your mileage may vary. I could swear I read somewhere that it was like a move action to take a spike off, but I thought that was stupid.