Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Spikes01k 10-19-06, 10:24 PM	Hello everyone! For the first time I am considered having a player with imp. shield bash. First I would like to know, what is the point of shield bashing Second, how does it work, I have seen notes on two weapon fighting and shield bashing. Please respond, the game is this weakend.
Dyerhouse 10-19-06, 10:31 PM	Using Improved Shield Bash is nice because it means you get a higher shield bonus to AC than you would get for the Two-weapon defense feat. The main trade-off is that your damage is limited to either piercing or bludgeoning, and , while a combatant using two weapons can choose what type of damage and, to some extent, how much damage. Shield Bashing effectively requires the Two-Weapon Fighting feats, if you want to avoid penalties for fighting with two weapons. The good news is that you can enchant the shield or the spikes you place on a shield to be magic weapons. What'd be nice is if shield bonuses stacked. You could wield two of them and do this stuff and be extra protected. Here are the rules for Shield Bashing: Shield Bash Attacks You can bash an opponent with a light shield or heavy shield, using it as an off-hand weapon. See Table: Weapons for the damage dealt by a shield bash. Used this way, a shield is a martial bludgeoning weapon. For the purpose of penalties on attack rolls, treat a heavy shield as a one-handed weapon and a light shield as a light weapon. If you use your shield as a weapon, you lose its AC bonus until your next action (usually until the next round). An enhancement bonus on a shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but the shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right. Shield Spikes When added to your shield, these spikes turn it into a martial piercing weapon that increases the damage dealt by a shield bash as if the shield were designed for a creature one size category larger than you. You can’t put spikes on a buckler or a tower shield. Otherwise, attacking with a spiked shield is like making a shield bash attack. An enhancement bonus on a spiked shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but a spiked shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right.
Spikes01k 10-19-06, 10:38 PM	Thankyou
Ryu Katsuragi 10-19-06, 10:46 PM	Two-Weapon Fighting imposes a -2 (if the weapon in the off-hand is light, -4 if it's one handed. Dunno what shields are) to all attacks in exchange for more attacks. You get an extra attack at your highest base attack bonus-2. The more Two-Weapon Fighting feats the have, the more attacks you get. What'd be nice is if shield bonuses stacked. You could wield two of them and do this stuff and be extra protected. Sorry, but the thought of that is just... eh. You'd no longer have sword-and-broads, and two-handers... you'd just have a bunch of Dwarven Defenders going around dual-wielding tower shields.
Dyerhouse 10-19-06, 11:00 PM	A light shield is a light weapon and a heavy shield is a one-handed weapon. You can't shield bash with a tower shield, though. And yeah, I had a character where I made a feat that allowed shield bonuses to stack...it wasn't as bad as you think.
Ryu Katsuragi 10-19-06, 11:03 PM	Sorry. xD It's just the whole idea of 'dual-shielding' is about as stupid (in my mind) as someone realistically thinking sword-chucks would work, and reeks of munchkin (can someone say Shield Specialization, that Psionic feat which boosts shield AC, Shield Ward times two? Not to mention, throwing more than one animated shield out, wearing two shields and a Gnomish Battlecloak...)
Dyerhouse 10-19-06, 11:06 PM	It's another one of those things that makes perfect sense but would make the game completely broken. I mean, if you have two big rectangles of wood and metal in front of you, that will shield from blows better than one. But as you point out, it makes for an abusable situation.
Ryu Katsuragi 10-19-06, 11:11 PM	Not really... the point of a shield isn't to -block- attacks, it's to redirect them. You stick a shield infront of a sword blow? You're going to get it smashed, or have your arm shattered from taking the blow straight on. Two shields wouldn't allow you to block more, because they'd just get in the way. Magical tower shields, maybe, but not your average shields...
Dyerhouse 10-19-06, 11:22 PM	Either way, I'm sure a couple of SCA people have already read this and are planning on trying it at first opportunity.
Waterhammer 10-19-06, 11:56 PM	The real bonus of dual-weilding shields, is: You can flap your arms, and fly like a birdie. :D
Jhaelen 10-20-06, 06:17 PM	It's another one of those things that makes perfect sense but would make the game completely broken. I mean, if you have two big rectangles of wood and metal in front of you, that will shield from blows better than one.It doesn't make any sense in most situations. Simply strapping shields to your arms doesn't offer any additional protection. It's actively using a shield to deflect blows that adds to your protection. You can only use one shield to deflect a single blow. So the only situation where it 'might' be an advantage to use two shields at once is when you get attacked from two different directions at once. But since there is no penalty to AC when attacked from several opponents at once, there cannot be any bonus from using the second shield in such a way.