[3.5] Animated shield?

[The Rabbler]

so how does an animated shield work? do you cast animate object on a shield and suddenly it floats by your side and blocks stuff for you?

[DeltaEmil]

It's a normal magic item in the magic armor section (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm).


Animated

Upon command, an animated shield floats within 2 feet of the wielder, protecting her as if she were using it herself but freeing up both her hands. Only one shield can protect a character at a time. A character with an animated shield still takes any penalties associated with shield use, such as armor check penalty, arcane spell failure chance, and nonproficiency.

Strong transmutation; CL 12th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, animate objects; Price +2 bonus.

[The Rabbler]

It's a normal magic item in the magic armor section (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm).

... I swear that was the first place I looked...

Now I'm embarrassed.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

It is a complex and involved process to imbue a shield with the proper magic to cause it to be animated in any usable sense. Simply casting Animate Object on a shield will create a somewhat sentient object which is barely even mobile, much less capable of hovering an exact distance from its owner despite all the rigorous motions of combat. The sentience is the only part of that spell which this powerful tool draws on, the rest is due to the arcane materials which are consumed in its creation. A craftsman must know the feat Craft Magic Arms and Armor, which involves an entire school of principles on artifice. A wealth of arcane components is necessary in its creation. The casting of Animate Objects is merely an afterthought, it is the expensive components (likely helium balloons and magnets) and the knowledge of how and when to apply them to the shield which causes it to become animate.

[Coidzor]

There's a weapon enhancement that lets one turn a shield into a flying animated object without having to go through permanency+animate objects. Stacked with sizing and the shield property that lets one change what type of shield it is (buckler[?], light, heavy, tower) and it's a cheaper alternative to the flying carpet. Combined with a riverine shield as the base shield material, and that's basically a flying mobile variable-size wall of force. :smallbiggrin:

Post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10294124&postcount=5)by Darrin explaining it:
What you're really trying to accomplish is something like a Flying Variable Sizing Riverine Buckler +1:

Flying (+1 weapon enhancement, Magic of Faerun p. 140). Weapon becomes an animated object with a 30' fly speed. It can be given simple instructions, similar to mindless undead, but we can tell it to attack.

Variable (+1 shield enhancement, MIC p. 15). Allows us to change our buckler into a tower shield.

Sizing (+5000 GP, MIC p. 43). Swift action to change the size of our weapon, so let's take it up to Colossal.

Riverine (+10000 GP, Stormwrack p. 128). Special material that consists of water under extremely high pressure that's encased in walls of force... at which point whether or not there's water inside or at what pressure becomes pretty much entirely irrelevant. This makes our shield immune to all damage and spell effects (except disintegrate, but we can enchant it as a Spellblade for +6000 GP to shut down that little loophole). Riverine is *really* expensive (+2000 GP/lb), but that's why we started with a 5-lb. buckler.

To determine the size of our Magic Carpet of Flying Forcewall, let's assume that a tower shield for a medium-sized creature protects it from head-to-toe, so it's just as tall as the creature it's protecting. For width, let's assume it's half that, so a medium-sized tower shield is roughly 5' x 2.5'. A colossal-sized creature occupies a 30' x 30' x 30' cube, so we can assume a colossal-sized tower shield is roughly 30' tall and 15' wide. There's no standard way to determine a creature's size based on it's physical dimensions, but a 30' tall object generally becomes a 30' tall colossal animated object. Weapon size also corresponds roughly to a colossal-sized object (heavy shield = one-handed weapon, generally one size smaller than the size of the wielder, tower shield is bigger than a heavy shield, so roughly corresponds to a two-handed weapon for sizing purposes).

So, anyway, we've got a colossal-sized 32HD invulnerable animated construct with a 30' fly speed, essentially a 15' x 30' wall of force that obeys our commands. It doesn't make shield bash attacks, but it does have one +25 Slam attack that does 4d6+13 damage.

And if the slam attack isn't scary enough, then we direct the shield to hover horizontally, anchor a wall of ice on top of it, fly it directly above something we don't think is exhibiting just quite the correct amount of flatness, reduce our aerial bombardment platform into a fine-sized buckler, and everything underneath takes 20d6 falling object damage (no save). Actually, might as well summon a couple fiendish rhinoceroses (6000 lbs each) on top of the wall of ice just to make sure.

Masterwork buckler, 165 GP.
+2 weapon enhancement (flying), +8000 GP
+2 shield enhancement (variable), +4000 GP
Sizing, +5000 GP
Riverine, +10000 GP
Total price: 27165 GP

[Darrin]

Post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10294124&postcount=5)by Darrin explaining it:

Actually, I think I should have started with a tiny-sized buckler or smaller... that drops the price of Riverine from 10000 GP to 2000 GP.

[The Rabbler]

There's a weapon enhancement that lets one turn a shield into a flying animated object without having to go through permanency+animate objects. Stacked with sizing and the shield property that lets one change what type of shield it is (buckler[?], light, heavy, tower) and it's a cheaper alternative to the flying carpet. Combined with a riverine shield as the base shield material, and that's basically a flying mobile variable-size wall of force. :smallbiggrin:

Post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10294124&postcount=5)by Darrin explaining it:

:smalleek:

Wow. That's useful. Now I must have one.

[Gnome Alone]

I recently got an animated heavy shield in a campaign, and it was a plot-critical artifact (it contains the soul of some evil golem guy. I picked it up after he dropped it during his villain-y transformation.)

Anyway, I balked at it a little bit. "Because it's cheesy?" asks the DM, who's incidentally mi hermano. "Yeah." "Well, in my world animated shields rest on your back until they fly off to block." So I'd recommend that as a fix for anyone who can't stand the idea of a dumb floaty shield hovering by your side.

[Greenish]

"Well, in my world animated shields rest on your back until they fly off to block." So I'd recommend that as a fix for anyone who can't stand the idea of a dumb floaty shield hovering by your side.That's even dumber, in my opinion. :smalltongue:

[Coidzor]

Actually, I think I should have started with a tiny-sized buckler or smaller... that drops the price of Riverine from 10000 GP to 2000 GP.

Still cheaper (and obscenely so by footage) than the carpets of flying (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicitems/wondrousitems.htm#carpetofFlying) that can have more than one medium passenger without grappling.

And I think with the tiny-sized buckler base, it's actually cheaper than the smallest carpet of flying too... By less than a thousand gold, but, still...

[Gnome Alone]

That's even dumber, in my opinion. :smalltongue:


So be it, but I guess I find the idea that I've got to carry the thing until it magically does my bidding a bit easier to take than the idea of it following me around like a frisbee familiar- seriously, that would make me anxious. I'd feel like it was about to fall all the time. And what, does it stay exactly two feet from my arm or something? I'm trying to go to the bathroom here.

[Coidzor]

Well, it's command activated so, yeah, they do have an "off" setting.

[Ledeas]

Does it provide its shield bonus vs. touch attacks?

I mean it is between you and the enemy, right?

[TuggyNE]

Does it provide its shield bonus vs. touch attacks?

I mean it is between you and the enemy, right?

That's a necro, but no, it doesn't. Nor does it negate ASF or ACP or attack penalty or weight or any other penalties you might take. It has one basic function: free up a hand to cast, (help) swing a weapon, or similar. That's all it does.

[Crasical]

Before this gets locked for necroposting, I do want to point out that I don't think you can enchant a buckler with weapon enchants, since it's not possible to shield bash with anything smaller than a light shield.

That's not to say I don't absolutely to have my own private UFO that can shrink down to the size of a frisbee when I don't need it, though.

[Clistenes]

I recently got an animated heavy shield in a campaign, and it was a plot-critical artifact (it contains the soul of some evil golem guy. I picked it up after he dropped it during his villain-y transformation.)

Anyway, I balked at it a little bit. "Because it's cheesy?" asks the DM, who's incidentally mi hermano. "Yeah." "Well, in my world animated shields rest on your back until they fly off to block." So I'd recommend that as a fix for anyone who can't stand the idea of a dumb floaty shield hovering by your side.

I hate the Animated Shield for aesthetic reasons...I can't stand the idea of a Conan-like barbarian having a shield floating around, it ruins their image. It would be OK for spellcasters, I guess.

They should create an enhancement that allows you to strap a buckler to your left arm and fight without a penalty to attack.


Before this gets locked for necroposting, I do want to point out that I don't think you can enchant a buckler with weapon enchants, since it's not possible to shield bash with anything smaller than a light shield.

That's not to say I don't absolutely to have my own private UFO that can shrink down to the size of a frisbee when I don't need it, though.

What about a spiked buckler? If you can put spikes on a chainmail, you should be able to put them on a buckler, too.

[Kuulvheysoon]

What about a spiked buckler? If you can put spikes on a chainmail, you should be able to put them on a buckler, too.

Actually, bucklers are specifically called out as unable to be spiked.