[3.5] Agile Shield Fighter

[Crasical]

I want to like this feat, but it's really not clicking with me. It gives you pretty much exactly the benefits of two-weapon fighting but requires two feats as prerequisites and never lets you go beyond 1 bonus attack, unlike Improved/Greater TWF. The only notable upshots are it lets you use two 1-handed weapons at once with only a -2/-2 penalty, and doesn't require any Dexterity.

So what the heck?

[tyckspoon]

It's not that bad- Improved Shield Bash is something you were going to take anyway if you had any intention of ever using a shield bash. Shield Specialization is kinda cruddy, but at least it's also a prerequisite for Shield Ward, which is *also* something you probably wanted to take anyway if you're doing a shield-user.. so you take 2 feats you probably were going to get anyway, and it gives you the option of taking a superior version of TWF.

It's superior because..: as noted, no Dex requirement. If you're taking this route, you're likely a heavy-armored fighter (and probably a Fighter, as well.) Not having to invest in your Dex is a small but significant benefit.
Your weapons do more damage: a Heavy Bashing Spiked shield does the same damage as a greatsword.
Most importantly, because you are using 2 one-handed weapons, you get full Strength bonus on each hand. This is something you would have spent a feat on for a normal TWFer anyway, so why not Agile Shield Fighter?

[Crasical]

Probably showing my weakness in the rules here, but is Shield Ward actually that great? Touch attacks mean spells, and a lot of those are nasty bad, but unless you've been pumping your Shield's raw plusses instead of getting special abilities, you're served almost as well by quaffing a potion of Shield of Faith,

[Zombimode]

I don't get your comparison here. Even a plain non-magical heavy shield would net you a +3 shield bonus (+3 because Shield Specialization) to your touch AC. This can be further complimented by a deflection bonus like the one provided by Shield of Faith (or more likely a Ring of Protection).
They are not mutually exclusive.

[Gwendol]

You want to acquire pounce, lion spirit totem barbarian 1 for example, and the following feats:

Imp shield bash
Shield specialization
Agile shield fighter
Shield charge
Shield slam
Shield ward

Not bad for a fighter build.

[MirddinEmris]

Touch attacks are also Grapples and Trips (and some creatures abilities). But, yeah, it will require you to pump shield AC (Shield specialisation + enchantment bonus, which can be gained through spells from party casters), though with caster's attacks even 3-4 points can make a big difference

[Darrin]

Most importantly, because you are using 2 one-handed weapons, you get full Strength bonus on each hand. This is something you would have spent a feat on for a normal TWFer anyway, so why not Agile Shield Fighter?

Nitpick: if it's an offhand shield bash, you still only get 1/2 Str bonus. However, if it's a heavy shield, it's a one-handed weapon, and you can get Power Attack bonus damage (1X) on it.

Agile Shield Fighter allows you to make one offhand attack with a -2/-2 TWF penalty. You can get a second and third with Improved TWF and Greater TWF, but you also have to take TWF, which is rendered useless by Agile Shield Fighter.

Pounce + Shield Charge (Complete Warrior) is fun. Full attack + free trip attempt.

[Bakkan]

It's also nice because a heavy shield with armor spikes and the Bashing enchantment deals 2d6 damage, which is more than any other 1-handed weapon. So by taking Agile Shield Fighter and declaring your shield as your primary weapon, you get all your iteratives with a 2d6 weapon and an additional attack with a sword, all of which gain normal Power Attack bonus damage.