Shields as Weapons

[Gordy95]

Out of a bit of power gaming curiosity, if a shield can be used as a weapon, can it be enchanted with weapon enchantments? can I get an aptitude shield?

[Occasional Sage]

Close enough; add shield spikes and enchant those. Like a double weapon, though, it takes two sets of enchantments: one armor set, and one weapon.

Pathfinder has a nice feat chain that gets you armor enhancements to attacks and damage rolls, while retaining your shield bonus, by 11th level. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/shield-master-combat---final If this is a 3.5 game you may want to import the feats, they're hardly game-breaking.

[Gordy95]

muahahahaha, that means i can still have my +9 armor bonus from my fortification tower shield while i beat things up with my aptitude kukri and lightning mace. Every bit counts when your AC is 38. On that note, can somebody check to make sure I havent messed this up?

AC (38) = 10 + armor bonus (18 from golem armor, which is +10 full plate) + dex (1) + shield bonus (+9 from a +5 tower shield)

[Duke of Urrel]

Are you thinking of bashing with a tower shield? Check with your DM. My Player's Handbook says "You cannot bash with a tower shield" on page 125.

And here's a relevant passage from page 217 of the Dungeon Master's Guide:


"Shield enhancement bonuses do not act as attack or damage bonuses when the shield is used in a bash. The bashing special ability, however, does grant a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls (see the special ability description). You could, in fact, build a shield that also acted as a magic weapon, but the cost of the enhancement bonus on attack rolls would need to be added to the cost of the shield and its enhancement bonus to AC. For example, a +1 buckler with +1 shield spikes would cost 3,475 gp (15 gp for the basic buckler, 150 to make it masterwork, 1,000 for the +1 bonus to AC, 10 gp for the spikes, 300 to make them masterwork, and 2,000 to make the spikes a +1 weapon)."

Of course, I'm quoting D&D version 3.5, and Occasional Sage is quoting Pathfinder, so that's a factor, too.

[Occasional Sage]

In neither game can a tower shield be used as a weapon.

[Glimbur]

You do have two hands though, so you can wield a weapon in the hand that doesn't have a shield.

[Splendor]

Shield as weapon and retain shield AC?
You would need the following feat;
Improved Shield Bash (Feat): "When you perform a shield bash, you may still apply the shield’s shield bonus to your AC." - PHB 96

Tower Shield as a Weapon?
"You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else." - PHB 125

Magical enchantments?
"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." - PHB 125

[SciChronic]

I say go Captain America with it. Adamantine Ranged Shield w/ Enchanted spike for melee bashing.

you can never go wrong with the cap'.

[Yuki Akuma]

If you use a shield to attack, you don't gain its AC bonus that round. Even if it has shield spikes.

[Spuddles]

You don't even need shield spikes to enchant if you want your shield as a magic weapon, though you should use them because they effectively upgrade the damage dice of your shield.

[Grayson01]

Unless you take improved Sheild Bash.


If you use a shield to attack, you don't gain its AC bonus that round. Even if it has shield spikes.

[Crasical]

I'm pretty sure you can both enchant and bash with an unspiked shield, if for some reason you wanted to. It's just fairly cheap extra damage to put spikes on it. If you're only putting Defending on it and then using Greater Magic Weapon for extra AC, no reason to put spikes on.

[Rubik]

Non-tower shields actually count as weapons, and you can shield bash with them without anything more than martial weapon proficiency, actually. They're on the standard weapons list.

So yes, you can enhance them as weapons AND as shields, though neither enhancement set affects the other. It does make for some nice AC bonuses when you put the defending property on, for sure.


Unless you take improved Sheild Bash.Who are you talking to?

[Kansaschaser]

I say go Captain America with it. Adamantine Ranged Shield w/ Enchanted spike for melee bashing.

you can never go wrong with the cap'.

You could make a Warblade / Bloodstorm Blade to make the Captain America build even better. You can get some awesome ranged "melee" attacks with the Bloodstorm Blade.

[Spuddles]

Probably the person they quoted.


Who are you talking to?

[Rubik]

Probably the person they quoted.You know, it's pretty stupid to quote people after your response. It makes it really difficult at times to know who you're responding to, which is completely counter to actually, y'know, quoting.

[Spuddles]

what'd you call me, bro?


You know, it's pretty stupid to quote people after your response. It makes it really difficult at times to know who you're responding to, which is completely counter to actually, y'know, quoting.

[Rubik]

what'd you call me, bro?I called you nothing. I called the process of quoting AFTER the response "stupid."

[Spuddles]

That's what I thought, bro.


I called you nothing. I called the process of quoting AFTER the response "stupid."

[Rubik]

That's what I thought, bro.Putting you on my ignore list, now.

[Fortinbro]

I had an NPC orc which dual wielded spiked tower shields. I allowed him to get around the normal ban on offensive tower shields by giving him monkey grip, improved shield bash, and two weapon fighting, which I felt would make him able to wield larger objects.