Tower shield?

[SliceandDiceKid]

I don't have the DMG. Are there tower shields? What sets them apart? And then,


Is a high cha paladin with heaviest armor and shield viable? I'm talking leaving str and dex 12-14 range. Just focusing on cha, then con. I'll carry a whip, lance, javelins, war hammer, long sword, and crossbow. Eventually getting a mount. We're playing an undead campaign. Any suggestions on the oath?

[Glarnog]

As far as I know there is only one type of shield.

Everything's viable.

If point buy you can only buy up to a 15 in stats. So depending on race, likely a couple of 16s starting off.

Depending on what you mean by "playing an undead campaign", ask your DM if you can be an Oathbreaker paladin from the DMG.

[SliceandDiceKid]

K. My friend has the DMG, I'll check out oath breaker.

[Yoroichi]

Oath of Vengeance has some very good abilities like the vow of enmity. It gives you advantage on attack rolls for a single opponent. Also has decent spells.

[Glarnog]

Oathbreaker was one of the previews of the DMG. So you can probably find it online pretty easily.

[SliceandDiceKid]

Not going oath breaker, most likely going vengeance. Also, rolling stats.

Seriously, no tower shield?

[Jeraa]

Not going oath breaker, most likely going vengeance. Also, rolling stats.

Seriously, no tower shield?

A shield is a shield. There are no specific types (buckler, light, heavy, tower) now.

[Felvion]

Keep in mind that you need at least 15 strength to wear heavy armor. The only way to bypass this is to have mithral armor which saves you from the disadvantage on stealth checks too.
In general, it's good to have a bit of either dex or str as they apply to both your attack roll and damage. Ifmyou have them both low it'll be hard to hit in melee. I've seen it in action and trust me, it sucks. Investing on dex would be ideal as it helps on saves you are not proficient and initiative but the heavy armor requirement still hurts you. Maybe you could start in medium armor and wait till your dm decides to give you a mithral fullplate.
Eitherway, a great way to boost your ac is picking the defensive dualist feat which is perfect for characters like yours.

[Jeraa]

Keep in mind that you need at least 15 strength to wear heavy armor. The only way to bypass this is to have mithral armor which saves you from the disadvantage on stealth checks too.

You need the strength to wear it effectively. Without the strength, the only penalties you have is a reduced speed. If you are fine with that, you don't need to have a certain strength or higher.

Or just be a dwarf - they don't have a strength requirement for heavy armor.

[Abithrios]

As far as I know there is only one type of shield.

Everything's viable.

If point buy you can only buy up to a 15 in stats. So depending on race, likely a couple of 16s starting off.

Depending on what you mean by "playing an undead campaign", ask your DM if you can be an Oathbreaker paladin from the DMG.

Not every build is viable, but if you avoid bad multiclassing and bad feats, and if you put your high ability scores in things that support your class abilities (str or dex, con, and cha for a paladin), then you should be fine. Keep in mind the strength requirements for heavy armor.

If you get the +1 AC fighting style, you can ask your dm it can be refluffed as proficiency with a larger shield. Just make sure they won't punish you mechanically (e.g."Larger shields are less common, so every magic shield I give you will be the small kind that doesn't let you use your class features."). Only do that if you trust your DM to replace any shields in treasure with the kind you use.

Are you for or against the undead? I think oathbreakers tend to be for them. I think one of the phb oaths is more anti undead than the other two, but I don't have my book open.

If you wear heavy armor, you don't need much dex, especially after level six.

[Slipperychicken]

No tower shield yet, but I feel certain they'll be featured as some kind of variant shield.



Is a high cha paladin with heaviest armor and shield viable? I'm talking leaving str and dex 12-14 range. Just focusing on cha, then con. I'll carry a whip, lance, javelins, war hammer, long sword, and crossbow. Eventually getting a mount. We're playing an undead campaign. Any suggestions on the oath?

For a mount, just use the free one from Find Steed. The warhorse it gives you is great (1-2 attacks per round plus knockdown), and it's even better if your DM okays an exotic mount like a bear or rhinoceros.

[MOLOKH]

One of my players wanted a tower shield and smoke grenades so the party could be like a SWAT team. I houseruled it as an ordinary shield that he could use his action to hide behind, giving him full cover. It hasn't come into play so far.

Now he wants to put spikes on it, too, and since he has the Shield Master feat I'm wondering how they would interact.

[RedMage125]

If you wear heavy armor, you don't need much dex, especially after level six.

You mean ANY dex. Seriously, you could leave DEX at a 10, or even an 8, and it will not affect your Armor Class if you wear Heavy Armor. A DEX of 8 will affect your DEX saving throws and Ability checks (to include initiative) negatively, so I'd say leave at 10.

As has been said, a STR of 15 is necessary to have no speed reduction when wearing the "heaviest armor possible", so I'd boost that, unless you're a dwarf.

If you are starting at level one, I'd say a CHA of 14 is sufficient. A lot of other uses for it don't come into play until higher levels, and you don't get bonus spells from it, or extra effectiveness from Lay on hands.

[SliceandDiceKid]

You mean ANY dex. Seriously, you could leave DEX at a 10, or even an 8, and it will not affect your Armor Class if you wear Heavy Armor. A DEX of 8 will affect your DEX saving throws and Ability checks (to include initiative) negatively, so I'd say leave at 10.

As has been said, a STR of 15 is necessary to have no speed reduction when wearing the "heaviest armor possible", so I'd boost that, unless you're a dwarf.

If you are starting at level one, I'd say a CHA of 14 is sufficient. A lot of other uses for it don't come into play until higher levels, and you don't get bonus spells from it, or extra effectiveness from Lay on hands.

This is in line with my thinking.
I'm leaning toward dwarf, but race will still depend on my rolls. If I have the right setup, I'll go human variant and take shield mastery or mounted combat. My vision is of a rough vengeance paladin, riding something ridiculous, being like a guard on an offensive line. Lance mounted, whip/war hammer/warpick unmounted. Toting his shield around and knocking heads. I want more defensive capabilities than damage dealing.

Party members are gnome wiz, warlock (maybe), and halfling rogue. I want to piss things off and stare them in the face while they swing at me, seething with hate.

[Louro]

Mmmm... tower shield. I would suggest something along this lines:

TOWER SHIELD:
- Requirements: Proficiency and STR 15
Anyone can use a tower shield to take full cover behind it, but fighting with it is a tough business. They are heavy and hard to use. They are also big, so carrying one around is a nuisance most of the time.
- Gameplay: Tower shields cost is the double of a normal one.
They add 3/4 cover when fighting with it (+5 AC), this is both realistic and fit the rules.
To compensate this huge AC boost let's add another realistic "feature" like: -5 ft movement and CON roll to avoid exhaustion after each fight.

TOWER SHIELD FEAT
+1 STR
You become proficient with tower shields (only if you are already proficient with shields)
You get advantage with DEX saves if you can use the shield to protect you (fireball but not otiluke sphere)

---
Powerful right?
Now you must be carrying that huge thing around hindering your movement and risking exhaustion levels. Seriously, they weight a lot and your arm will become tired in no time.