Buckler and AC Bonus, re wielding

[Icarion]

Ok mates, i got some questions.

following the rules of buckler:
" You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an offhand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler’s Armor Class bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler’s Armor Class bonus until your next turn. "

You lose the AC bonus even with bows and some magic casting...

But then again, the party which i master got his hands on a Ring of Force Shield

"This ring generates a shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a heavy shield (+2 AC). This special creation has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance since it is weightless and encumbrance-free. It can be activated and deactivated at will as a free action."

NOW, combinating that with paizo's FAQ: "remove your hand from a two-handed weapon or re-grab it with both hands are FREE actions"

GOT 2 SCENARIOS:

SCENARIO 1. one of my players use a two handed reach weapon and the ring of force shield. he starts his turn, deactivates the shield as a free action, re-grab the weapon as a free action, attacks, then remove the hand from the two handed weapon, and then activates the shield as a free action. this got his AC pumped at the cost of no AoOs.

SCENARIO 2. buckler+composite long bow. attack with the bow, and THEN remove it from on hand (getting the buckler hand free).
According to RAI it losses the AC, but it seems that this is much more easy to do for a character than activating and deactivating stuff on his turn.

Why an off hand bow losses AC and an off hand ranseur don't?
Is it just because of the ring of force shield's benefit of a free activation?

I would really appreciate your opinnions and answers
(sorry for the lousy english)
Thnx

[rockdeworld]

paizo's FAQ: "remove your hand from a two-handed weapon or re-grab it with both hands are FREE actions"
Yep, that's how free actions work. However, readying a shield is a move action, so scenario 1 is only correct if he used a standard action to attack and a move action to ready the shield.

Strapping a shield to your arm to gain its shield bonus to your AC, or unstrapping and dropping a shield so you can use your shield hand for another purpose, requires a move action. If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can ready or loose a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.

Dropping a carried (but not worn) shield is a free action.

I'm not sure what you're asking with scenario 2, because even if you remove your hand from a bow, the buckler text tells you that you still don't get its AC bonus for the rest of the round.


Why an off hand bow losses AC and an off hand ranseur don't?
I don't understand what you're saying here, in part because of the bad grammar. Hopefully this answers your questions.
1. There's no such thing as an off-hand bow or ranseur (both are 2H weapons).
2. Wielding either weapon with your off-hand does result in losing the AC bonus from a buckler.
3. If you have a ring of force shield and have the shield equipped, you can't make a full-attack with a 2H weapon. If you drop the shield to make a full-attack, you don't get the bonus from the shield. If you make a standard-action attack and use a move action to re-equip the shield, you get the bonus from the shield.

If you're asking why the shield from the ring gives you your AC back if you let go of a weapon, but a buckler does not, I don't know. But I guess that it's because the people who created those two items weren't talking to each other.

[Doc_Maynot]

I see no thing where one needs to "ready" a ring of force shield, it just is. A free action it activate, and a free action it dissipates, the quoted text is the rules for the time taken to equip a mundane shield. So in scenario 1, the Ring user is able to make a full attack.

[rockdeworld]

I see no thing where one needs to "ready" a ring of force shield, it just is.
RAW text:

An iron band, this simple ring generates a shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a heavy shield (+2 AC).
The ring generates a shield-like object. You can wield it, but the ring doesn't equip it to you or ready it for you.

[Doc_Maynot]

So you are saying that a "eightless and encumbrance-free" shield shaped, wall of force generated by the ring, needs to be strapped in as per the requirements of the shield rules?

[rockdeworld]

So you are saying that a "eightless and encumbrance-free" shield shaped, wall of force generated by the ring, needs to be strapped in as per the requirements of the shield rules?
No, I'm saying you need to ready it. What that means is up to you and your DM. If readying = strapping in, then yes, that's what I'm saying. If it helps you imagine it, paper is essentially weightless and encumbrance-free, but it doesn't follow your arm movements unless you tape it to your arm.

[Doc_Maynot]

The rules text you quoted does not call it "readying" a shield, but says "Strapping a shield to your arm to gain its shield bonus to your AC, or unstrapping and dropping a shield so you can use your shield hand for another purpose, requires a move action."
Bolded for emphasis. So this seems to be only a limit of a physical, mundane shield. As this line is not speaking about one needing to "ready" a shield, but the time it takes to equip one.

[rockdeworld]

The rules text you quoted does not call it "readying" a shield,
Check the title of that section, and the table entry.

Really, at this point you're not arguing from RAW, so I have no other response. The ring of force shield doesn't say the shield floats with you, and it gives no description of the shield beyond the wall of force looking like a shield. If you don't want to believe the wall of force has straps, I don't care in the least. But if you want to say that you don't need to ready it, the rules I've posted contradict you.

[Psyren]

The main question here seems to be whether a Ring of Force Shield occupies your hand like a regular heavy shield does. Given that it "stays with the ring" and has no spellcasting penalties, I would argue that it does not, but the text is ambiguous.

[rockdeworld]

it "stays with the ring"
I overlooked that - it could be used as evidence that the shield is always readied.

[Psyren]

To me, "stays with the ring" means two things:

(1) You can't throw the shield, drop it, stow it, give it to someone else or otherwise have it leave your person without simply dismissing it.
(2) Since it floats in front of the ring and is weightless, you can employ the shield (i.e. interpose it to deflect blows) without it occupying your hand or arm. This allows you to use that hand for other things - including 2H weapons and spellcasting.

Note also that whether you are proficient with a heavy shield is irrelevant - the ring has no ACP, therefore there is no actual penalty for being nonproficient for using it.

This is balanced because (a) the "shield" takes up a ring slot (there are much more powerful rings out there), and (b) you can't add any enhancements to the ring-shield or otherwise improve it like you can a real shield.

[Icarion]

Thnx guys.!!
Im gonna rule that its always ready after activation, that way its more useful for a wizard to wear (seems
to be the general idea of some dudes in others webs), and compensates for the ring slot.
(Y)