Matron Mother
2017-12-09, 02:16 AM
As we're aware in the D&D 3.5 description of the Tower Shield, a person may wield but not use to bash opponents with:
This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so. The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else. When employing a tower shield in combat, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls because of the shield’s encumbrance.
We also know that in the D&D Wiki Homebrew section, people have created ways of going about this via a feat called the Tower Shield Bash which reads as follows:
Tower Shield Bash [General, Fighter]
Through intense training, you can now shield bash with tower shields
Prerequisite: Str 15, Improved Shield Bash, Tower Shield Proficiency
Benefit: Through intensive training, and a little extra effort, you can now initiate a shield bash with a tower shield. Used this way, a tower shield is an exotic bludgeoning weapon. For the purpose of penalties on attack rolls, treat a tower shield as a one-handed weapon, although it can be wielded as a two handed martial weapon, similar to a bastard sword.
If you use your shield as a weapon, you lose its AC bonus until your next action (usually until the next round). 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.
A tower shield used in this manner deals 1d8 damage, or 2d6 if spiked, and has a x2 modifier on a natural 20. All attacks made in a round with a tower shield bash (including the shield bash itself) suffer a -2 penalty as per normal in combat with a tower shield. Compared to a regular tower shield, a spiked tower shield is 20 gp more and is 10 lb heavier.
Normal: You cannot shield bash with a tower shield
Special: You still lose the tower shield's shield bonus to armor class during the round you attack with it, as normal.
Now I'm currently creating a character that my DM has so far allowed; granting players permission to use certain homebrew races and classes to add flavor to the campaign he made. Not looking for a character to midmax or break the game with, I decided to make a comical female Bovine-Kin Shield Guard (dandwiki Shield Guard 3.5e Class), both being a homebrew class and race he approved of. Now I noticed in this, and talked with my DM about, that the class gives me proficiency in all shields:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Shield Guard is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
...and then also states at 3rd level states I can shield bash, though doesn't mention any exclusions (like doesn't apply to Tower Shield):
Improved Shield Bash (Ex): At 3rd level, When you perform a shield bash, you may still apply the shield’s shield bonus to your AC.
I assume the class is designed to allow use of any shield proficient with and can shield bash; however the DM is stating Tower Shields can't be used to shield bash with and then stated I'd have to wait to 9th level for this just to shield bash with Tower Shields:
Improved Tower Shield Proficiency At 9th level, A Shield Warrior may wield Tower Shields as they would wield a Heavy Shield and gain all benefits that apply to regular shields. On a shield bash, they deal the damage of a heavy shield one scale up with an additional -1 penalty to attack. You lose this penalty to attack when the character reaches 12th lvl in Shield Warrior.
but that doesn't make any sense because I could just take the Tower Shield Bash (3.5e Feat) I mentioned earlier, yet my DM is making it sound like Improved Tower Shield Proficiency is the only time in my class where I'm allowed to bash with a Tower Shield? :smallconfused:
This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so. The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else. When employing a tower shield in combat, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls because of the shield’s encumbrance.
We also know that in the D&D Wiki Homebrew section, people have created ways of going about this via a feat called the Tower Shield Bash which reads as follows:
Tower Shield Bash [General, Fighter]
Through intense training, you can now shield bash with tower shields
Prerequisite: Str 15, Improved Shield Bash, Tower Shield Proficiency
Benefit: Through intensive training, and a little extra effort, you can now initiate a shield bash with a tower shield. Used this way, a tower shield is an exotic bludgeoning weapon. For the purpose of penalties on attack rolls, treat a tower shield as a one-handed weapon, although it can be wielded as a two handed martial weapon, similar to a bastard sword.
If you use your shield as a weapon, you lose its AC bonus until your next action (usually until the next round). 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.
A tower shield used in this manner deals 1d8 damage, or 2d6 if spiked, and has a x2 modifier on a natural 20. All attacks made in a round with a tower shield bash (including the shield bash itself) suffer a -2 penalty as per normal in combat with a tower shield. Compared to a regular tower shield, a spiked tower shield is 20 gp more and is 10 lb heavier.
Normal: You cannot shield bash with a tower shield
Special: You still lose the tower shield's shield bonus to armor class during the round you attack with it, as normal.
Now I'm currently creating a character that my DM has so far allowed; granting players permission to use certain homebrew races and classes to add flavor to the campaign he made. Not looking for a character to midmax or break the game with, I decided to make a comical female Bovine-Kin Shield Guard (dandwiki Shield Guard 3.5e Class), both being a homebrew class and race he approved of. Now I noticed in this, and talked with my DM about, that the class gives me proficiency in all shields:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Shield Guard is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
...and then also states at 3rd level states I can shield bash, though doesn't mention any exclusions (like doesn't apply to Tower Shield):
Improved Shield Bash (Ex): At 3rd level, When you perform a shield bash, you may still apply the shield’s shield bonus to your AC.
I assume the class is designed to allow use of any shield proficient with and can shield bash; however the DM is stating Tower Shields can't be used to shield bash with and then stated I'd have to wait to 9th level for this just to shield bash with Tower Shields:
Improved Tower Shield Proficiency At 9th level, A Shield Warrior may wield Tower Shields as they would wield a Heavy Shield and gain all benefits that apply to regular shields. On a shield bash, they deal the damage of a heavy shield one scale up with an additional -1 penalty to attack. You lose this penalty to attack when the character reaches 12th lvl in Shield Warrior.
but that doesn't make any sense because I could just take the Tower Shield Bash (3.5e Feat) I mentioned earlier, yet my DM is making it sound like Improved Tower Shield Proficiency is the only time in my class where I'm allowed to bash with a Tower Shield? :smallconfused: