Dwarf Brawler Pathfinder 1e

[Nosta]

Question. Low To Mid level Dwarf Brawler
Wielding 1 or 2 War Shield. Should I wield just 1 and Grab Improved Shield Bash or should I do 2 to get that extra Ac. would it make that much of a difference. I figure I can Either have 1 Hand for bludgeoning and other hand can deal piercing and slashing DMG as well as Defend me with a Shield Bonus To Ac or wield 2 of them

[Drelua]

I probably wouldn't bother with the 1 extra AC at the cost of offense, something like a dwarven axe-gauntlet does better damage. Maybe switch to 2 shields at higher levels, when you can get size increases stacking on top of close weapon mastery. You could also get a war-shield sized for a large creature and put an effortless lace (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/specific-magic-weapons/effortless-lace/) on it to bump it up another size category and make it a one-handed weapon for you main hand, and use a regular sized one for your off hand attacks. Er, wait, I forgot it was a Brawler, don't bother with that, close weapon mastery does the same damage at level 8.

Once you have Shield Master at level 11, dual wielding shields becomes very worthwhile, especially if they're bashing (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-armor/magic-armor-and-shield-special-abilities/bashing/)shields. If you have those and then get enlarged, you can use your close weapon mastery damage +3 size steps, so d8 -> 2d6 -> 3d6 -> 4d6. I think when it goes up to d10, the progression's the same but with d8s but I'd have to double check that.