D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Monks and Shields

[Xeoble]

I already have a good idea of how i would rule on this if i were DM, but the wording got me thinking...

A monk loses a fast movement, AC bonus, and flurry of blows if they "use" a shield.

If a monk has an animated shield out in front of them, are they "using" it?

Its a semantics argument, but i thought i'd see what people had to say.

 

[Dwarmaj]

They probably should loose it with an animated shield.

But what about a Monk/Druid using a shield with the Wild enchantment. The shield is melded into their form and not in any way restrictive. Should they loose their Wis bonus to AC then?

 

[RigaMortus]

What about a Ring of Force Shield?

 

[Sejs]

Animate Shield I'd say yeah, they'd lose their abilities. Ring of Force Shield I'd say no, they wouldn't lose their abilities. The ring is close enough to Mage Armor, which is a long standing monk favoirite, to slip by. Animate shields are still a form of material protection, on the other hand.

 

[Caliban]

If the animated shield isn't touching them, how is it hindering their movement? How are they using it when it's acting on it's own to protect them? It seems to me that it's a legitimate way around the monk limitation.

The ring of Force Shield on the other hand states that it acts exactly like a normal shield, so unless the wording on it is changed in 3.5, monks wouldn't be able to use it.

 

[The Little Raven]

With an animated shield, you still suffer all the penalties and drawbacks of using the shield. The only benefit is that you can have something in BOTH hands and gain the benefits (and penalties) of the shield.

So, a monk using an animated shield would lose certain abilities.

 

[Caliban]

With an animated shield, you still suffer all the penalties and drawbacks of using the shield.

Exactly where is this stated? When I read the description of the Animated Shield it said it floated two feet away from you. I don't see anything about suffering all the penalties associated with wearing the shield even though you aren't actually wearing it.

The only benefit is that you can have something in BOTH hands and gain the benefits (and penalties) of the shield.

So, a monk using an animated shield would lose certain abilities.

I'm sorry, but I really don't see where that is supported by the current (3.0) rules. It may be worded differently in 3.5 though.

 

[Wormwood]

Exactly where is this stated? When I read the description of the Animated Shield it said it floated two feet away from you. I don't see anything about suffering all the penalties associated with wearing the shield even though you aren't actually wearing it.

Well, I'd guess the part where it doesn't say, "You do not suffer Armor Check Penalties or Arcane Spell Failure while using an Animated Shield."

Beware the flavor text.

 

[Caliban]

Well, I'd guess the part where it doesn't say, "You do not suffer Armor Check Penalties or Arcane Spell Failure while using an Animated Shield."

Beware the flavor text.

I don't consider the part where is says the shield floats two feet away from you to be flavor text, since it actually describes how the animated shield functions.

Now, the last time I looked in the PHB it stated that you only received those penalties when wearing the armor.

Since you are not wearing the shield when it's animated, you don't get the penalties.

No flavor text, just a reasonable application of the stated rules.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

Well, I'd guess the part where it doesn't say, "You do not suffer Armor Check Penalties or Arcane Spell Failure while using an Animated Shield."

Beware the flavor text.

Beware ignoring the flavor text, I'd say. an animated shield isn't wielded by you so the penalties for using it wouldn't be there.