D&D 5E Shield Master FEAT

[maritimo80]

To have the Shield Master feat the character must be proficient in shell or not?

S h i e l d M a s t e r
You use shields not just for protection but also for
offense. You gain the following benefits while you are
wielding a shield:
• If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use
a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet
o f you with your shield.
• If you aren’t incapacitated, you can add your shield’s AC
bonus to any Dexterity saving throw you make against
a spell or other harmful effect that targets only you.
• If you are subjected to an effect that allows you to
make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage,
you can use your reaction to take no damage if
you succeed on the saving throw, interposing your
shield between yourself and the source o f the effect.

 

[cpendlet]

It does not say you have to be proficient anywhere so you could take the feat and use it with a shield (and deal with the penalties with using something you are not proficient with - covered on page 44 of the basic rules pdf).

Personally I think the non-proficient penalties outweigh the benefits of the feat.

 

[Chthonic]

I'd personally houserule proficiency as prerequisite. Not that would break anything not to. Just for coherence

 

[CM]

Many of these "make weapons/shields better" feats also granted proficiency in the playtest rules. I'm a little annoyed with how stingy the final rules are with weapon proficiencies.

 

[Joe Liker]

If your class doesn't grant shield proficiency, is there any way to gain it other than the medium armor proficiency feat? That seems odd to me.

(Don't say multiclassing, because that's an example of your class granting proficiency. )

Then again, if there were such a thing, it might be seen as a feat tax for wizards.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I'd personally houserule proficiency as prerequisite. Not that would break anything not to. Just for coherence

I would just house-rule proficiency as an additional bonus of the feat.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I would say shield proficiency is required. It is a shield expert feat, similar to heavy armour master. You need the basic proficiency first imo.

 

[Henrix]

If somebody wants to take the feat without proficiency, why not just let them do it?
Feels a little weird, but mostly stupid, on their part.


No need for a house rule - we've all seen how long a thread can become if you introduce house rules without telling the players before hand.