Ring of Force Shield as heavy shield?


Rules Questions


The description of this item says it can be wielded as a heavy shield, albeit a weightless one with no chance of spell failure? Does that mean you need to be proficient in heavy shields to properly take advantage of it, or just that it can be used in conjunction with shield feats, etc? Can an arcane caster cast spells with the hand that the shield is on, or does he or she need both hands free? Thanks!


I have wondered about this as well.

Grand Lodge

If used to shield bash, does it deal force damage?


Since there is no chance of spell failure, I am guessing that the class need not be proficient with shield of any kind. Since it is not stated in the description, I would assume that while it gives the same protection as a heavy shield (because of the area of the force shield), that it wields very similar to a buckler, which cannot be used for shield bashes. All the "force" for the bash would come from the wielder's forearm, as the force shield has no weight, no mass.

Grand Lodge

A Heavy Shield is a weapon.

You wield it as a Heavy Shield.

Thus, you are wielding a weapon.

It's weight, armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance, is irrelevant.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DanTheS wrote:
The description of this item says it can be wielded as a heavy shield, albeit a weightless one with no chance of spell failure? Does that mean you need to be proficient in heavy shields to properly take advantage of it, or just that it can be used in conjunction with shield feats, etc? Can an arcane caster cast spells with the hand that the shield is on, or does he or she need both hands free? Thanks!

If you as a wizard insist on foregoing your protection to do this, I won't stop you.

So yes you can bash, but you can't take the shield feats unless you take shield proficiency as that is a requisite. And yes you can cast with your free hand.

Grand Lodge

This also makes it a valid target of Magic Vestment.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
This also makes it a valid target of Magic Vestment.

until you dismiss it and it no longer exists.

Grand Lodge

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
This also makes it a valid target of Magic Vestment.
until you dismiss it and it no longer exists.

True.

Still, it also a valid target of Magic Weapon.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
blackbloodtroll wrote:
This also makes it a valid target of Magic Vestment.

No it's not because it's a magic effect and not an object. For that you need a real shield. Besides it's a clerical spell anyway.


It doesn't really matter whether you need proficiency. The only penalty for non-proficiency is taking the armor check penalty as a penalty to attack rolls, but you can turn the shield on and off as a free action, so you can just turn it off when you make an attack and turn it back on when you're done.

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