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Toying around with more ideas, and I wanted to clarify something. So shield master lets me use my shield's enhancement bonus as a bonus to hit and damage, right? What if I have shield spikes on a shield, and shield master? Do I still get the shield's enhancement bonus to hit and damage, or not because I am striking with the 'spikes' and not the shield?
Also, is there a way to make a heavy shield a 'light' weapon for TWF? If not, can I use a shield in my main hand to get the shield bonus (and improved shield bash) and then wield something like a handaxe in my off hand?
I'm pretty sure you're not attacking with the spikes, you're still making a shield bash that has been changed because of the spikes.
yes you can main a shield for attacks.
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** spoiler omitted **
That being said, I don't believe there is a way to make a heavy shield into a light. Maybe Mitheril? You'd have to look at the material specifically. I'm not sure how special material shields work either.
Do keep in mind that if you want to use a shield as an offensive weapon, you have to enchant it as a weapon to get any benefits to attack and vice versa for defense. I.E. To get a +1 to ac and hit/damage shield you would need to spend the gold to increase the shield(armor enchantment) by one and also spend the gold to increase the shield's spike(Weapon enchantment)by one.
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That's why I specifically mentioned shield master, which breaks that rule, and you can pick up as a 6th lvl ranger/slayer.
You can make a heavy shield become a light weapon with the Shield Trained trait, but you must worship Gorum.
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Nothing much worth adding except that you'll be at least level 11 to qualify for the feat (BAB +11 is required). Also there is speculation the feat will be changed because of us munchy theorycrafters making dual-shield-wielding troublemakers.
But yes, the build totally works, I'm not even sure you need to be a dwarf or a Gorumite to dual-wield since you can technically dual-wield non-light weapons and the feat "removes the penalty." And of course, you'll still be wanting to enchant it with the Bashing enchantment so that with spikes and bashing it does 2d6 damage in a medium character's hands.
That s&*^ would be house-rule nerfed a bit if I were DMing, but I'm not your DM.
1) You can get it at level 6 if you are a sword-and-board slayer or ranger
2) It's for PFS, and is PFS legal as far as I can tell.3) You still want that trait because sheild master says that it "Removes the penalty for ATTACKING WITH A SHIELD" while dual weilding, which means your primary hand would suffer -4 (unless you are dual weilding shields. I'm gonna be wilding a shield and an axe, probably, just to be not stupid.
EDIT:
However, that brings up an excellent point. How does bashing work with Shield Master? Bashing says that the shield acts as a "+1 weapon when used to bash." Does that override shield master (meaning that a Shield Master with a +3 bashing shield only hits as a +1 weapon when attacking, even though it should normally be +3?)
You take the highest. If you made it a +1 flaming weapon and a +5 sheild, on a bash it would be +5 flaming.
How do you get to ignore the prerequisites for shield master as a level 6 ranger or slayer?
Dual-shielding isn't stupid.
Unfortunately, shield uses a magic item slot, so you can only benefit from one at a time.
But you can wield them as weapons, and they get no penalties and are cheaper to enchant. Yes the Shield bonuses wont stack, but that's fine when you think of them as weapons.
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But you can wield them as weapons, and they get no penalties and are cheaper to enchant. Yes the Shield bonuses wont stack, but that's fine when you think of them as weapons.
Okay, so, here's the idea that I've worked out, tell me if anything is wrong. It probably is.
1/2 elf slayer (YES, I KNOW humans are better, but I want some of the 1/2 elf things like the racial +2 perception, the skill focus feat for perception, immunity to sleep, I've thought about this, trust me.)
Level 1-Improved shield bash
Level 2-Slayer talent-trapfinding
Level 3 Extra slayer talent feat- trapspotting (I'm Tired of NO ONE in PFS having trapfinding, and getting hit with save-or-die traps. Yes, I know, I know, but this is what I want to do.)
Level 4 Slayer talent-Ranger combat style-sword and board-TWF
Level 5 Feat-Sheild slam? (seems useful, if not, toughness or something else, Power attack maybe for when I'm not TWF)
Level 6 Slayer talent-Ranger Combat Style-Shield Mastery
Level 7 Study target as a swift action, some other feat I'm not sure yet.
Then, at level 6, I get a +1 Bashing Heavy Darkwood shield with shield spikes and deal 2d6 dmg with it (Heavy shield deals 1d4, Bashing ups it two sizes to 1d8, shield spikes up it to 2d6, but I don't know if they stack). Mainhand a battle axe (I want at least one hand not locked into a shield so I can disarm traps in combat or pull leavers or whatever) and offhand the shield.
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I'm pretty sure you still get a -4 with the axe, -2 if you take shield-trained. It says, "you do not suffer any penalties on attack rolls made with a shield..." as in "just the shield attack, not your other weapon attack."
Yes, I know I'll suffer a -2 to hit with my axe (I'm taking shield-trained.) Cost of TWF. Plus my main attack will be shield bashing if I'm not allowed a full round attack.
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Do you still get an offhand penalty when doing just one attack with your off hand?
I htink you at least do less damage, but I don't remember.
Shield master gets rid of all penalties for hitting with a shield with your off hand while TWF. I think that includes off-hand penalties (it would make sense.) I does make me do, like, 2 less damage (attacking with off hand always does unless you have double slice), but it gives a free bull rush attempt with shield slam.
If you have only 1 attack and cant full attack, there is no off-handededness so no penalties to hit or damage. Source elludes me for the moment but im 95% sure that is the case (i always fail on a 1)
There is no main/off hand unless you are actively Two Weapon Fighting. If you only make BAB iterative attacks, you don't take TWF penalties, and you can alternate between any weapons you have available.