| MattH2580 |
I'm currently building a 7th level Shield Champion brawler for a homebrew campaign I've been part of for a while, and have some questions on how certain things interact / clearing up some ambiguities. If anyone could answer any of the questions, that would be amazing; I'll order them so you can answer whichever you feel.
I also appreciate that some of these might be pretty basic, but I'd rather be 100% clear on things than be 90%.
1. Does throwing a shield using the Throw Shield ability still do damage if choosing to use the thrown shield to perform a combat maneuver check?
"At 7th level, a shield champion can use a thrown shield to perform a bull rush, dirty trick, disarm, reposition, or trip combat maneuver as if she were making a melee shield bash attack."
2. As per the description of the Returning Shield ability, Shield Champions can throw a shield as part of a Brawler's Flurry. Does this mean I can throw/ricochet the shield for every attack in the flurry? i.e 3 times at level 7, 4 times at level 8. I'm curious because further up the same description mentions you can ricochet based on whether extra attacks due to BAB, not flurry/TWF, so I want to make sure this isn't limited purely by how many attacks you have based on your BAB (2 at level 7, instead of being able to do 3 from the flurry).
"If a shield champion has additional attacks from a high base attack bonus, these additional attacks can be ricochets off an earlier target."
"A shield champion can throw a shield as part of a brawler’s flurry."
3. Can my shield bash damage be modified by close weapon mastery, or is that just if I'm actively attacking something by smacking it with a shield that I'm holding rather than equipped on my arm?
4. Is an Amulet of Mighty Fists worth it if I'm going to be doing a lot of hitting with my shields and maybe a cestus? I suppose this is more based on fighting style, but advice / tips on it would be great.
5. Shield Slam lets me perform a free bull rush attempt that doesn't provoke an AoO after performing a shield bash. If I was flanking an opponent with the Dirty Fighting feat, would I get the +4 bonus as I'm peforming a combat maneuver without provoking an AoO? Or would this not be the case, as my attack is still a shield bash first a foremost.
6. Can I use the Knockout ability as part of my brawler's flurry? For example, could I toss my shield at someone, knock someone next to me out, hit them again with an unarmed attack and then catch my shield at the end of the turn?
7. Can Knockout only be used with my unarmed strikes, or can I also use it with weapons like brass knuckles, the cestus or even other close weapons like shields and punching daggers?
8. Do attack bonus on the shield apply when I throw my shield for a combat maneuver?
9. Probably the most silly one, but need to be sure. PCGen lists my Brawler's Flurry current as +9/+9/+4, but this is just based on my unarmed attacks right? I'm assuming I still use my attack and damage modifiers for whatever weapon I'm using (at the -2 penalty of course), and don't just use a flat +9/+9/+4 no matter what? For example, if I have a +1 cestus, +2 weapon enhancement throwing shield, and my unmodified unarmed attack from my foot, I'd be doing +10 (cestus) / +11 (shield) / +4 (foot)? And individual damages too?
10. What is the deal with unarmed strikes vs unarmed attacks? Amulet of Mighty Fists mentions unarmed attacks, and yet Bodywrap of Mighty Strikes mentions unarmed strikes? Is there functionally any difference?
11. If they still count as unarmed attacks, would a headbutt or kick be enhanced by either of those two items?
12. The Cestus description mentions you take a penalty when trying to perform any precision-based tasks, but I assume this doesn't mean dexterity based tasks? So having a Cestus on while holding a shield to hit people with won't give me any disadvantages, and then I can throw the shield and start hitting stuff with my Cestus?
"When using a cestus, your fingers are mostly exposed, allowing you to wield or carry items in that hand, but the constriction of the weapon at your knuckles gives you a –2 penalty on all precision-based tasks involving that hand (such as opening locks)."
Thanks to anyone who is able to answer any of these questions for me, it'd be a great help! My current feat choice is below; I'm planning on trying to go for trips often so will be martial flexing into this regularly, but opted to take extra martial flex over improved trip as 3 extra uses seems crazy good and we generally don't have more than 1-2 big fights per day.
I also haven't taken Shield Slam yet as I feel like tripping will be more useful, but I'm always open to suggestions!
Feats: Improved Shield Bash, Dirty Fighting, Power Attack, Extra Martial Flexibility, Point-Blank Shot, Shield Focus.