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So, as I envisioned a playtest to see just how many 2nd level orcs a 20th level fighter could take, completely naked at the start of the fight, a couple questions arose in my mind:
1) Does armor training work only when wearing armor? More directly, what if you have a shield, but no armor? A shield is, essentially, a mobile piece of armor on your arm that you put more deliberately into the path of incoming blows. I'd argue that Armor Training somewhat overlaps into that, and you should get the bonus to AC anytime you are armored or carrying a shield. I'm not saying the bonus applies to both (so, no, you don't get +4 AC for the armor and +4 more AC for the shield), but I'd think any sort of piece of armor, no matter how small, lets the fighter apply his knowledge and maximize usages of it
2) Would people agree that if said 20th level fighter can reduce an orc to say... more than -20 hp, he could claim he picks up a severed limb from the foe and count that as a buckler? I'm trying to apply every bit of cheese possible to increase the body count for this playtest, just to satisfy myself that clever play might help the poor fighter get the most out of his abilities.
They had a few test feats on the site a while back wit 2 regarding shields as follows:
Shield Focus (Combat)
You are skilled at deflecting blows with your shield.
Prerequisites: Shield Proficiency, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Increase the AC bonus granted by any shield you are using by 1.
Shield Mastery (Combat)
You can use a shield to deflect harm.
Prerequisites: Shield Focus, Shield Proficiency, 4th-level fighter.
Benefit: Whenever you are using a shield, you gain DR 2/—. You must be aware of the attack to gain this bonus. Any effect that causes you to lose your Dexterity or shield bonus causes you to lose this bonus. This bonus stacks with all other forms of damage reduction without a type (such as the damage reduction gained by barbarians).
Not sure if any of these will show up in the game though but I did like them myself.
I'd say armor training applies only when using armor so since a shield is armor that allow you the bonus. And if you could take the above feats you could be well protected using just a shield.
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Bumping this, because I did have a serious question -- would a fighter get the armor mastery bonus with just a shield? I can't be the only one who has (more than once) taken PC's captive and had them have to figure out a way to escape without their gear? An improvised shield isn't hard to come up with, and I'd be inclined to give the fighter his armor mastery bonus if he did that.
Sorry, but I don't think this is right.
Page 108:
"Armor/Shield Bonus: Each armor grants an armor bonus to AC, while shields grant a shield bonus to AC."
So, a Shield doesn't give an Armor bonus at all.
Page 27:
"Armor Training (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a fighter gains added protection from the armor he is wearing. Whenever he is wearing armor, he gains an additional +1 armor bonus to his armor class, reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0), and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1."
So, Armor Training gives an Armor bonus to the armor the Fighter is wearing. But a shield is not mentioned (plus, a shield is not an armor, by game terms, and doesn't give an armor bonus either; the rules specifically say that you use a shield, not wear a shield).
The only ability that works indifferently with either armor or shield is Armor Mastery:
"Armor Mastery (Ex): At 19th level, a fighter gains DR 5/— whenever he is wearing armor or using a shield." (page 28).
Just my 2c.
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Good cites, but of course I think the reasoning behind the equipment listings giving armor a bonus of one type and shields a bonus of another type was to be sure to make explicit that yes, those two bonuses do stack (if they had been both listed as armor, then the rules would have been contradicting the basic notion that bonuses of the same type do not stack).
I think in terms of intent and game balance, giving the fighter the bonus so long as he has some piece of equipment to aid his defense seems fine. I mean, my own house rule on the subject was immediately to give him the bonus, regardless of whatever the RAW says. I think this might be another case where some of the new rules run into imprecise language that may not have been deliberate. Maybe Jason meant for it to be this way, maybe he didn't, maybe he just never pondered it.
Anyway, in my world, the lone fighter bravely deflecting incoming blows with a severed orc head will remain one of the figures of legend that the bards immortalize in their tales...
...so now the question is, could he have a head in each hand, and use Two Weapon Fighting and Improved Shield Bash to great effect? Razor Sharp Chair Leg might be useful too! :-)