No
Arcane Armor Training (Combat)
You have learned how to cast spells while wearing armor.Prerequisites: Light Armor Proficiency, caster level 3rd.
Benefit: As a swift action, reduce the arcane spell failure chance due to the armor you are wearing by 10% for any spells you cast this round.
Shields are not worn, they're used or wielded.
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Simple yes or no (with source please).
Does Arcane Armor Training apply to shields?
No.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
asknethys@karuikage.net
However, it would seem that mithril's properties DO apply to shields, so you can get a mithril buckler or light shield for with no drawbacks. You don't even need shield proficiency, since there's no armor check on it anymore.
Am I wrong here?
Simple yes or no (with source please).
Does Arcane Armor Training apply to shields?
No.
Gazing into my crystal ball...I predict this will errata-ed to include shields.
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If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
Actually, it was clarified that, when wielding a light shield, your shield hand is considered free for the purpose of casting a spell.
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If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
Actually, that's incorrect. It was clarified that, when wielding a light shield, your shield hand is considered free for the purpose of casting a spell.
Sort of, he further clarifies that what you're really doing is moving your weapon to shield hand, casting with the now free hand, and then passing the weapon back. Still, for the sake simplicity, you're correct. Since all a light shield allows you to do is hold an item without losing AC, not actually wield or cast with the shield hand. Not sure if this technicality will actually ever be relevent, but it's there if it does become so.
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If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
Actually, it was clarified that, when wielding a light shield, your shield hand is considered free for the purpose of casting a spell.
I personally am chalking this up to another example of "the game is complicated and JJ isn't a computer."
From 3.5 to PF, the description of a light shield is the same. The description of somatic components is the same. The 3.5 FAQ says you can't spellcast with the hand holding a light shield. JJ says you can in a forum post. Did the game change, or did the voice to which authority is attributed change?
"Sort of, he further clarifies that what you're really doing is moving your weapon to shield hand, casting with the now free hand, and then passing the weapon back. Still, for the sake simplicity, you're correct. Since all a light shield allows you to do is hold an item without losing AC, not actually wield or cast with the shield hand. Not sure if this technicality will actually ever be relevent, but it's there if it does become so.
No, you're not really changing hands.
What is being said is that the ability to cast with your shield hand while using a light shield is mechanically the same as switching hands. This doesn't mean that you're actually switching the hand that is holding an object. It's a situation where simplifying the rules trumps the reality of what would actually happen; if you are using a light shied you can actually cast a spell with your shield hand, while your weapon or other item remains in your other hand.
I personally am chalking this up to another example of "the game is complicated and JJ isn't a computer."
From 3.5 to PF, the description of a light shield is the same. The description of somatic components is the same. The 3.5 FAQ says you can't spellcast with the hand holding a light shield. JJ says you can in a forum post. Did the game change, or did the voice to which authority is attributed change?
Perhaps, but, for the purposes of the Pathfinder core rules, a ruling/clarification from a developer trumps the 3.5 FAQ. As always, this can be changed in your home game if you disagree with it.
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"Sort of, he further clarifies that what you're really doing is moving your weapon to shield hand, casting with the now free hand, and then passing the weapon back. Still, for the sake simplicity, you're correct. Since all a light shield allows you to do is hold an item without losing AC, not actually wield or cast with the shield hand. Not sure if this technicality will actually ever be relevent, but it's there if it does become so.No, you're not really changing hands.
What is being said is that the ability to cast with your shield hand while using a light shield is mechanically the same as switching hands. This doesn't mean that you're actually switching the hand that is holding an object. It's a situation where simplifying the rules trumps the reality of what would actually happen; if you are using a light shied you can actually cast a spell with your shield hand, while your weapon or other item remains in your other hand.
Spellcastings says you need a free hand
Light shield says you can hold stuff in your shield hand. It does not say your hand is free for spellcasting.
Passing an item from one hand to the next does not in game mechanics qualify as an action...I think that's called an automatic action or some such off the top of my head. It's faster than a free action.
Thus, JJ says you pass the weapon from your main hand, to your shield hand, cast your spell, pass the weapon back, and finally for the sake of simplicity and convenience knowing that is what you're going to do every single time you cast a spell while wielding a light shield and wielding a weapon at the same time, you just assume that's what happens. Thus making your life easier. Bottom line, if for whatever reason you cannot free your main hand, and your shield hand is the only option you have for casting a spell. You cannot cast with your shield hand. Per RAW. I'll get direct rule quotes from the PFRPG CORE book when I get home if you need it.
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Perhaps, but, for the purposes of the Pathfinder core rules, a ruling/clarification from a developer trumps the 3.5 FAQ. As always, this can be changed in your home game if you disagree with it.
While I understand your position regarding the core rules, I disagree with it. A ruling/clarification from a developer in a rules forum only holds weight for me to the degree that the rule makes sense within the ruleset as well as to the degree to which it corresponds with my philosophy regarding how PF survives, thrives, or asks me to jettison, confuse, or conflate the system upon which it is based.
The value of PF for me is in improving an existing game that I really enjoy and have a tremendous investment in time, energy and money. When the cultural supercargo of the game asks me to abandon that for no good reason, that request is contrary to the reason I would play that game.
As to what I can do in my home game: yeah, rule zero is alive and well.
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If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
Actually, it was clarified that, when wielding a light shield, your shield hand is considered free for the purpose of casting a spell.
I personally am chalking this up to another example of "the game is complicated and JJ isn't a computer."
From 3.5 to PF, the description of a light shield is the same. The description of somatic components is the same. The 3.5 FAQ says you can't spellcast with the hand holding a light shield. JJ says you can in a forum post. Did the game change, or did the voice to which authority is attributed change?
Okay going by 3.5...the light shield is not a free hand for casting spells. Switching a weapon to the other hand is a move action. Changing the grip of your weapon from one handed to two is a free. So by RAW, you can spend two moves to swap a weapon from one hand to the other...or take 4 free actions. By RAW everyon and their grandma would take the 4 free actions...most DM I know do not allow this. Yes I do realize how stupid that whole line of RAW is....
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Okay going by 3.5...the light shield is not a free hand for casting spells. Switching a weapon to the other hand is a move action. Changing the grip of your weapon from one handed to two is a free. So by RAW, you can spend two moves to swap a weapon from one hand to the other...or take 4 free actions. By RAW everyon and their grandma would take the 4 free actions...most DM I know do not allow this. Yes I do realize how stupid that whole line of RAW is....If this was stated above, I'm sorry.
To wield a shield except for the buckler, you need it to occupy a hand. To cast a spell you need a free hand. So assuming you're wielding some form of weapon in your main hand, you'd have no ability to easily cast a spell while wielding a shield. Which IMO makes the OP question moot.
Actually, it was clarified that, when wielding a light shield, your shield hand is considered free for the purpose of casting a spell.
I personally am chalking this up to another example of "the game is complicated and JJ isn't a computer."
From 3.5 to PF, the description of a light shield is the same. The description of somatic components is the same. The 3.5 FAQ says you can't spellcast with the hand holding a light shield. JJ says you can in a forum post. Did the game change, or did the voice to which authority is attributed change?
Pathfinder if I'm not mistaken says hand to hand does not qualify as an action or it's free. That's from memory though.
Yes, a wizard can wear a mithral buckler. Yes he takes penalties for doing so. The penalties for using a shield without proficiency is that the ACP applies to every skill. So the wizard applies an ACP of -0 to every skill he has. He is not ignoring the penalties, he's applying them to everything. It's just that the penalty is -0, which effectively acts like no penalty, but isn't.
Since a buckler is a Shield, it grants a Shield Bonus to AC. This stacks with the Armor bonus of Bracers of Armor. Assuming the character has 10 dex, he'd have 13 AC at that point (assuming the buckler is not magical, and he has no other bonuses to AC).
Mage Armor is an Armor Bonus, and it's +4. It would supercede the Bracers, and they'd stop working. So his AC would be 15 (+4 Mage Armor, +1 Buckler).
If the buckler were enchanted to +1, then each of those numbers would increase by 1 (14 and 16 respectively).