Donning a shield takes "one move action". Does that mean donning a shield that you're otherwise holding in your hand, or donning a shield that's stowed on your back?
That is, if you've got your shield stowed in the standard way, does it take one move action to unstow it, and another to strap it to your arm, or one move action to move it from your back to "in use"?
I think this is left to the DM's discretion.
I would personally consider that either of the 2 options (unstowing and strapping / just strapping) would take only a move action, since what is time consuming is traping it to your forearm; retrieving it would be done rather fast if stowed correctly.
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Grazno wrote: Donning a shield takes "one move action". Does that mean donning a shield that you're otherwise holding in your hand, or donning a shield that's stowed on your back?
That is, if you've got your shield stowed in the standard way, does it take one move action to unstow it, and another to strap it to your arm, or one move action to move it from your back to "in use"?
I think part of the confusion is due to poor wording, in the sense that the rules use different and nontechnical words to say the same thing. My group had been playing this incorrectly for years until I noticed this question raised on this thread last year.
Quote: Ready or Drop a Shield
Strapping a shield to your arm to gain its shield bonus to your AC, or unstrapping and dropping a shield so you can use your shield hand for another purpose, requires a move action. If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can ready or drop a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.
Dropping a carried (but not worn) shield is a free action.
Strapping on or unstrapping the shield is a move action.
*Strap is not a technical term.
If you have a BAB +1 or higher, you can ready (strap) or drop (unstrap) a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.
*I don't know why they change the wording from strap to ready/drop.
**I believe the part about dropping the shield as a free action is actually two free actions: #1 - unstrap shield, #2 - drop item.
It also notes that there is a distinction between carrying vs wearing a shield.
*Carry isn't much of a technical term either, and carrying an item in your hand is much different than carrying it on your pack (which requires a move action to retrieve).
I believe this is how it works if you start out with a shield on your back or pack:
1) Retrieve item (move action - shield is now carried)
2) Strap/ready shield (move action - shield now grants AC bonus)
= 2 move actions
or
1) Retrieve item (move action - shield is now carried)
2) Move (move action)
3) Strap/ready shield while moving (free action - shield now grants AC bonus)
= 2 move actions + 1 free action
And once your shield is strapped on, this is what you can do to take it off:
1) Unstrap/remove shield (move action - no shield bonus)
2) Store item (move action - shield on back)
= 2 move actions
or
1) Move (move action)
2) Unstrap/remove shield while moving (free action - no shield bonus)
3) Store item (move action - shield on back)
= 2 move actions and 1 free action
or
1) Move (move action)
2) Unstrap/remove shield while moving (free action - no shield bonus)
3) Drop item (free action - shield on ground)
= 1 move action and 2 free actions
reefwood wrote:
If you have a BAB +1 or higher, you can ready (strap) or drop (unstrap) a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.
Can you give me a page number or link to that rule?
Grazno wrote: Donning a shield takes "one move action". Does that mean donning a shield that you're otherwise holding in your hand, or donning a shield that's stowed on your back?
That is, if you've got your shield stowed in the standard way, does it take one move action to unstow it, and another to strap it to your arm, or one move action to move it from your back to "in use"?
I think that it's the second.
I am not sure what RAW is but i think that we can understand RAI if we take a look at the APG's quickdraw shields, this type of shield says that if you have the quick draw feat you can don or put away the shield as a free action, now if you needed two move action to use a shield that it's in your back (one to retrieve it and one to strap it) then the quickdraw shield with the quick draw feat it would be quite meh.
leo1925 wrote: reefwood wrote:
If you have a BAB +1 or higher, you can ready (strap) or drop (unstrap) a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.
Can you give me a page number or link to that rule? Core, 187. Under "Ready or Drop a Shield". "If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can ready or drop a shield as a free action combined with a regular move."
leo1925 wrote:
Grazno wrote: Donning a shield takes "one move action". Does that mean donning a shield that you're otherwise holding in your hand, or donning a shield that's stowed on your back?
That is, if you've got your shield stowed in the standard way, does it take one move action to unstow it, and another to strap it to your arm, or one move action to move it from your back to "in use"?
I think that it's the second.
I am not sure what RAW is but i think that we can understand RAI if we take a look at the APG's quickdraw shields, this type of shield says that if you have the quick draw feat you can don or put away the shield as a free action, now if you needed two move action to use a shield that it's in your back (one to retrieve it and one to strap it) then the quickdraw shield with the quick draw feat it would be quite meh.
I believe much the same as with weapons, if your shield is stored (bag of holding, inside a backpack, on the pack horse) its a move action to get it out, then a move action (or free as part of move with BAB +1) to ready it. If its just "carried within easy reach" like weapons in a scabbard, its a move action to ready it. Quickdraw shields are free actions to ready, or with the quickdraw feat, free to ready from a backpack/other storage.
I looked at the Quickdraw Shields after making my post, and their description seems to suffer from similar poor/mismatched wording:
Quote: Quickdraw Shield, Light Wooden or Steel: This light shield is specially crafted with a series of straps to allow a character proficient in shields to ready or stow it on his or her back quickly and easily. If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you may don or put away a quickdraw shield as a swift action combined with a regular move. If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw a light or one-handed weapon with one hand and a quickdraw shield with the other in the time it would normally take you to draw one weapon. If you have the Quick Draw feat, you may don or put away a quickdraw shield as a free action. Does the term "don a shield" mean to retrieve it or ready it (strap on)? Both of these are normally move actions. However, since you can already ready (strap on) a shield with a free action when combined with a regular move if you have BAB +1, changing this action to a swift action would actually be worse. Therefore, I assume that "don" means to retrieve the shield (even though the prior sentence says "ready") because a swift action would be better than the move action that is normally use to retrieve a shield. And since you are already moving, you can then ready (strap on) the shield with a free action since you have BAB +1. If you don't have BAB +1, you can't retrieve the shield as a swift action in the first place. But with a BAB +1, you can combine a regular move with retrieving the shield and readying the shield (which would require 3 move actions if you had BAB +0).
Plus, the example of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat talks about drawing a weapon...which can be a move or free action depending on how you do it (it has the same: free action w/regular move if BAB +1)... which is probably why it says "in the time it would normally take you to draw one weapon" instead of as a move action or free action. If you have BAB +0 or are not moving, it is a move action to draw the weapon but you can draw/retrieve a quickdraw shield at the same time. If you have BAB +1 and are moving, it is a free action to draw the weapon and you can draw/retrieve the shield at the same time, and since you are moving, it is also a free action to ready (strap on) the shield.
If you have the Quick Draw feat, you may don (retrieve) or put away a quickdraw shield as a free action. This is faster than the move action that is usually required to retrieve or put away an item. If you have the Quick Draw feat, you can retrieve the shield as a free action, and on top of that, if you are already moving and have BAB +1, you can ready (strap on) the shield as a free action, so this lets you move (move action), retrieve shield (free action), and ready action (free action) with one move action instead of the 2 or 3 it would take with a regular shield.
At least that's how I interpret all this, and I do think it should be clearer.
Wow! I'm glad were not the only ones to find it unclear :). Thanks for the help!
So it takes two moves, 1 to get the shield off your back, and the other to put it on your arm.
Putting it on your arm does not provoke.
Shouldn't getting it off your back provoke, just like getting something out of a backpack would?
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
The silliest thing about this is that most shields are just held in the hand, in a center grip.
Don't gotta strap it to your arm like Link
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The Diehard Bard wrote: The silliest thing about this is that most shields are just held in the hand, in a center grip.
Don't gotta strap it to your arm like Link
Eh, most shields bigger then a buckler have a strap that fits around the upper forearm. Having that properly tightened down prevents the shield from rotating when the bottom or top edge gets clipped by a hard blow. It also keeps the shield straight against your forearm which helps distribute the force of a solid blow along the entire forearm. If you were just holding the hand strap the shield would be slammed back and might actually do damage. If the shield was hit along the edge and all you had was a hand strap, you would probably loose your grip.
https://www.google.com/search?q=medieval+shield+straps&espv=2&biw=1 902&bih=921&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ah UKEwjvwY6IqYXSAhXK6iYKHQ7NCzoQsAQIGQ&dpr=1
Pretty much the only shields I have ever seen with just a hand strap are fencing bucklers.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fencing+buckler+strap&espv=2&biw=19 02&bih=921&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahU KEwjz_PG3qYXSAhVB6yYKHSKiC0QQsAQIGQ&dpr=1#imgrc=djpn0XdJUtQ1dM:
Equipping a shield probably should take longer then drawing a weapon from a sheath/scabbard.
The Diehard Bard wrote: The silliest thing about this is that most shields are just held in the hand, in a center grip.
Don't gotta strap it to your arm like Link
According to Ocarina of Time Link must have quick draw as he can draw his shield and attack at the same time.
I don't know where they got the idea of donning a shield from, probably just some silly Chainmail artifact, slippimg your arm into the leather strap and behind the metal handle is pretty quick an action. But this is a game where shurikens and arrows can be infinitely drawn because: reasons.
At least it's better than full plate, that mess takes minutes! Minutes!!
Jader7777 wrote: The Diehard Bard wrote: The silliest thing about this is that most shields are just held in the hand, in a center grip.
Don't gotta strap it to your arm like Link
According to Ocarina of Time Link must have quick draw as he can draw his shield and attack at the same time.
I don't know where they got the idea of donning a shield from, probably just some silly Chainmail artifact, slippimg your arm into the leather strap and behind the metal handle is pretty quick an action. But this is a game where shurikens and arrows can be infinitely drawn because: reasons.
At least it's better than full plate, that mess takes minutes! Minutes!! It takes 6 seconds to move a shield from your back and put it on.
You're telling me you think you can do that in 6 seconds?
I don't own a shield, but I'm imagining that tightening down the strap will take enough time that the move action required to "don" the shield is appropriate.
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