If I enchant a buckler with a special ability like arrow deflection, does it still function if I choose to lose the AC bonus by using my off hand for an attack or casting a spell or do I also lose the arrow deflection as well?
"Benefit: You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's Armor Class bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's Armor Class bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler."
So I lose the AC bonus (and any magical bonus to AC) take a -1 to hit and I might argue that a special ability that requires the buckler to be used as a shield in order to work like Arrow Catching would also not function.
However, other special abilities like fortification project a force that affects other parts of the body, so it would still be in effect just from wearing the buckler.
In the case of Arrow deflecting I think it would still work because "Attempting to deflect a ranged weapon doesn't count as an action" so you wouldn't need to be using the buckler as a shield.
Am I missing the mark?
