|
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
An iron band, this simple ring generates a shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a heavy shield (+2 AC). This special creation has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance since it is weightless and encumbrance-free. It can be activated and deactivated at will as a free action.
would the hand wearing the ring still be free for holding/wielding weapons, making unarmed strikes, etc?
would it count as using a shield and prohibit the use of monk abilities?
It's a free action to turn the shield on and off. nso you can use it as a shield during your oponites turn(if you can hold all other things in your other hand) and turn it off and use that hand for casting holding or scratching your #### if you like during your turn. I have seen this used with bows and two-handed weapons this way.
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
To expound slightly upon Chris' answers of "Yes," and "No," respectively, you would, indeed, be able to use your ringed hand freely for basically whatever you'd like, because, as Von Marshal said, you can activate and deactivate the ring as many times as you'd like in a round. You could, for example, deactivate the ring at the start of your turn, swing your two handed sword at an opponent, then reactivate it before moving through threatened squares for attacks of opportunity, then turn it back off before ending your turn so that *you* may make attacks of opportunity. It's a decent tactic, albeit a little bit gimmicky and not without its drawbacks. Honestly, if you want to use this tactic, you're much better off using a Quickdraw shield, unless you intend to fight oodles of ghosts.
For the "No," well, that's easy. See below.
When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses his AC bonus, as well as his fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.
You use the ring "As if it were a shield,sadly," so no Monkishness allowed.
If you want a shield bonus to AC as a monk, you're better off spending a round putting up Shield. Ask your DM if you can make a custom item that casts it as a free action (there is precedent, if you're in a high-powered campaign), or as a standard if you're poor or playing a low-powered campaign. Or you could grab some UMD ranks.
Best of luck. :)