| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
The Throwing Shield from Ultimate Combat lists 1d6 damage for a medium-sized shield, but also says that shield enhancement bonuses and shield spikes don't apply; this makes sense, since you're throwing the damn thing like a frisbee.
But what about in melee combat? Would a normal throwing shield do 1d6 in melee, or would it do standard shield bash damage (1d4)? If I put shield spikes on it, would it do 1d6 piercing in melee, but 1d6 bludgeoning as a ranged weapon? Or would the shield spikes bump it up to 1d8 piercing in melee?
Also, why doesn't a spiked shield allow you to do both piercing AND Bludgeoning? It seems like you should have an option.
I'm not sure what the official ruling is, but I would rule it that bashing with the shield is just like the base shield's bashing rules. The throwing property just lets you use it as a 1d6 damage ranged attack. As a point of perspective, throwing is hitting with the edge, while bashing is hitting with the face of it, so they are different parts of the shield.
As for why spiked shields don't do both bludgeoning and piercing, I don't have an answer for you. Since this is the rules forum, the answer I'm going to give is "because that's what the stat block says."
If it were my game, I might allow a form of shield spikes that work that way (counting as both B and P), but they wouldn't increase damage (to not make them the obviously better choice). Anyway, that would be houseruling, not anything written into the books.
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
That's what I figured. So ideally, you could pick up a Throwing Spiked Heavy Wooden Shield that would do 1d6+STR Piercing with a Shield Bash, or 1d6+STR Bludgeoning if you threw it, if I'm understanding this correctly.
Related question: Does the Trip weapon quality only apply when throwing the Throwing Shield, or does it apply when using the shield in melee as well?
Given that it only lists 'trip' under the ranged entry for 'throwing shield', I'd say that it only applies when thrown.
It also makes more sense physically, as a flying disc can more easily trip you than someone trying to bash your legs out from under you. That's not proof, mind you, but just some reinforcement.