Klar, light shield, and casting question in one (oh dear)

[Aziraya Zhwan]

So for PFS, I've been thinking of making a Ranger that uses Thunder and Fang. Looking around the forum I see some discrepancies. However, the threads seem to be rather old so maybe something has become more clear along the way. This may cause a lot of angst, so be ready! I'm basically wondering how hard it would be for me to cast spells using Thunder and Fang.

Alright, so this mainly gets broken down into three parts.

1. The Klar says it is treated as a light shield with spikes. Is the Klar considered a light shield in regards to the ability of having a hand free? Relevant quote:

Pathfinder PRD wrote:

The traditional form of this tribal weapon is a short metal blade bound to the skull of a large horned lizard, but a skilled smith can craft one entirely out of metal. A traditional klar counts as a light wooden shield with armor spikes; a metal klar counts as a light steel shield with armor spikes.

2. This is only needed depending on the answer to 1. If 1 is "yes", this makes it sound like you can still hold something in that hand along with the Klar, allowing for the whole "make Klar hand hold the EB, cast, switch back" trick. Would I be able to cast somatic spells that way without slowing down my character's action economy more than usual? Here is a Q&A regarding this:

d20pfsrd wrote:

Q: My cleric is wielding a light shield and a morningstar and wants to cast a spell. My DM says that my cleric has to drop his morningstar to cast spells. Can't I just switch my morningstar to the light shield hand and then move it back after casting?

A: (James Jacobs 1/1/10) Switching a held object from one hand to the other doesn't require an action, so the end result is the same whether or not you use the light shield hand to lay on hands or your weapon hand after switching your weapon to the off hand, and then back to your weapon hand. The fact that allowing you to use your light shield hand to do so without so many fiddly steps is why I'd say it's fine to let it work that way.

While not an official errata, this sounds like things are good to go depending on the answer to 1.

3. If all else fails along these lines, is there a way that I can make this work without having to fully sheathe and unsheathe my weapon whenever I want to cast? Essentially, something that allows me to cast one turn and be fully ready to TWF the next without opening myself to an AoO.

[Splendor]

Yes
Klar

Quote:

A traditional klar counts as a light wooden shield with armor spikes; a metal klar counts as a light steel shield with armor spikes.

Light Steel Shield

Quote:

A light wooden shield is essentially the same as a light steel shied

Light wooden Shield

Quote:

You strap a light steel shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand.

Griping and ungriping are free actions. So you can ungrip a Klar and cast a spell and then regrip it.

Also look a a weapon cord just incase. It allows you to recover your weapon as a move action. So if all else failed you could drop your weapon, cast and then recover your action as a move action (a nice DM might make it part of a move action).

[blackbloodtroll]

The Klar is also listed as an One-handed weapon, in some sources.

There is a bit of confusion because of this.

[Aziraya Zhwan]

blackbloodtroll wrote:

The Klar is also listed as an One-handed weapon, in some sources.

There is a bit of confusion because of this.

It's like they tried to make the Klar a unique and flavorful spiked shield usable based on weapon proficiency, but opened up a dozen cans of worms because of how they went about it.