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I apologize ahead of time if these questions seem ridiculous, I'm still pretty new to Pathfinder, but I love it and want to make sure I'm as useful as possible to my fellow team members.
I can't seem to see any downside to using a shield, is there one? I know that obvious answer of "you won't be able to equip a weapon in the hand holding a shield" or "it adds to your overall weight" but other than that, is there any reason I shouldn't use one?
Also, the group I'm in is only able to meet up once a month and I believe I am seeing that it's also possible to play online? Can anyone explain that to me? Thanks in advance for your answers.
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Generally speaking, your shield hand will not be available for other things. If you're a spell caster, that means you can't cast spells with somatic gestures while you are wielding a weapon as well. You also can't climb very well either. And since two-handed weapons are the big damage dealers, you won't be doing as much damage. How much this matters to you depends on the character you're playing.
As to online play, people use the forums to participate in play-by-post games where they type their roleplay and actions via dedicated threads. You can also use a number of electronic table tops and voice chats to interact with players who are far removed from your local area. Each option has its ups and downs, but if you are unable to get any other roleplaying groups together, it can be a much easier way to get your fix.
The main downside is that, when you are using a weapon with two hands, you get one-and-a-half times your strength as bonus damage. In one hand (with a shield in the other), you get only one times your strength. Additionally, two-handed weapons tend to have a larger damage dice.
The extra armour class that shields give is rarely worth the loss of extra damage. However, as TOZ says, how much this matters really depends on the kind of character you are playing. Using a shield is not a clear-cut decision.
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My Holy Vindicator uses a buckler for massive shield bonuses, and two hands his dwarven waraxe when he needs offensive instead of defense.
My Paladin uses a heavy shield and relies on smite damage to get him through, and endurance (high AC/HP/healing) to outlast nonevil opponents.
My Druid and Oracle use heavy shields because they don't typically make melee attacks. They use their free hands to cast spells. When my Oracle has nothing better to do, he'll draw his morningstar to make an attack or threaten for a flank. Then he starts using move actions to sheathe/drop/pick up his weapon as needed to get his hand free for a spell.
A lot of my other characters use a masterwork buckler for extra AC because it costs them so little investment.
Like TriOmegaZero was pointing out, a buckler can be the best of both worlds - it lets you use your weapon two-handed if you like, but can give you fairly decent armor bonuses once you get to the point of being able to afford enchanting it.
Another interesting route can be taking two weapon fighting feats and shield fighting feats to be able to use your shield as an effective weapon in its own right. Be warned, it is a feat-intensive and potentially expensive route to take, but the paladin/fighter in my group is having some fun with it.
Also, the group I'm in is only able to meet up once a month and I believe I am seeing that it's also possible to play online? Can anyone explain that to me? Thanks in advance for your answers.
Lots of groups use google hangouts and free tabletop sites such as Roll20 to play. I am fan of watching the games over on rpgmp3.com on youtube for instance.
There is something hosted here on the forums - Play by Post. Its a pretty good approach to gaming that I am very involved in. Generally speaking it moves slowly but it allows for some good depth and internal monolouging etc.
May be worth your while to check out.
There is, however, a very good case for OWNING a shield, assuming the weight isn't an issue.
Circumstances change, and you may well want a shield when that flying archer shows up, or the horrible thing that poisons you with a touch.
Also, fun fact, you can do Two-weapon fighting with a shield, using a spiked shield as the main weapon, and a light weapon in the off hand.
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You can still use a longbow if you own a shield, you simply can't use both at the same time, and there are actions required to switch between using the shield and using the longbow.
So, it's probably not a bad idea to own a shield, just remember to switch back and forth when you need to.
If you are using the longbow, you don't get the shield bonus to AC. If you are using the shield, you have to spend actions to remove/drop it and pull out the longbow.
That seems to make spiked shields very impractical in use.
The value of AC cannot be overstated; true, a +1 shield bonus doesn't stack up well against the greater damage you can dish out with two hands, but is cash is going to be an issue during the campaign, it's a lot cheaper to finance +2 armor and a +2 shield (8,000gp total) than to finance +4 armor alone (16,000gp), leaving you plenty for one of them to be +3 or have +1 special quality.
Since you can't have an armor enhancement bonus above +5 (for 25,000gp), you're better off with +3 armor and a +3 shield (for 18,000.) That +5 cutoff is just for the actual enhancement bonus; the effective bonus including special qualities can be up to +10.
And all the other AC bonuses you can get from ioun stones, belts of dexterity or whatever apply either way you go, so the argument holds: it's easier/cheaper to get a decent AC with a shield than without.
As Damon Griffin said the bonus on the shield can be higher than the straight +1, or +2 for the shield itself. If your character has a high strength and is using heavy armor then the two handed weapon is probably a better option, especially if you are a full BAB class. On the other hand if you are using medium or light armor and have only a moderate strength the shield may be the better option, especially if you are a ¾ BAB class.
Having an extra magic item can also be very useful. The sword and board character will probably have one of the highest AC in the game. If you have the feats and the stats a shield fighter can be pretty effective, but it is a very stat and feat intensive build. Basically you use two weapon fighting and use the shield as the second weapon. It also cost more because the shield has to be enchanted for both offense and defense.