Homebrew Tips - Shields

[Casper5632]

I have a player who is trying to make a tougher melee character. The main issue is when he uses a 2 hander he ends up getting turned into cheese because he isn't in powered armor and isnt interested in using it opting to be the agile melee instead of the literal tank.

Considering I have seen starfinder pictures of shields being used I offered to let him use a shield, but I am still not 100% sure on what would be fair. What would you suggest be give him in terms of benefits and limitations for a shield strapped to his arm? Obviously he cant use that arm for anything else as per standard d20 rules. Would it be balanced to give him the standard +2 AC (KAC and EAC) bonus, or should I make him decide which AC to apply it to? Should I let him use shields from pathfinder, or stick him with an ordinary shield? What would you suggest?

[Kagerage]

id turn shields into cover rules so a +2 or +2 and +2 reflex and then a total cover. make all rules of cover apply to it also.

[Rothlis]

Casper5632 wrote:

I have a player who is trying to make a tougher melee character. The main issue is when he uses a 2 hander he ends up getting turned into cheese because he isn't in powered armor and isnt interested in using it opting to be the agile melee instead of the literal tank.

Considering I have seen starfinder pictures of shields being used I offered to let him use a shield, but I am still not 100% sure on what would be fair. What would you suggest be give him in terms of benefits and limitations for a shield strapped to his arm? Obviously he cant use that arm for anything else as per standard d20 rules. Would it be balanced to give him the standard +2 AC (KAC and EAC) bonus, or should I make him decide which AC to apply it to? Should I let him use shields from pathfinder, or stick him with an ordinary shield? What would you suggest?

I would treat it as a large shield from pathfinder i would make it so it applies to kac and reflex saves and make shield fusions for eac, energy shields, or elemental resitances

[Casper5632]

After I made this post I found the phase shield in the armor upgrades section. It only gives +1 EAC, so it seems odd to give them the same thing for +2 to the players choice based on which one they had on them.

[Name Violation]

http://www.starfindersrd.com/equipment/armor/#Phase_Shield

[Kagerage]

energy shields should run as temp hp with res to a type or a DR

[Name Violation]

Kagerage wrote:

energy shields should run as temp hp with res to a type or a DR

While a force field is active, you gain a number of temporary Hit Points depending on the force field’s power. All damage dealt to you is subtracted from the force field’s temporary Hit Points first. A force field has fast healing, meaning that it regains temporary Hit Points at a fixed rate each round at the end of your turn, up to its normal maximum.

[GM Rednal]

Some rules for (largely physical) shields in Starfinder were published, and are available here (set chance to negate crit, bonus to AC when used for Total Defense).

The site's also got some other options, especially with Augmentations. Stuff like a Tactical Analysis CPU (bonus to KAC and EAC) might help, if you're willing to allow 3PP material in your game.

[Kagerage]

there ya go the energy shields can run just like the force fields lol

[Hijiggy]

If he wants to use it I might require a feat. You need proficiency for any weapons you want to be proficient in, I think combat with a shield should require some training, especially if its something no one else in the world really uses.

If you are requiring a feat I think the +2 bonus would be fair. Or maybe combo of the choice? +1 Eac and +2 Kac or +2 Eac.

One other option you could have your player look into is using a two handed weapon with the 'block' property?

[Casper5632]

The main reason as it stands now is that being in melee puts you at extreme disadvantages in areas that involve a lot of cover. He has been running into situations where he takes a few free hits because he cant take any cover when trying to make melee attacks.

Energy shields are nice, but they arent available at nearly the strengths that would be required to just ignore cover.

I am considering giving him the 2 AC shield but I dont want to do that and then have him smash through encounters because he acts like he has partial cover 100% of the time.

The third party shields wouldent be too useful since they take a hand to equip and you need to burn your action to even benefit from the AC boost for total defense.

[Rothlis]

Hijiggy wrote:

If he wants to use it I might require a feat. You need proficiency for any weapons you want to be proficient in, I think combat with a shield should require some training, especially if its something no one else in the world really uses.

If you are requiring a feat I think the +2 bonus would be fair. Or maybe combo of the choice? +1 Eac and +2 Kac or +2 Eac.

One other option you could have your player look into is using a two handed weapon with the 'block' property?

*rolls up news paper* no bad feat taxer bad bad

[Name Violation]

Just use force fields or phase shield. Don't make it hard on your self. Or have him take the barricade feat

[lakobie]

Casper5632 wrote:

The main reason as it stands now is that being in melee puts you at extreme disadvantages in areas that involve a lot of cover. He has been running into situations where he takes a few free hits because he cant take any cover when trying to make melee attacks.

Energy shields are nice, but they arent available at nearly the strengths that would be required to just ignore cover.

I am considering giving him the 2 AC shield but I dont want to do that and then have him smash through encounters because he acts like he has partial cover 100% of the time.

The third party shields wouldent be too useful since they take a hand to equip and you need to burn your action to even benefit from the AC boost for total defense.

1. Starfinder math has you taking hits freaquently regardless of cover or not. After every 1 to 2 fights he should be taking a 10min rest and spending resolve to restore stamina.

2. He should be positioning in melee to get cover from enemy ranged attacks using the enemies hes engaged in melee with

3. Regarding your first post, powered armor makes a terrible frontline tank, it has less survivability than Heavy Armor

Im curious as to his build as well as his party members?

[Kagerage]

id give him the +2 sheild for range and take it away while in melee due to beign so close to his "cover". also i would see shields as included in hvy armor feat. or you could just use a 5 10 20 40% miss chance while shield is EQ for lvl1 to 5 to 10 to 15

[Kagerage]

or you could jsut call it an armor upgrade make it take slots add in 1 to 2 bulk and there ya go the armor its self has "shield plates" to increase effect no hands needed

[Lane_S]

Treat the shield as a 1 handed advanced melee weapon that provides an AC bonus that varies by level. Shields normally only provide their bonus to melee attacks and archaic ranged attacks, modern ranged weapons travel too fast to block without training. Characters may use shields as part of a deflect projectiles feat and counts as having the matching energy descriptor. You may not hold other items in the hand used for shields.

TYPE Lvl Bash AC Bonus ACP Bulk Special
Tactical 1 D4 +1 K -1 1 non lethal
Riot 3 D6 +2 K -2 2 block, unwieldly
Suppression 7 D8 +1 K&E -1 1 electrostatic field Mk1 (a)
Pulse 12 D12 +2k, +1E -2 2 block, knockdown crit
Plasma 14 D12 +2k, +1E -1 1 energy field Mk1 (a) (b)
Reflector 14 D8 +1 K&E 0 1 spell reflector
Barrier 16 D12 +2k, +1E 0 1 2 upgrade slots (c)

(a) Mk 1 fields may be upgraded to Mk 2, 3 fields of same type same type by purchasing the armor mod. Attacks made with shield add energy damage, Powered (capacity 40, usage 1)

(b) treat as electrostatic field but may chose energy type at time of purchase.

(c) upgrade slots limited to energy field (one type), spell reflector, Titan Shield, Deflective Reinforcement (no bonus to acrobatics), Phase Shield.