Funny buckler niche for swashbuckler.

[aobst128]

So buckler expertise seems like a bummer compared to dueling parry since you could just carry a regular shield around and shield blocking with a buckler will result in -1 buckler. But if you're using an unarmed attack from an ancestry or archetype, pick up shield block at some point, with buckler dance at 10th level, you could strap 2 bucklers, ideally adamantine, to get more buckler out of your buckler. Probably the only time wielding 2 shields could be a good choice.

[Sanityfaerie]

You could indeed have both bucklers auto-raised by the stance... but I'm pretty sure that the circumstance bonuses for raising two different shields wouldn't stack. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the intent here?

[aobst128]

Sanityfaerie wrote:

You could indeed have both bucklers auto-raised by the stance... but I'm pretty sure that the circumstance bonuses for raising two different shields wouldn't stack. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the intent here?

The idea is that you have more shields to potentially block with.

[Ferious Thune]

Nothing stops you from having a buckler on both arms. You just can’t benefit from one of them if you are holding a weapon in that hand. But if one is destroyed, you can just switch hands (Interact, I think), then raise the undamaged buckler. My Champion has a few extra bucklers, but I finally switched to a sturdy shield unless I need to two-hand a weapon.

Viking dedication and Second Shield can let you take another buckler out quickly (or just grab something nearby as a shield).

[breithauptclan]

Sanityfaerie wrote:

You could indeed have both bucklers auto-raised by the stance... but I'm pretty sure that the circumstance bonuses for raising two different shields wouldn't stack. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the intent here?

I don't think it would raise both bucklers at the same time since it just automatically uses the Raise Shield action - which only raises one shield. But that is mostly a moot point because: a) once one gets destroyed, the other would get raised automatically, and b) as mentioned, the circumstance bonus for having two bucklers raised would not stack.

I think it could be important if you had two bucklers that had different special abilities when raised. You would still only get one of them raised automatically by the stance. But I think that there are currently only shields with special abilities. I haven't checked though.

[aobst128]

Ferious Thune wrote:

Nothing stops you from having a buckler on both arms. You just can’t benefit from one of them if you are holding a weapon in that hand. But if one is destroyed, you can just switch hands (Interact, I think), then raise the undamaged buckler. My Champion has a few extra bucklers, but I finally switched to a sturdy shield unless I need to two-hand a weapon.

Viking dedication and Second Shield can let you take another buckler out quickly (or just grab something nearby as a shield).

I mentioned unarmed attacks since you wouldn't need to switch anything. Plus, breaking one buckler wouldn't stop buckler dance, I think.

[Ferious Thune]

Yeah, if you’re in the situation where you aren’t holding a weapon in either hand, then I think that works. You still only have one reaction to block with unless you take a feat for an extra one, but it looks like it would count as raised after the first is destroyed, yeah.

[Sanityfaerie]

breithauptclan wrote:

Sanityfaerie wrote:

You could indeed have both bucklers auto-raised by the stance... but I'm pretty sure that the circumstance bonuses for raising two different shields wouldn't stack. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the intent here?

I don't think it would raise both bucklers at the same time since it just automatically uses the Raise Shield action - which only raises one shield. But that is mostly a moot point because: a) once one gets destroyed, the other would get raised automatically, and b) as mentioned, the circumstance bonus for having two bucklers raised would not stack.

I think it could be important if you had two bucklers that had different special abilities when raised. You would still only get one of them raised automatically by the stance. But I think that there are currently only shields with special abilities. I haven't checked though.

It doesn't cause you to use the Raise a Shield action. It causes your buckler to be constantly raised as if you'd used the raise a shield action. Admittedly, it speaks of the buckler in the singular, but I think there's at least a little room for interpretation there.

Not that it much matters from a practical standpoint.

[breithauptclan]

Sanityfaerie wrote:

It doesn't cause you to use the Raise a Shield action. It causes your buckler to be constantly raised as if you'd used the raise a shield action. Admittedly, it speaks of the buckler in the singular, but I think there's at least a little room for interpretation there.

Not that it much matters from a practical standpoint.

Definitely room for interpretation. I would probably allow it to raise both bucklers if it became important for a particular character.

But with both the singular 'buckler' in the rule text and the mechanical equivalence of 'as if you'd used Raise a Shield' and 'you use Raise Shield for free at the start of your turn', I would read RAW as being only applicable to one buckler at a time.

[HumbleGamer]

breithauptclan wrote:

But with both the singular 'buckler' in the rule text and the mechanical equivalence of 'as if you'd used Raise a Shield' and 'you use Raise Shield for free at the start of your turn', I would read RAW as being only applicable to one buckler at a time.

I agree.

Feels more like a way to exploit the action management ( rather than bucklers, I can think about the paragon s guard).