A player would like to say that the free action involved with a throwing shield includes the attack, so with a blink back belt, returning etc it becomes technically an infinite attack.
I read that the free action is the unclasping of the shield, and when an attack is made it becomes a standard attack, or can also be used in a full round attack as part of the attack.
......From throwing shield description-
"This shield is designed for throwing and has specially designed straps allowing you to unclasp and throw it as a free action. Tower shields cannot be throwing shields."
What say ye?
Regardless of how the book is worded a mundane weapon that gives free action attacks is stupid. Full stop. Any player who cannot accept that can gtfo my table.
Drawing a weapon from the belt is not a free action. The description of the blinkback belt specifies you have to draw the weapon. Drawing a weapon is a defined game term with that requires at least a move action that can sometimes be combined with a regular move action. In order to use the blinkback belt you have to draw the weapon.
A shield is normally strapped to your arm and unstrapping it is a move action. The throwing shield simply allows you to unstrap it as a free action so it can be thrown. You still need to use an attack action to actually throw the shield. If you don’t use an attack action (including part of a full attack) you don’t get to roll to hit. Without the attack you are essentially dropping the shield except it is too far away for you to get it. A shield on a blinkback belt cannot be unslung and thrown without using the draw weapon action.
"This shield is designed for throwing and has specially designed straps allowing you to unclasp and throw it as a free action."
is poorly written....It should specify that "the unclasping of the shield is a free action enabling the shield to be used as a thrown weapon".
After the throwing shield is thrown and teleports back to the blinkback belt the character will need the Quickdraw feat to use the shield for any further iterative attacks.
Arguing for unlimited free attacks is ludicrous.
Faqed and answered back in 2017:
"Throwing Shield: The throwing shield says that it has special straps “that allow you to unclasp and throw it as a free action.” It seems likely that “unclasp and throw” means “unclasp in order to throw” but it could also mean “unclasp and additionally throw” which could give a character any number of extra attacks. Which interpretation is correct?
Throwing shield’s wording means you can unclasp as a free action in order to throw it; throwing it would requires its own action. The wording will be updated to disambiguate in the next errata."
It should also be noted that a throwing shield is an exotic weapon made through the use of an armor mod and considered a modified weapon, as such it is subject the the rules of modified weapons… meaning, they don’t automatically gain proficiency just by being proficient with shields…. Not that shield proficiency actually even applied to using a shield as a weapon in the first place… shield proficiency from classes is an Armor Proficiency, not a weapon proficiency… the weapon proficiency for most shields is Martial Weapon.
The shield also has to be hung from the belt, then drawn and thrown to cause the blinkback to work. having the shield clasped somewhere else would not activate the blinkback belts ability.
The shield also has to be hung from the belt, then drawn and thrown to cause the blinkback to work. having the shield clasped somewhere else would not activate the blinkback belts ability.
Very true… and unless you properly clasp the shield it doesn’t provide its free action unclasp.