Shield BlockingWhen you wield a shield, you can move to more actively block with it. The basic shield bonus to your AC represents attempts to simply deflect attacks away from you, or to interfere with the attacker's strike so they never get a chance for a solid hit in the first place.
The number of times per round you can attempt to block is limited. You can't just block everything.
- Shield block attempts come from the same pool as attacks of opportunity. Your basic character can attempt to block one attack per round or make one attack of opportunity.
- Combat Reflexes allows you to make additional AoOs equal to your Dex mod, or that many extra shield blocks, or any combination in between.
Blocking is not guaranteed
- To block an attack, you make shield block roll, which is a special attack roll with your shield: 1d20 + your Dexterity modifier + your shield's block bonus + your Base Attack Bonus + any other modifiers that apply to your attack rolls.
- Until more fully-developed rules get made, use the shield's base/normal shield bonus for its block bonus, except bucklers which are +0.
- A magic shield adds its enhancement bonus to this roll. A masterwork shield provides a +1 enhancement bonus.
- If you are fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, you add the AC bonus to your roll rather than subtracting the attack roll penalty. Likewise, if you are performing a total defense, you add the AC bonus to your roll.
- You use the result of your shield block roll in place of your Armor Class (like with Wall of Blades) to determine if you block successfully.
A successful shield block means that you're taking the attack on your shield. You don't get hit (although the impact may still be jarring enough to injure you), and your shield takes the full force of the blow.
- On a successful shield block, your shield is hit, rather than you, much like with a sunder attempt. Your attacker is not actually attempting to sunder your shield (they're not lining up their strike specifically to break your shield), so sunder-specific abilities and effects do not apply for them. Any effects of the attack apply to your shield, rather than you (since it was your shield that was hit, not you).
- A blocked attack is still jarring. You take nonlethal damage equal to half the damage negated by the shield's hardness, and lethal damage equal to half of the damage absorbed by the shield's hit points. Any damage in excess of the shield's hit points applies fully to you. Other effects of the attack, however, are still negated against you, even if the shield had but a single hit point.
You can't block if your shield is out of position, or if the attack would otherwise bypass it.
- Any time you would not apply your shield bonus to AC (against touch attacks, after making a shield slam attack without Improved Shield Slam, etc.), you can't attempt to shield block.
- You can't attempt to shield block when you would be unable to make attacks of opportunity (ex: if you are flat-footed and don't have the Combat Reflexes feat).
Feats:
- Dodge: Dodge bonus to AC also applies to block rolls.
- Improved Shield Block: Negates the nonlethal damage from damage blocked by shield's hardness and makes the rest of the damage blocked by the shield nonlethal. Grants +2 on block rolls.
- Shield Riposte: Requires Improved Shield Block and Improved Shield Bash. When you block an attack and your shield isn't destroyed, you can make a shield bash attack using that shield against your attacker.
- Two-Weapon Block: Requires Two-Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Defense. While wielding two weapons and gaining the shield bonus from Two-Weapon Defense, you can use them to shield block. Somehow. The details are not important. (Mechanics to be filled in later.)
- Shield Evasion: See Amechra.
What if shields "upgraded" Evasion, in addition to giving an AC bonus?
• Shield, but no Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Evasion, but the Shield takes the damage on a successful save.
• Shield, with Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Improved Evasion, but the shield takes the damage too on a failed save.
• Shield, with Improved Evasion: Your shield takes the damage on a failed Reflex save instead of you.
Items:
- Ghost Touch (shield property): Since the shield bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, the shield can be used to block incorporeal touch attacks.