Broken Shields (3.5e Variant Rule)
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Broken Shields
Shields aren't very interesting in D&D. They increase your AC, and... well, that's about it. They might give you some special enhancements, but rarely what a suit of armor couldn't do. And by many, they're seen as a "weaker" choice, since you are forced to give up two-handed weapons which can matter a lot in the endgame. On the other hand, a +5 Animated Shield is something that easily bumps someone off the RNG compared to others, which can be just as big of a problem. So instead we change that with this variant.
Mechanics
Shields no longer grant an AC bonus. Instead, as a non-action when using a shield, you may automatically increase your AC by 10 against a single attack after knowing the result of the attack. If the change in AC causes you to take no damage from the attack, the shield loses one durability. It is possible to repair a shield by spending five minutes to mainten it, resetting its durability to the maximum possible. If a shield's durability drops to 0 or lower, the shield must make a Fortitude save (DC equal to 10 + the amount of damage dealt after factoring in hardness) or break, becoming entirely splintered and made useless.
A shield's durability is equal to its innate durability plus its enhancement bonus. Thus, a +2 Buckler would have a durability of 4, while a +5 Tower Shield would have a durability of 11.
Shield | Durability |
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Buckler | 2 |
Light | 3 |
Heavy | 4 |
Tower | 6 |
Spells that deal damage, as well as melee and ranged touch attacks may also be blocked by a shield, but require the expenditure of two points of durability instead of one.
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