I am currently working on homebrewing shields to make them feel "alive" and not just an AC bonus.
I am taking some inspiration from the Final Fantasy Tactics game, where shields have Physical Attack Evasion and Magical Attack Evasion stats.
I have two separate thoughts on this;
Thought 1: Follow FFT's example and allow the creature wielding a shield to roll a d100 when targeted for an attack.
If the shield has 10% evasion, the creature must roll a 1-10 to succeed. This would apply to melee, ranged, and spell attacks that roll to hit.
My issue with this is "when targeted for an attack," as the player would be doing a lot of rolling if they are a tank drawing aggro.
Thought 1.5: Change it to "Once per round, you may use your reaction to roll a d100. On a success, all damage is negated."
This feels unnecessary however, as the AC itself could be high enough that the attack doesn't even land. It would need more work.
Thought 2: Use charges for the shields and allow the creature to spend a charge as a reaction to turn a critical hit into a normal hit instead.
This feels more balanced, as you keep the +2 AC for wielding a shield, and you get to save yourself from a critical hit once in a while. I feel like 1 charge per long rest would be sufficient for inefficient shields, 2 charges for your average shield, and 3 charges for higher quality shields. I don't run into Critical Hits all that much, and I don't want to do too much with avoiding Crits as it makes the game more fun (in my opinion).
Thought 3: Leave shields be.
As stated above, it might be best for me to leave shields alone. It just feels dull that Chainmail + Shield = 18 AC, and most attacks don't land at lower level.
Thought 4: Make Shield AC 1 or 0, and use thought 1/1.5 or Thought 2 in conjunction.
This would remove the AC bonus partially or fully from having a shield equipped, but allow for the player to interact with their shield in combat, thus allowing it to (hopefully) feel more immersive.
Please offer any ideas or feedback, and feel free to vote on the opinion as well. This is for a personal campaign and nothing large scale
As an alternative, what about as a Bonus action someone wielding a shield could roll a D100 with the evasion thing and use it for all attacks that target them. People who use shields (sword and board, tank casters like cleric) generally don’t use bonus actions, whereas GWM warriors and Dual fielders use their BAs, so it gives some extra buttons for shield wielders to use. Reducing shield bonuses to +1 and possibly upping the rarity of +X shields (it makes no sense to me that +X shields start at uncommon, but +X armor starts at rare when they have the same AC essentially [normal chain mail + +1 shield= 19 AC; +1 chain mail and normal shield=19 AC.])
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"Come with me, and you'll be. in a world of pure imagination. Take a look, and you'll see, into your imagination. we'll begin, with a spin. traveling in a world of my creation. what we'll see will defy explanation!" ~Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
their is no light without dark. no calm without storm. no heroes without villains. I, unfortunately am the dark. I am the storm. I. Am. The. Villain (not really considering I'm a forever player and never get the chance to DM)
As an alternative, what about as a Bonus action someone wielding a shield could roll a D100 with the evasion thing and use it for all attacks that target them.
This is not a bad thought in my opinion, but I also feel if they successfully block all attacks then it starts to become overpowered. Also, it's similar to taking the Dodge or Ready action, which uses the creature's reaction to respond to a trigger. I could possibly alter it that these shields allow you to take a free action to enable the Ready action to negate all damage from the next incoming attack if it succeeds on the d100. Not sure
Why not just make it simpler and have shield proficiency also grant a reaction that lets you add ½PB to your AC against a single attack or something like that.
Yes, use of Reactions makes a lot of sense in terms of "active defending" and it automatically limits use as well as increasing the cost of that use. Something like Defensive Duelist but maybe a lower bonus.
Yes, use of Reactions makes a lot of sense in terms of "active defending" and it automatically limits use as well as increasing the cost of that use. Something like Defensive Duelist but maybe a lower bonus.
Why not just make it simpler and have shield proficiency also grant a reaction that lets you add ½PB to your AC against a single attack or something like that.
Did not consider half proficiency bonus added to AC, that could maybe work.
Yes, use of Reactions makes a lot of sense in terms of "active defending" and it automatically limits use as well as increasing the cost of that use. Something like Defensive Duelist but maybe a lower bonus.
I was not aware of Defensive Duelist, but I like some of it. Same with Shield Master, but something more defensive. Thank you for the ideas
Hey all,
I am currently working on homebrewing shields to make them feel "alive" and not just an AC bonus.
I am taking some inspiration from the Final Fantasy Tactics game, where shields have Physical Attack Evasion and Magical Attack Evasion stats.
I have two separate thoughts on this;
Thought 1: Follow FFT's example and allow the creature wielding a shield to roll a d100 when targeted for an attack.
If the shield has 10% evasion, the creature must roll a 1-10 to succeed. This would apply to melee, ranged, and spell attacks that roll to hit.
My issue with this is "when targeted for an attack," as the player would be doing a lot of rolling if they are a tank drawing aggro.
Thought 1.5: Change it to "Once per round, you may use your reaction to roll a d100. On a success, all damage is negated."
This feels unnecessary however, as the AC itself could be high enough that the attack doesn't even land. It would need more work.
Thought 2: Use charges for the shields and allow the creature to spend a charge as a reaction to turn a critical hit into a normal hit instead.
This feels more balanced, as you keep the +2 AC for wielding a shield, and you get to save yourself from a critical hit once in a while. I feel like 1 charge per long rest would be sufficient for inefficient shields, 2 charges for your average shield, and 3 charges for higher quality shields. I don't run into Critical Hits all that much, and I don't want to do too much with avoiding Crits as it makes the game more fun (in my opinion).
Thought 3: Leave shields be.
As stated above, it might be best for me to leave shields alone. It just feels dull that Chainmail + Shield = 18 AC, and most attacks don't land at lower level.
Thought 4: Make Shield AC 1 or 0, and use thought 1/1.5 or Thought 2 in conjunction.
This would remove the AC bonus partially or fully from having a shield equipped, but allow for the player to interact with their shield in combat, thus allowing it to (hopefully) feel more immersive.
Please offer any ideas or feedback, and feel free to vote on the opinion as well. This is for a personal campaign and nothing large scale
If players and DMs have to roll an additional die every time they get targeted with an attack it would slow down combat way, waayyy too much.
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As an alternative, what about as a Bonus action someone wielding a shield could roll a D100 with the evasion thing and use it for all attacks that target them. People who use shields (sword and board, tank casters like cleric) generally don’t use bonus actions, whereas GWM warriors and Dual fielders use their BAs, so it gives some extra buttons for shield wielders to use. Reducing shield bonuses to +1 and possibly upping the rarity of +X shields (it makes no sense to me that +X shields start at uncommon, but +X armor starts at rare when they have the same AC essentially [normal chain mail + +1 shield= 19 AC; +1 chain mail and normal shield=19 AC.])
"Come with me, and you'll be. in a world of pure imagination. Take a look, and you'll see, into your imagination. we'll begin, with a spin. traveling in a world of my creation. what we'll see will defy explanation!" ~Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
their is no light without dark. no calm without storm. no heroes without villains. I, unfortunately am the dark. I am the storm. I. Am. The. Villain (not really considering I'm a forever player and never get the chance to DM)
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I agree, that's why I was trying to divert away from this with my other thoughts.
This is not a bad thought in my opinion, but I also feel if they successfully block all attacks then it starts to become overpowered. Also, it's similar to taking the Dodge or Ready action, which uses the creature's reaction to respond to a trigger. I could possibly alter it that these shields allow you to take a free action to enable the Ready action to negate all damage from the next incoming attack if it succeeds on the d100. Not sure
Why not just make it simpler and have shield proficiency also grant a reaction that lets you add ½PB to your AC against a single attack or something like that.
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Yes, use of Reactions makes a lot of sense in terms of "active defending" and it automatically limits use as well as increasing the cost of that use. Something like Defensive Duelist but maybe a lower bonus.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
That’s why I suggested ½PB.
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Did not consider half proficiency bonus added to AC, that could maybe work.
I was not aware of Defensive Duelist, but I like some of it. Same with Shield Master, but something more defensive. Thank you for the ideas