Does this stack with a physical shield?  It has "shield" in the name and the same AC bonus, but nothing else in the description makes me think it would not.

Quote from dlsumme >>

Does this stack with a physical shield?  It has "shield" in the name and the same AC bonus, but nothing else in the description makes me think it would not.

 Yes it does stack with a regular shield (giving you an effective +4 to your AC), however just make sure that any character casting this spell has at least one hand free because the spell requires a hand motion (as per the "S" under components).

Quote from Zenith360 >>

Quote from dlsumme >>

Does this stack with a physical shield?  It has "shield" in the name and the same AC bonus, but nothing else in the description makes me think it would not.

 Yes it does stack with a regular shield (giving you an effective +4 to your AC), however just make sure that any character casting this spell has at least one hand free because the spell requires a hand motion (as per the "S" under components).

 If you take the War Caster feat you don't need a free hand.

If you are a cleric with a holy symbol on the shield, or Pact of the Blade with Pact weapon they count as foci and I thought foci automatically counted as a free hand for casting. Am I mistaken?

As long as your holy symbol (or other divine focus) is visible while you're wearing it (eg. around your neck, dangling from your wrist, affixed to your shield) then that takes care of the M component (see the rules for material components). However, the rules governing the S component state that the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures (see the rules for somatic components). This can make spell casting a bit tricky in battle (for spells with an S component), however, as part of your movement action, you can either stow or retrieve an object (sadly not both).

This means that while wielding your weapon, you can first stow it, then cast your spell. On your next turn you could retrieve it, then attack. Unfortunately this makes it so that you would not be able to use your weapon for attacks of opportunity while it is stowed between turns.

That said, if you were to cast this at the start of an encounter when you are presumably not yet wielding your weapon, you could first cast it using your free hand, then retrieve your weapon as part of your move action on your first turn.

I got it. I just went back and reread the relevant section of chapter 10 under Material Components. it was the last paragraph that I had misremembered/misunderstood: "A spellcaster must have a hand free to access these components, but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components." Thank you for helping me understand the rules better. I used to play 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 3.5 ed, I'm still learning 5th edition so this was helpful. Much obliged! 

can you cast this on yourself?

Bump...Can you cast it on yourself?

"...a creature of your choice ..." always includes yourself.

Quote from sicktakler >>

can you cast this on yourself?

 

 Yes, as per previous editions as well if I'm not mistaken. Unless the spell says otherwise and its kind of beneficial, the caster can choose to be its recipient. 

Can you cast this on two different characters or can it only be cast on one creature at a time?

Can multiple people cast it on the same person for a stacked effect?

Is the parchment consumed when you cast the spell?

Quote from Angelbiscuit >>

Can you cast this on two different characters or can it only be cast on one creature at a time?

You typically can only cast it on one creature at a time. This is because the spell requires concentration (the C in the duration), and you can normally only concentrate on one spell at a time. There are ways around this, but most of them require a lot of preparation or are from third-party sourcebooks, as concentration is very important to balancing spellcasting.

Quote from Majest1c_chicken >>

Is the parchment consumed when you cast the spell?

 Spells that consume their components specify so in the materials section. Since this spell doesn't mention it, the parchment is not consumed. (It would say "which the spell consumes" otherwise.)

Quote from NewidSkullsmasher >>

Can multiple people cast it on the same person for a stacked effect?

 No. As a general rule, multiple castings of the same spell do not stack. See the rules on Combining Magical Effects here (or on page 205 of the PHB). The strongest instance of the spell is the one that takes effect (irrelevant for this spell since it only has one strength setting).

"A creature of your choice..." always includes yourself

Technical question, how do you stop it from counting toward your AC, like after a rest? 

The "long rest" button doesn't seem to remove the bonus.

P.S: Sorry for the character name, I am bearing my past mistake.

Can you cast spells or attack from within it?

Yes. Shield of Faith is a flat AC boost and it does not interfere with spells/attacks/etc.

Can a cleric make the parchment, ie can they write holy text on parchment?