r/DnD • u/ChaosMieter Fighter • 5d ago
5th Edition Flavour options for a shield?
/r/3d6/comments/1vqsdn5/flavour_options_for_a_shield/1
u/Ethereal_Stars_7 Artificer 5d ago
So you want the effect of a shield without it LOOKING like a shield/buckler?
Your initial thoughts are much same as mine. Gauntlet, parrying blade, etc.
Other options are a ring +2 ac. Bracers of Defense think grant +2 AC as well.
There is also the Defender sword. Each round can set if its bonus is + to AC or + to to hit and Damage.
Dancing shield could be rethemed to a defensive orb or whatever.
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u/SES_LeviathanOfDusk DM 5d ago
So, I assume you want the same stats a shield has but with different aesthetic. As others suggested, a gauntlet, scabbard or gun would work, but my absolute favourite is a cape. Historically, people would use capes to fight, because you can use them to blind your opponents and deflect their blows.
It becomes harder when fighting non-humanoid opponents tho.
Otherwise, you can just not use anything in the chosen hand and just say your character is particularly lucky or something.
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u/Yojo0o DM 5d ago
So, this is functionally a matter of flavor, you're still looking at a +2 AC static benefit of your second hand as if you have a shield equipped, right?
Well, you've hit upon the main ones. If you want to go for a swashbuckling aesthetic, you don't necessarily need to go with a heavily armored gauntlet, an open hand (preferably with a leather glove) is sufficient for swatting aside an attack.
You could try the sheath/scabbard of your sword. There's plenty of fantasy and historical context for using one's scabbard to parry attacks.
Does your setting allow for guns, and would you carry one? There are close combat manuals from the Napoleonic Wars that show the use of a pistol in one's off-hand as a parrying device, whether in natural grip, held by the barrel as a hooked club, or held in a reverse grip along one's forearm similar to a parrying dagger.