dwarf fighter

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Hi all,

Can a dwarf fighter use a tower shield? I think I am getting 2nd Ed rules and 3rd ed rules mixed up.

My logic is the tower shield would be taller than the dwarf itself. It might be different in 3d ed rules but I can't find anything on this forum relating to dwarves and tower shields.

Any help appreciated.

oddbean

 

You'd think... But Dwarves are classed as Medium-Sized, so AFAIK they should be able to use everything that humans can, even if that seems utterly illogical. Only Halflings and Gnomes (who are classed as Small-sized) get any special restrictions in NWN.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for NWN. Now to go buy one because I have been selling them!

I 'd love to hear the 3rd Ed. rule creators explain the logic of dwarves using tower shields.

 

I can confirm that you can use a tower shield with a dwarf, i'm using it on my monk.

The reason for that is that you can use shields without losing your wisdom bonus, if you give him one level in fighter early in the game. also, this way you can get the weapon specialization feat

 

Sounds like an excelent way to exploit the rules\bugs.

 

on table top a tower shield is also suppose roughly the same size as a human and can grant full cover. Because using a tower shield is so large and unwieldly, it is suppose to grant a +2 maximum dexterity bonus (it's like wearing chainmail). Because tower shields are so different then using normal shields, all classes aside from fighters, require the feat Tower Shield Proficiency to use the shield properly and even then the shield forces you to take a -2 penalty on attack roles. Tower shields are also suppose to weigh 45 lbs and give a +4 shield bonus.

Because the tower shield is so naturally unwieldly, a dwarf using a human sized tower shield isn't really going to notice much of a difference. NWN just makes it seem as if tower shields are just big heavy shields when they are not. Tower shields are really designed for siege warfare, not melee combat.

 

Those rules for towershield are 3.5 only. In 3.0 rules, which NWN is based on, every fighter has towershield proficiency. Also, tower shields are scaled to be roughly the size of the character using them. In D&D swords and armors aren't based on size like they should be. You can have, "small" greatswords and so on. This applies to shields as well.

Now in 3.5 they've changed a lot of these rules, including how many spells work ie: Haste.

And in D&D these shields are used for general combat for anyone willing to take on a -10 check penalty for using it. In 3.0 IIRC they did not give an AC bonus, except that of which was provided by cover. Another rule changed in 3.5, which made the tower shield give +4 AC.