Shield Guard (3.5e Class)

Shield Warrior

A Shield Warrior uses the shield as a form of Attack and Defense. They use themselves as bait to take damage so other members of the party may escape or destroy the foes without worry of retaliation. Not everyone may be a Shield Warrior, as you will be giving up the ability for higher damage output for the sake of taking damage.

Making a Shield Warrior

The Shield Warrior utilizes AC Defense and High hitpoints over Damage or attack. It's not very good with solo battles and relies heavily on other combatants to do damage. At higher levels, the Shield Warrior will be able to take strong attacks and deal a decent amount. Survivability is paramount to the Shield Warriors, so Healers are a big asset to Shield Warriors. High DPS classes may support Shield Warriors to take out the enemy while it is distracted.

Abilities: Constitution is great for Shield Warriors, Strength is good so they may carry and wear their gear and armor. Whatever is left should go towards Dexterity, as it helps towards dodge and attack of opportunities or Charisma for certain class abilities.

Races: Humans, Orcs, Dwarfs, and any other strong, sturdy races are idea for Shield Warrior. Gnomes are decent Shield Warriors as well, due to their hardy nature, while Elves and Half-Elves find it a bit Distasteful, but not completely unheard of.

Alignment: Any Alignment, but Usually Neutral or Lawful.

Starting Gold: starting gold; 4d4x10 gp (80).

Starting Age: Moderate.

Table: The Shield Warrior

Hit Die: d12

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Damage Reduction
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Dual-Wield Shields, Two-Weapon Defense, Goad
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Hold the Line, Shield Wall
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Improved Shield Bash, Improved Toughness
4th	+4	+3	+1	+1	Shield Ward
5th	+5	+4	+2	+2	Diehard	DR1/-
6th	+6/+1	+4	+2	+2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+3	+3	Improved Two-Weapon Defense
8th	+8/+3	+5	+3	+3	Defensive Strike, Uncanny Dodge
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Improved Tower Shield Proficiency
10th	+10/+5	+6	+4	+4	Shield Smash	DR2/-
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+4	+4	Improved Goad
12th	+12/+7/+2	+7	+4	+4
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Greater Two-Weapon Defense
14th	+14/+9/+4	+8	+5	+5	Indomitable Spirit
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Shield Fortress	DR3/-
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+9	+5	+5	Improved Uncanny Dodge
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Absolute Defense
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+10	+6	+6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Guarded Life, Defensive Sweep
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Shielded Mind, Total Threat	DR4/-
Class Skills (2+ Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str),Intimidate (Cha, Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Shield Warrior.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Shield Guard is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).

Damage Reduction As long as a Shield Warrior wields a Shield and wears at least a Medium Armor, Shield Warriors gain DR1/- for every 5 levels. This DR Does stack with existing DR of the same type ONLY. If the Shield Warrior does not wield a shield or wear at least a Medium armor or above, They lose this DR.

Dual-Wield Shields (Ex): Shield Warriors gains the ability to wield two shields at the same time. Shield Warriors may attack with either or both shields (see Two-Weapon Fighting for penalties to attack) without provoking an attack of opportunity. They still lose the AC bonus from the shield they attack with. A Shield Warrior at 5th level may ignore the penalties to attack when fighting defensively for a full-round attack action (all other penalties EX:Two-Weapon fighting penalties WITHOUT the feat may still apply).

Two-Weapon Defense (Ex): Shield Warriors gain the feat Two-Weapon Defense without meeting the prerequisites when wielding a double weapon, two weapons (not including natural weapons or unarmed strikes) or two shields, you gain a +1 shield bonus to your AC.

When you are fighting defensively or using the total defense action, this shield bonus increases to +2.

Goad (Ex): Shield As a move action, you can goad one opponent that threatens you, has line of sight to you, can hear you, and has an Intelligence of 3 or higher. (The goad is a mind-affecting ability.) When the goaded opponent starts its next turn, if it threatens you and has line of sight to you, it must make a Will saving throw (DC 10 + your Shield Warrior level + your Cha modifier). If the opponent fails its save, you are the only creature it can make melee attacks against during this turn (If it kills you, knocks you unconscious, loses sight of you, or otherwise is unable to make melee attacks against you, it may make any remaining melee attacks against other foes, as normal). The affected may make Will saves at the start of each of its turn before making any actions to be unaffected by Goad. A goaded creature can still cast spells, make ranged attacks, move, or perform otherwise. The use of this ability restricts only melee attacks towards target character.

Hold the Line (Ex): At 2nd level, A Shield Warrior gains the ability to use this feat without meeting the prerequisites. You may make an attack of opportunity against a charging opponent who enters an area you threaten. Your attack of opportunity happens immediately before the charge attack is resolved.

Shield Wall (Ex): At 2nd level, A Shield Warrior may create a shield wall as a Standard action when there are two or more shields. A shield wall provides an extra +1 bonus to AC and a +1 bonus on Will saves to all eligible characters participating in the shield wall per shield (Counting after the first two shields in the wall). For example, a single character with this feat gains a +1 bonus to his AC per shield in shield wall, while every additional character that contributes to the Shield Wall will gain a +1 Shield AC on top of their original Shield AC for every two shields (to include their own) and +1 to Will saves. If two or more characters who all know this feat are adjacent and use this ability, they each gain a +2 bonus to AC instead and a +2 bonus on Will saves per shield in formation (Only towards the characters with this feat in possession). Must be declared before an attack.

Improved Shield Bash (Ex): At 3rd level, When you perform a shield bash, you may still apply the shield’s shield bonus to your AC.

Improved Toughness (Ex): At 3rd level, You gain a number of hit points equal to your current Hit Dice. Each time you gain a HD (such as by gaining a level), you gain 1 additional hit point. If you lose a HD (such as by losing a level), you lose 1 hit point permanently.

Shield Ward (Ex): At 4th level, You apply your shield bonus to your touch AC, and on checks or rolls to resist bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun, or trip attempts against you.

Diehard (Ex): At 5th level, A shield Warrior gains Diehard as an ability without having to meet the prerequisites.

Improved Two-Weapon Defense (Ex): A Shield Warriors gain the feat Improved Two-Weapon Defense without meeting the prerequisites when wielding a double weapon, two weapons (not including natural weapons or unarmed strikes) or two shields, you gain a +2 shield bonus to your Armor Class. When you are fighting defensively or using the total defense action, this shield bonus increases to +4.

Defensive Strike (Ex): At 8th level, A Shield Warrior gains the ability to use this feat without meeting the prerequisites. If an opponent attacks you and misses while you are using the total defense action, you can attack that opponent on your next turn with a +4 bonus on your attack roll. You gain no bonus against an opponent that does not attack you or against an opponent that attacks and hits you. You also no longer lose your Shield AC bonus when you attack.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level, A Shield Warrior gains the benefit of Uncanny Dodge as a Rogue, of the same level.

Improved Tower Shield Proficiency At 9th level, A Shield Warrior may wield Tower Shields as they would wield a Heavy Shield and gain all benefits that apply to regular shields. On a shield bash, they deal the damage of a heavy shield one scale up with an additional -1 penalty to attack. You lose this penalty to attack when the character reaches 12th lvl in Shield Warrior.

Shield Smash (Ex): You may forgo any amount of his Shield bonus (maximum equal to BAB) and may add it to one attack this turn. If the attack hits, you may add 1.5x your strength plus half your shield bonus you forgoed (rounded down) to the damage. The shield penalty last until the beginning of their next action

Improved Goad At level 11, As a move action, you can goad a number of opponents equal half the Shield Warrior's level, that threaten you, has line of sight to you, can hear you, and has an Intelligence of 3 or higher. (The goad is a mind-affecting ability.) When the goaded opponents start their next turn, if the opponent threatens you and has line of sight to you, it must make a Will saving throw (DC 12 + your Shield Warrior character level + your Cha modifier). If the opponent fails its save, you are the only creature it can make melee attacks against for the next 1d4 rounds. (If it kills you, knocks you unconscious, loses sight of you, or otherwise is unable to make melee attacks against you, it may make any remaining melee attacks against other foes, as normal.) A goaded creature can still cast spells, make ranged attacks, move, or perform otherwise. The use of this ability restricts only melee attacks from target character. As a full-round action, you may Goad all opponents that threaten you, and has line of sight to you, can hear you, and has an Intelligence of 3 or higher for one whole round. The affected(s) may make Will saves at the start of each of it's turn, and before making any actions to be unaffected by Goad. The goad last for 2d4 rounds at 18th level when single targeting, and increases to 2 whole rounds if goading more than 1 target opponent. The DC for Goad improves at 20th level (DC= 12+ twice your Shield Warrior level+ Charisma modifier) and can affect undead.

Greater Two-Weapon Defense (Ex): A Shield Warriors gain the feat Greater Two-Weapon Defense without meeting the prerequisites when wielding a double weapon, two weapons (not including natural weapons or unarmed strikes) or two shields, you gain a +3 shield bonus to your Armor Class. When you are fighting defensively or using the total defense action, this shield bonus increases to +6.

Indomitable Spirit (Ex): Once per day, you may gain Temporary HP equal to your class level plus your Constitution Modifier (positive or negative at the time of activation) that last for 1 min per level. This Temporary HP is lost First and is a swift action.

Shield Fortress (Ex): You may plant a Heavy or Tower shield into the ground (Must be on ground to plant) and gain concealment from cover, along with the shield(s) bonus as long as you are adjacent to the shield. May plant into soft ground (ex:dirt, sand, some wood, etc) without penalty, hard ground (ex:concrete, stone, hardwood, etc) at DC 20 Strength check. If you plant one or both shields, you gain cover (20%) or total concealment (50%) respectively as long as the shields are between you and the opponent attacking. Any one adjacent ally may benefit from this bonus as long as they are behind the shield(s) from the direction of the attack. You also gain a +2 to resist bull rush, grapple, overrun, or trip attempts against you (as long as you are behind the shields when the actions are made against you). You may wield multiple shields.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Gain Improved Uncanny Dodge as rogue of same level.

Absolute Defense (Ex): At 17th level, A Shield Warrior may provide a moral boost to all Adjacent Allies to AC equal to The Shield Warrior's Shield Bonus once per day plus Constitution modifier lasting 1 round per Shield Warrior level plus Constitution modifier. The rounds may be broken up into one round increments. Whenever a Shield Warrior fights defensively or goes total defense, add an additional +2 Shield bonus to AC and +4 Shield bonus to AC Respectively, this stacks with Greater Two-Weapon Defense and any other defense related feats/abilities.

Guarded Life (Ex): You are immune to all poisons and diseases, negate all nonlethal damage, and gets a reroll on any saving throw 1/day.

Defensive Sweep (Ex): If an opponent begins his action adjacent to you and does not move, he provokes an attack of opportunity from you immediately after his turn ends, provided that you threaten the square that he occupies. Any sort of movement, including a 5-foot step, allows the opponent to avoid provoking this special attack of opportunity. This feat does not give you any ability to make additional attacks of opportunity in a given round.

Shielded Mind (Ex): At 20th level, A Shield Warrior is immune to all mind affecting and sleep affects.

Total Threat (Ex): As long as Shield Warrior threatens an opponent, he gains his Shield bonus to attack and half the bonus to damage.

Campaign Information

Playing a Shield Warrior

Religion: Shield Warriors favor the strength to protect others. Any Deities that promote protection and embody steadfast strength would be favored by Shield Warriors

Other Classes: This class is a front line fighter, and works well with all combat oriented classes. They usually work as guards or defenders to caster classes.

Combat: Draw attention and take hits. They have a relatively low damage output but with buff from support or the right equipment may make up from the damage they take.

Advancement: Dwarven Shield Warriors may Prestige Dwarven Defenders. Religious Shield Warriors may multiclass into Cleric to gain a more supportive role while defending. Shield Warriors multiclass well into Barbarian for their Rage Ability, or Fighter for their Feats.

Shield Warriors in the World

“	I've never seen anything take that much of a beating and walk away unharmed.	”
—Narek, the evil Human Wizard

They fit as tanks, and or ultimate defense

Daily Life: Always searching for battle to test their might.

Notables: IronShield The Orkan Shield Warrior, he took out an evil wizard's great wyrm shadow dragon single-handedly

Organizations: They have no real organization, they are just Warriors who decided defense was better then attack.

NPC Reactions: Usually people will complain they are too weak, or they will be awe inspired on how hard they are to kill...

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