Apart from the Animated Shield, is there a way to fight with a shield (given that my character has proficiency with shields), and attacking at distance (I also have proficiency with some ranged weapons). Since ranged weapons are two-handed, it's seems very difficult to have a great defense and a ranged attack (that I'm aware of, I'm still pretty new to this game).
My goal is to still have the +2 AC while attacking ranged. I want to do it in a cheap way (Animated Shield is too rare and expensive). I have too little HP, and I want to stay far from combat. I already have studded leather armor.
I already had the idea of crafting a shield/bow (Is it possible to build a custom weapon, and if so, how will my character be able to use it?), but it seems very impractical at best.
If it can help, my character is a Rogue (Scout)/Ranger.