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I'm rolling my very first D&D character. I'm trying to play a tank-type role in my group as a Dwarf Fighter. While looking through some forums I came across an image of an African warrior wielding 2 shields

warrior wielding 2 shields

Is this even a viable option in D&D?

What rules do I need to know when building a Dual-Shield Fighter and how can I increase my damage on top adding spikes to my shield?


Here's the information I have so far:

I'm pretty sure every basic attack I make will need to be a Dual Strike at-will attack so I can hit 2 enemies in the 1 action.

I know in 3.5e you can add spikes to a shield that increases your shield damage roll to 1d6.

I've also come across information about how preforming an attack with a shield can decrease it's AC bonus but that there may be a feat that can change this, I'm unsure about this though.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Your Requirements: Wield 2 shields (spiked). Use Dual-strike to hit 2 enemies. Did I miss anything? \$\endgroup\$ Apr 25, 2013 at 13:18
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just out of curisoity, was this an actual fighting style, or was it more for training or demonstration? \$\endgroup\$ Jan 13, 2014 at 23:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ @TimothyAWiseman I don't know about this specific picture, since nothing is given of its context, and I don't recognise the specific shield or dress styles or the stance the warrior is using, but in the general sense, yes, using two shields did exist as a real fighting style in at least one place that I remember reading about, and another that dual-wielded a weapon that could arguably be called a "shield", as it looked to western eyes more like a shield than a sword, even though it was mostly wielded more like the latter, and was designed to block like a shield in addition to attacking. \$\endgroup\$ Sep 16, 2014 at 18:53

2 Answers 2

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A Dual Shield fighter is possible, but is restrictive and fiddly.

First, when making high-concept stuff like this, it's critical to be aware of potential pitfalls of your character. Take a look at this guide to get a sense of the traps involved.

To realize this, my first preference would be to refluff some more "standard" version of the fighter into a double-shield fighter. Holding two shields does nothing for your defensive capabilities. But, with that said, the feats of superior proficiency "spiked shield" and midnight blade student make dual strike quite... interesting. You can "shield bash" two people a turn. Of course, the problem is in good positioning and actually doing damage. While entertaining, the dual strike fighter tends to be severely "one-trick pony"-ized.

As a first time player, I would instead look towards the Knight-variant of fighter. There's less "fiddly" stuff, and the idea of a heavy shield + spiked shield can serve you quite well. It's also very very hard to go wrong with Dwarven Weapon Training, with a Heavy shield and "gauntlet axe" (if you want to fit your personal style) and just say the "gauntlet axe" is a razor-sharp shield.

Two shields as "important" only really comes into play with the Snapping Tetsudo Paragon Path, a relatively uninspiring choice, unfortunately. To be fair, Dragon Magazine 385 has a significant number of "shield-as-weapon" choices, but few of them require two shields. All that being said, I would still go with knight + dwarven weapon training, and either pretend a hammer or an axe was a shield, depending if you want to be bashy or slicy. The mechanics fit better, and the thematic imagery can be just as vivid.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ If you want to be creative on a roleplay side, you can have your character pretend he's wielding two shields, despite one is an actual weapon. Could be much fun, if done well. \$\endgroup\$
    – o0'.
    Feb 17, 2014 at 12:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ The link to "this guide" is (predictably; thank you , WotC!) dead. Can you find another location for it or footnote in a few-sentence summary? \$\endgroup\$
    – nitsua60
    Jul 7, 2016 at 14:14
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    \$\begingroup\$ @nitsua60: I've updated the guide links to versions of those same guides hosted on ENWorld. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Aug 18, 2019 at 22:09
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What if it was two pointy shields? The idea is to have a strong defense and a nice damage, dealing a half-stab/falf-blunt damage, not only bashing using the shields face, being able to still do great damage using Holy Smite. A "weapon" that, if someone attacks you from the rear while you're attaking someone, you could just retract your arm and simply block it. A warrior who focus on defense and can deal a nice damage when given the chance.

That's a example I (poorlly)made on Photoshop

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPGSE. Are you familiar with D&D 4th Edition? That's the game system the person was asking about. Simply generating ideas isn't what an SE Q&A site aims to do. The aim is to solve a problem as stated in the question. Please take the tour and visit the help center to get a better idea for what this format prefers. (This isn't a discussion forum). Thanks for joining in, and happy gaming. The down votes are a sign that users do not find the answer helpful. If you can demonstrate how what you are proposing would fit into D&D 4th edition, that would be a great help. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 18, 2019 at 22:09

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