Shield Master is a powerful martial feat that allows players to block targeted spells with their shield, allowing them to push enemies away or knock them over. It also grants bonuses to Dexterity saving throws, enabling players to escape harmful effects. Shield Master is a solid martial feat that can give solid benefits to any melee class build that uses a shield.
The Shield Master feat offers multiple benefits that can help players avoid damage from spells like Sacred Flame, Burning Hands, Fireball, and Lightning Bolt. By using Shield Master, players can challenge powerful opponents with the security of having an extra defense when a spell comes their way. For example, they can avoid damage from spells like Sacred Flame, Burning Hands, Fireball, and Lightning Bolt.
When hit with a Fireball while holding a Shield that targets only oneself, players make a Dexterity Saving Throw + Shield AC Bonus (usually 2). Shield Master is a shield expert feat, similar to heavy armor master, and requires basic proficiency first. Players can use their reaction to shield themselves if a spell forces them to make a Dexterity saving throw, and on a successful save, they take no damage.
Shield Master’s third ability is useless with Evasion since it requires players to use their reaction to reduce the damage to 0. Shield proficiency is required for Shield Master, as it requires using their reaction to reduce the damage to 0.
In summary, Shield Master is a valuable martial feat that allows players to block targeted spells with their shield, providing additional defense against powerful opponents. However, shield proficiency is required for this feat, as it is a shield expert feat similar to heavy armor master.
📹 Shield Master – Feats in Dungeons and Dragons 5e
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Can you use shield spell with a shield?
The shield spell is contingent upon the use of shield equipment. However, a hexblade warlock is unable to cast the shield spell if they are simultaneously in possession of a weapon. This is attributable to the fact that JavaScript is either disabled or blocked by extensions, and that the browser in question does not support cookies.
Is Shield of Cthulhu master mode?
The Shield of Cthulhu is an Expert Mode shield accessory that allows players to perform a dash attack by double-tapping either the ◀ Left or ▶ Right key. Dashing into an enemy deals 30 damage and grants momentary invincibility. However, unlike most shields, the Shield of Cthulhu does not grant knockback immunity. The Solar Flare armor set will cancel the Shield’s dash ability, while Master Ninja Gear and Tabi can only cancel it if they are equipped in an accessory slot below the Shield.
Dash damage increases drastically in Psycho Knife’s stealth mode, and the damage done by the Shield is not subject to the usual ±15 randomization. Players gain invulnerability from melee attacks when striking an enemy with the Shield of Cthulhu, and their invulnerability timer resets after hitting something with the Shield. Banners have no effect on damage dealt with the Shield dash, and enemy kills made with the dash will not be counted by the Tally Counter. The Tabi is not a direct replacement for the Shield, as it does not provide any invincibility frames while dashing.
Does shield Master shove knock prone?
The Attack action enables the player to utilize a unique melee attack to force a creature to assume a prone position or to move it away from the player.
Does shield Master only work on Dex saves?
Shield Master offers an extra +2 bonus on Dex saves and allows players to use their reaction to negate damage from spells. However, the game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, including general mature content and nudity or sexual content. Players can update their Steam content preferences to ensure they are not exposed to inappropriate content. The game is currently toggleable in the hotbar.
What is a disadvantage in DeX saves?
Attack rolls against various creatures have different advantages and disadvantages. Blinded targets have advantages, while invisible targets have disadvantages. Paralyzed targets have advantages, while petrified targets have disadvantages. Poisoned creatures have disadvantages. Reflex targets have advantages if the attacker is within 5 feet, while restrained targets have disadvantages. Stunned targets have advantages, and unconscious targets have disadvantages. The charmer has an advantage on ability checks to interact with charmed creatures. Level 1 and 3 of exhaustion cause disadvantages on ability checks and saving throws.
Inspiration given by the dungeon master can be spent to gain advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. Working together grants the leader an advantage on their check. The encumbrance rule can be used for lifting and carrying weight, but carrying weight exceeding 10 times your Strength score causes disadvantages on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Creatures have disadvantages on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws when squeezing through a smaller space. After three days of downtime, a successful DC 15 Constitution save gives an advantage on saving throws against one of them for 24 hours.
What classes can use shield spell?
The Shield spell is available to Wizards and Sorcerers at level 1. Upon casting the spell, the caster is able to increase their armor class by +5 or avoid all damage from Magic Missile for one round as a reaction.
What is shield Master good for?
The Shield Master bestows a bonus of +2 to Dexterity saving throws, thereby enabling the user to utilize the shield in the event that a spell necessitates a Dexterity saving throw. In the event of a successful save, no damage is incurred.
What is the best shield spell in Harry Potter?
A Shield Charm is a spell that serves to protect the caster by creating an invisible shield that can deflect a spell or weaken stronger ones. The “Protego” spell can be utilized to safeguard a singular individual, whereas the “Protego Totalum” spell can be employed to defend a more expansive area. Despite the considerable difficulty involved, members of Dumbledore’s Army are able to master the casting of this spell in order to protect themselves against attacks by Lord Voldemort.
Is Shield Master good for Shadowheart?
The character Shadowheart is a powerful and versatile one that can be constructed with the following classes: Mobile, Tough, or Shield Master, and War Caster. This enables straightforward navigation between combat and non-combat scenarios while retaining the benefits associated with party buffs. In the event that Tough is employed at range, Spell Sniper may be utilized in its place. The Shadowheart character is versatile and can be utilized in the context of the Baldur’s Gate 3 video game. The utilization of advantageous feats can facilitate the resolution of particular challenges.
Can Shield Master shove between attacks?
The act of shoving is regarded as an assault, and a shield master is able to utilize a bonus action to shove a creature situated within a radius of five feet of their position with their shield. It should be noted, however, that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by an extension, and that your browser does not support cookies.
What is the strongest shield spell in Harry Potter?
Protego Maxima, a stronger version of the Shield Charm, combined with Fianto Duri and Repello Inimicum, creates an impregnable magical protection barrier around Hogwarts. It prevents people from seeing and hearing protected wizards or witches, and can be breached by shield penetration spells. The shield itself is seen descending over the castle, and the power of this spell can disintegrate snatchers when combined with other protections. However, it is important to note that protective enchantments can be breached.
📹 Feat #50: Shield Master (5E)
You gain the following benefits while you are wielding a shield: If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus …
Your show’s ability to come up with JUST under 28 minute shows on virtually any topic is astounding. It’s a single feat, gets the same run time as shows on entire classes and the like. Still, ribbing aside, love the show, keep it up guys. One actual request for the show style though? Let’s get more camera work on scenery, or cuts to data/graphics that show the things you’re talking about! More visuals would definitely be appreciated, even if it’s not super professional stuff.
If you are an artificier you can infuse your shield with a +2 bonus, also you can use haste on yourself and use the haste action to attack, shove with your bonus action and then use your normal action to attack again. Oh and there is an infusions that let’s you add your intelligence modifier to any strength roll to ensure that the shove works. On an armorer artificier, this combo is really efficient.
The timing of the “shield shove” looks like a big fiasco. I remember, either in one of the older Sage Compediums or whatever, that they said that the wording of “When” and “If” was intentional. In a nutshell: “When” features must be used after the triggering effect, and “If” features can be used before the trigger. The “shield shove” was a “If” feature, so could be used before the attack. And now the most recent Compediums reads: «This sort of if-then setup appears in many of the game’s rules. The “if” must be satisfied before the “then” comes into play»… …so, now all “If” features do the same damn thing as the “When” ones, so why use different wordings to describe the same effect? That’s just gonna confuse already confused readers. Why no rewrite the “shield shove” description and substitue the “If” with a “When”? I swear, I feel like whenever WotC answer one question, they raise up two new ones. It’s like a hydra. The Hydrrata. XD
This article inspired me to make a magic shield: The Shield of Noit Cel’fed When a spell that requires an attack roll is made against you and misses, you may use your reaction to deflect that spell onto a creature you can see, using the spell’s normal range. You must make an attack roll against your target using your dexterity modifier to see if the deflected spell hits.
I can honestly understand the hesitation of making the bonus action shove into something you can do first before you attack but I’d personally just allow it (especially if the fighter were the only melee character). I’d also let them use their reaction to block or take half damage AOE attacks as well since who doesn’t want to have their character hunker down behind their shield as the dragon breathes fire on them. At the same time though, if you really wanted to knock someone prone first, you could take one of your attacks and turn it into a shove. Ideally, if you wanted to make that your signature, you could take the two-weapon fighting style and the dual-wielder feat as a strength-based fighter. Your turn as a level 5 fighter would be something like: shove, attack, bonus action attack, action surge, attack, attack. Basically the same thing but without the +2 AC bonus from a shield (or more if it’s magical) and if you only had a normal shield, it’d only be a 1 AC difference. Granted, this is all based around personal damage and doesn’t take into account all the other benefits that proper teamwork would do.
I made a character that specialized in shield fighting. I had protection, sentinal, and tavern brawler. Sentinel and protection helped quite a bit defensively. Tavern brawler allowed me to bash with the shield and start a grapple. I would have added shield master eventually but the build worked for me.
It’s interesting how you guys think strength based characters in heavy armor are the main users of shields. I suppose in fantasy that is true, but in actual historical battlefields it was more often the light armor bearers who carried the biggest shields. In game mechanics there is no ability score adjustment to shields (although frankly I think there should be), and the wearers of heavy armor actually have less need for the shield. In addition, every finesse weapon on the books is a one-handed weapon, and although there are also many strength-based weapons that are also one-handed, I think that’s a good indication that dex characters should use a shield if they can. As a side note, I still think rogues should be allowed a shield. The term “swashbuckler” comes from a renaissance term for a fighter with a small hand-held shield (a buckler) and a rapier or cutlass (which makes a “swash” sound when swung). And if I were a cowardly character forced into melee, I know I’d look for the biggest shield I could find and hide behind that.
I’m really surprised that you guys didn’t mention a shield-using Barbarian. Advantage on strength checks while Raging, plus Danger Sense on most Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see. Having these qualities stack with the effects of the Shield Master feat is HUGE. Sure you lose some DPS by not going two-handed, but the enhancements for tactical teamwork and survivability are incredible! And christ, hasn’t the two-handed Barbarian trope been done to death? Make classic shield-wielding Conan great again!
The Shield Master Feat (I love the concept of it) really is less powerful then it should be thanks to rulings and the combat system. Honestly after you do “the math” this is a half feat that should have been +1 Strength at the end. But if you are a DM and your player understands the limitations of this feat and chooses this over the MANY others that will consistently do damage or stat bump or a feat that clearly increase power of the character – you may have a player that wants to do RP and tactics. A sign you may have a nice fun campaign in the offing. (Or they just got back from Marvel Emdgame and got inspired) If you are a DM gives feats as part of magic items or as adventure boons (aka Tomb of Annihilation) this is one to try out and by so doing give your players ideas.
Question about using Shield Master and Polarm Master for a «spartan»-build: Can you first attack with a spear (attack action), shove 5 feet with shield (bonus action). Next turn the enemy needs to close to damage in combat (unless reach weapon of course) and move to within reach, so you can opportunity attack before his attack?
Jeremy Crawford did specify that this ruling wasn’t made for balance reasons. I believe it was tied to a ruling on the Eldritch Knight, and he wanted to be consistent. If you want to let the Shield Master shove first, it won’t break anything. I also agree that it’s worth removing some of the restrictions from the Dex save benefits.
I’ve been waiting for a article from you guys on this very feat. Dudes Forever! Also, while the Fighter and Paladin are great classes for this feat, don’t overlook the Barbarian. While raging you generate advantage for those super-important strength checks that the shove action requires, and you get a solid use of a bonus action that the class sometimes lacks. Even the defensive capabilities of Shield Master work well with the Barbarian’s eventual advantage on dex saves verses effects they can see. What’s not to love?
I think it would make sense to make explicit exclusion in cases like those where picking up polearm master allows shield masters shove to go before attack action. or maybe even unlock specific attacks that take both your action + bonus and a bit of movement to do a slam and stab that increases in total damage if you had a multiattack
As a full tank healer Paladin (the only healer in the party too), I rarely use anything other than the shove. That said, I abuse the shove. I use it to encroach, shove then move. The shove is the sole reason this can be worth it. I wish it were more, but to me, the quasi-evasion is counter-intuitive. That half needs changing somehow.
Made a Human Variant Ancestral Guardian Barbarian with Shieldmaster, had 16 AC at 1st level which was decent tbh and with Advantage on Dex saves from Danger Sense he’s basically permanently the party’s frontliner in any dungeon because WHO IS GONNA BLOCK ALL THE DART TRAPS/EVADE ALL THE SWINGING AXES/PERFECTLY DODGE THE TRAP DOOR AS IT’S OPENING?! This tanky piece of crap. If I may be honest, Ancestral Guardian Barbarian takes massive advantage of the Shield Master feat and it synergizes with multiple facets of the barbarian. 1. You pointed out in the article that by going Fighter that the Protection fighting style forced the two options to compete for “What will I burn my Reaction on?” AG Barbarian avoids that simply with its subclass rage mechanic, where the barbarian hits one dude, and imposes Disadvantage on all attack rolls it makes except against the barbarian, and even if that particular dude DOES manage to hit someone asides from the Barbarian, it’s still going to be mostly ineffective due to the fact that AG Barb also grants resistance to that damage to the ally that DID get hit by the attack. 2. Shield Master synergizes with Barbarian Rage. Barbarian Rage grants a +2 bonus to damage alongside Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing AS WELL AS Advantage on all of your Strength based Checks and Saves. This of course means when you activate your Rage, on that next turn you can absolutely attempt to Shove that target prone or Push it that 5ft, and with Advantage and a +5 bonus (that most barbarians have with their Athletics at level 1).
If shoving before attacks is considered overpowered then you could amend the rules for all shoves to make it so the contest loser falls prone, even if it’s the initiator. Also, we shouldn’t worry about balance from a player vs DM standpoint because the DM can always make it easier or harder so long as it’s fun. Balance discussions exist so that players feel free to choose from many combinations of class, race, background, etc without fear of being totally outpaced by the other players.
What do you all think of my homebrewed feat for the dragonborn SCORCHED LUNGS-whenever you use your dragon breath you can expend one hit dice and add that to the damage roll. This feat does a few things It gives you another use for hit dice which I’ve seen completely ignored in some games It also gives the dragonborn race a bit of a buff. They where really strong in 4E but 5E was not kind to them. One other thing to note is that your classic beefy dragonborn classes like barbarians, fighters and paladins get more out of this feat than say a wizard would just because of the diferences in hit die. You know because 1D12+2D6>3D6 But this isnt flawless because its a risky move because you’re expending potential healing to kill things. This whole feat could also be made for the tieflings hellish rebuke So on the slim chance someone reada this tell me what you think
For my home brew “sword and board” 14th level character (not AL-compatible) campaign I used Resilient to give proficiency to DEX saving throws, which coupled with 2x/rest Fighter Indomitable (re-roll failed saving throw) and Lucky feat (3 re-rolls on throws (including saving checks)), fits exceptionally with Shield Master to prevent breath attacks. The biggest counter is being spammed by breath weapons, since you can only use 1 reaction and 1 bonus action per round (the 2nd on breath weapon affects you as normal since you spent your reaction.) I love having the feat combo above as it often means after several breath attacks my character takes 1/4 damage at most which would wipe out our less HP-intensive party members and he can go on the offensive.
I really like how much SW5e adds viable feats, fighting styles and fighting mastery options to make stuff like shield master a much better feat. I’m currently playing a campaign running a Sword and Board Engineer (Artificer) with a few levels of fighter thrown in to give me some fighting styles and maneuvers. I combined Shield Master with the Onslaught Mastery option to get an attack of opportunity when knocking someone prone with shield master. In a couple levels I’ll be able to throw Sentinel Style to start applying Slow 4 on an opportunity attack, meaning they’ve lost all of their movement and can’t get back up. I know that a lot of you will think that’s O.P. and to a point, it certainly is, but I also am giving up my reaction until my next turn and can only do that to one target at a time. Which means that I’m standing there like a goon while all of my target’s buddies are going to tell me exactly what they think of what I just did. And in a world were full auto blasters, crew served weapons, force and tech powers, and homing missles exists… well if your DM is treating SW5e as the different game from DnD that it is, will be a sphincter tightening experience.