Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Shield Proficiency

Heavily Armored should come with Shield Proficiency in my opinion.

Right now, the only way to get proficiency with a shield is to take Moderately Armored. Unfortunately, that choice is somewhat redundant for Githyanki and Shield Dwarves. They both already have proficiency in medium armor, but lack such proficiency in shield use.

As such, it would feel wasteful to take the Moderately Armored feat.

So why not include shield proficiency with the Heavily Armored feat?

Yeah, makes sense.

Shield dwarves don't have shield proficiency? Oh. dear.

And Wood elves aren't made of wood. What in the world. :-O

I think Shield Proficiency should be included in Martial Weapons.

This seems like an inherited issue from 5E?

Does shield master or weapon master give you proficiency with shields?

Getting shield proficiency is fairly thin pickings in 5e.

Mostly, you get it from your class - though any class that has shield proficiency also grants it in the multiclass proficiency gain table, which is reassuring. (Edit: with the exception of Barbarian, which grants neither medium armour, nor shields, with its multiclass proficiencies. Everything that does grant medium armour in multiclass also grants shields, however)

Outside of that, taking the Moderately Armoured feat grands shield proficiency along with it, as do any class features or subclass features that grant medium armour proficiency as part of their benefit (Hexblade, for Warlock, for example, grants medium armour, shields and martial weapons when you choose it)

Shield Master, as a feat, is supposed to represent skill above and beyond normal shield usage - so it should rightfully require shield proficiency to take (it doesn't, as written, technically allowing you to be a master of shields but not proficient in them, which is silly), and should not grant it on its own.

As far as I'm aware, there is literally only one way to have medium armour proficiency but not have shield proficiency, and that is the above mentioned dwarf trait. Everything else, no matter how you come at it, grants shields along with medium armour, making attaching shield proficiency to heavy armour as well superfluous. It's effectively and functionally a part of medium armour proficiency, just mentioned alongside it for various other minor reasons; it already comes part and parcel of medium armour proficiency, in every single other way you might get it, except that one outlying dwarf trait.

Rather than adding shield proficiency to the heavily armoured feat, the proper fix here would be that Mountain Dwarf should get Shield proficiency along with their Medium Armour proficiency, just like everything else that grants it - it's an oversight that I'm surprised they have never fixed.

I get your point. However, the original reason why most people chose the shield master feat in 5e was to be able to shove as a bonus action. Since all characters can shove as a bonus action in BG3, the feat has lost much of it’s appeal. Adding shield shield proficiency seems like a way to make it more likely to get used.

As well as the Gith then, you mean?

Yes, Gith as well. Silly ex-planars, I forgot they also had the medium armour blindspot.

To Kind_flayer, I'd very strongly discourage and speak against making further modifications tot he system in order to make up for broken homebrew. shove should not be a bonus action for everyone - and that also needs to be fixed, not worked around.
(Also, the main player I know of has the shield master feat so that they can add a substantial boost to their otherwise lacklustre dex saves, and benefit from an evasion-like effect in the process ^.^ more valuable in most circumstances than the shove option - they generally have more important things to do with their bonus action)

If you take the shield feat, you should also get the profiency atm you don't.

Thats not why they are called wood elves. Its cause they give you wo.. jkjk



Its because they live in the woods ofc!

like....like Wood(land) Elves? :O

Clear foul, 2 minute penalty.

Meanwhile, I wonder: how much wood would a wood elf elf if a wood elf could elf wood?

In any case, any buff to feats means I take the boring stat boosts less often. +1 to the OP