The only thing that should potentially restrict spellcasting is a Shield because it's cumbersome and slow to unequip. But even with a Shield I think you can put away your weapon as a Free Action to cast a spell, and then redraw your weapon as a Free Action on your next turn, only losing a potential Attack of Opportunity. Making that automatic in a video game makes sense and that potential AoO is not a game breaking exploit.
That said, I think it would be cool to give spellcasters some mechanical incentive to use two handed weapons instead of a Shield, because it just makes sense if you need free hands frequently. Shields are so powerful they're a no brainer for Clerics. There is no "spellcaster Cleric" with a staff, they're all much better off with that +2 AC from shields.
A Shield should also make archers slower to switch between melee and ranged. Or conversely, using a two handed sword with a Bow should allow for faster switching. Instant weapon switching is really useful in BG3 where battlefields are always wide open spaces. 5e mechanically already has a restriction for Shields. Equipping a Shield takes an action. I think that should be enforced in BG3. The previous BG games didn't let you equip bows in quickslots if you had a Shield equipped and while being a crude hard restriction, I thought it made sense and diversified character builds.
Shields are very powerful and should have some tradeoffs at least.
Last edited by 1varangian; 28/06/22 08:48 PM.
