Shields (Immortal Planes) in Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Shields (Immortal Planes)

Weapon Varies Common

Shields are the most common piece of protective gear, more-so than even helmets. They can be found in a vast plethora of shapes and sizes, and are useful to the most humble farmer levy, to the most brutal and savage raider, to a standard guard of a city, to high nobility and knights.

Small Shields are shields no larger than 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They tend to be quite useful in more urban environments, where combat is less expected. This includes bucklers, dhals, parmas, heater shields, targes, and rotellas.

Medium Shields are larger, and range between 3 feet and 4 feet in diameter. They are typical in skirmishes, and common among levies, militias, and bandits. This includes heater shields, round shields, aspis', adargas, and thyreos'.

Large Shields are the biggest of the shields, and range between 4 feet and 5 feet in diameter, often protecting nearly the entire body. These are used by standing armies, crowd control brute squads, mercenaries, and some adventurers who deal with tougher, more dangerous foes. These include aspis', kite shields, scutums, and tower shields.

Pavises are an odd design. Typically five feet tall, unlike other shields, which are to be carried by the individual, Pavises are meant to be set up on the battlefield to provide mobile cover for crossbowmen to reload behind. When used, the pavise becomes half-cover for the individual using it. When crouched behind, it serves as full cover. It takes an action to set up, and to move.

Lantern Shields are by far the most unique shields of the bunch. Found only in higher-class districts of towns and cities, it is used by guards. These metal shields, which are the size of a large buckler, incorporate a gauntlet, a small sword blade, and a bullseye lantern into its design. When using a Lantern Shield, a creature cannot be disarmed of the shield unless the arm that has it is amputated. In addition, it counts as a Bullseye Lantern as far as the provision of light is concerned, but if attacking with the Lantern Shield, the light source is gone, and if in dim light or darkness, you have disadvantage on the attack. Any +1/+2/+3 bonuses from enchantment apply to both the blade and the shield equally. In addition, any enchantments that work for swords and/or shields work on the Lantern Shield. They are also considered Martial Weapons rather than Simple Weapons.

Type	AC	STR Req.	Stealth Dis.	Properties
Shield	Varies	Varies

Type	Damage	Damage	Range	Properties
Simple Melee	Varies	Bludgeoning		Varies

Cost: Varies Weight: Varies

Shield Type	Cost	AC bonus	Damage	Weight	Properties
Small Shield	5 gp	+1	1d4	2 lbs	Light, Finesse
Medium Shield	10 gp	+2	1d4	5 lbs
Large Shield	15 gp	+3	1d6	8 lbs	Heavy, req. 15 Str
Pavise	20 gp	Special	-	10 lbs	Heavy, req. 18 Str, Special
Lantern Shield	25 gp	+1	1d8 slashing	8 lbs	Special

« Go to the Statblocks Library

World Anvil: The Ultimate Worldbuilding Toolset & RPG Campaign Manager

Created for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters, World Anvil has everything you need to build your own homebrew RPG campaign setting, and run your games, either online or around the table!

Speed up prep with a whole library of community statblocks you can copy (and edit!)
Enthrall your players with interactive maps, timelines, and a whole wiki of your world
Keep track of NPCs, PC character sheets, monster stats, treasure, journals, notes and more
Quickly look up essential info with session notes, campaign map markers, and bookmarked lore at your fingertips
Build your own campaign setting, or expand a prewritten campaign, with expertly created worldbuilding templates and prompts
Control who sees what in your worldbuilding wiki with secrets and subscriber groups
Collaborate with players and GMs to build the campaign setting of your dreams
NEVER lose your notes!

EXPLORE WORLDANVIL FEATURES

GET STARTED TODAY!

Take the first step. Create your account. Your world and characters await!

Welcome