Shield (3.5e Creature Ability)
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Shield
Shield is a protection unique to certain creatures, most of which are constructs. A shield defends the creature it envelopes and has the ability to soak damage of most any kind. A creature with the shield special quality may have an additional deflection bonus to Armor Class. For every HD a creature has, the shield that protects it has 5 hit points. Shield hit points are regained at a rate of 1 hit point per HD per minute. When a shield's hit points are depleted, its deflection bonus to AC disappears until the shield gains at least 1 hit point, unless otherwise noted in the creature listing.
As long as a shield has hit points remaining, any damage done to the protected creature is dealt to the shield instead. A shield can absorb damage of virtually any kind, from physical damage types (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing) to energy damage types (acid, cold, electricity and fire), to force damage, to even most typeless forms of damage. Shields are even effective against touch attacks. A shield can never absorb more damage than that it has hit points remaining, and any damage over that amount is dealt to the protected creature.
Only certain damage dealing effects can pass through a shield, such as a sonic effect, a gaze attack or psionic effects that allow a Will save. Line of sight and line of effect are unaffected by a personal shield. Nonstandard or conditional forms of damage such as from the reduced effect of a destruction spell or the corrosive effect of a rusting grasp aren't reduced by a shield.
An active shield with 1 or more hit points grants immunity to critical hits to any creature it protects.
Perimeter Shield
Certain machines possess shields that protect an area around them. As long as the shield has hit points remaining, it stops objects and energy outside it from passing through, like a wall of force, decreasing its hit points by the appropriate amount. Objects and energy coming from inside the perimeter shield can pass through unimpeded. Effects that can pass through shields can also pass through perimeter shields (like sonic energy).
If the damage caused to the perimeter shield by an area effect breaks through it, the area effect may continue beyond the perimeter shield if the area permits; otherwise it is stopped at the perimeter shield just as any other area effect does.
The effective AC of the perimeter shield itself is 15 plus the deflection bonus it grants. Attacks originatig from outside the perimeter shield cannot directly target a creature inside it until the shield is down. Such attacks are resolved with the shield itself as the target.
Perimeter shields are projected as a spherical field around their source. A perimeter shield does not extend into floors or walls. The radius of the shield is listed in the object or creature's description. A perimeter shield blocks line of effect (provided it has at least 1 hit point), but not line of sight.
| Author | Sulacu + |
| Identifier | 3.5e Creature Ability + |
| Rating | Unrated + |
| Title | Shield + |
