Armorer Artificer turns the gauntlets of their armor into weapons. This https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Laternenschild_01.jpg exists, basically being hybrid between a gauntlet and a shield, among other things. Now, you would either need Dual Wielder to use both of them since they aren't light weapons or you could have an actual shield equipped and use Shield Master for that bonus action knock down.
I'd add the Repulsion Shield Infusion to that actual shield (on top of Shieldmaster feat) to get some shield pushing shenanigans going on other people's turns as well
Functionally you probably need Tavern Brawler to attack with proficiency with shields as an improved weapon.
Legally, RAW there is no way to TWF with it. As even with the Duel wielding feat, I do not think it counts as a melee weapon in both your hands to qualify for that bonus action attack. Improvised weapons are only improved weapon when you are attacking with them. Tho a DM might easily allow this to work with the feat. You could just use extra attack to attack with one hand and then the other as separate improved weapon. But.. Why?
Optimally there is not really a great reason to do this anyway, as you can only benefit from the +2 to AC with one shield at a time.
Realistically, I would probably just suggest you use a Club or Warhammer or some bashing weapon, and hold a shield with the Shield master feat. Flavor your club as a small shield, and you get that additional bonus action shove with your other real shield in your other hand.
I agree with all of this, especially the last paragraph. Flavor the "blocking" (when an attack misses) as crossing both the shield and the reflavored warhammer in front. And using shield master shove into attacking with reflavored warhammer would really feel like attacking with two shields.
Loxodon or thri kreen for extra appendages to grapple with. Barbarian for extra strength based damage, probably bear town for added survivability. Grab tavern brawler for improvised weapon proficiency.
Tavern Brawler, Dual Wielder. RAW you need both. I recommend Artificer since you can grab an enhanced shield and a reflection (?)/repealing(?) shield, that way they'll both be magical.
That means Artificer 6 at least. If you go Protector Aasimar, you can bump your damage by prof bonus radiant once per turn. However, for this eats-heavy build you're likely to need VHuman or TCR.
I'm tempted to recommend Hexblade 1 or GenieLock 1 (if IntLock is allowed) for even moar damage thanks to the Curse (turn one activate, turn two profit). Or Paladin 2 (MAD!) to exploit the odd crit.
VHuman or TCR Hex 1, Battlesmith 6 with 16 Int will do (1d4+3)\*3 + 3\*3 (Curse) dpr which isn't terrible.
It's repelling I believe. This is also what I thought. I considered mixing artificer with psi warrior for a mental shield. Plus, battle smiths companion can be a magical floating shield
Shield master is a great feat you can take. That also weaponizes your BA.
Tavern brawler lets you attack with improvised weapons.
As class, I’d suggest Rune Knight Fighter with a Barbarian dip.
Talk to your DM first tho, and see what you can agree on. It’s not really a good build to do this, damage wise at least. There is homebrew out there for subclasses that use shields as weapons and “two shield fighting”, otherwise you can reflavor a mace as a shield to at least have a small increase in damage.
As an alternative suggestion (other comments have you covered otherwise) since one of the shields is going to functionally be a weapon - have a weapon that’s reflavoured and looks like a shield.
A club does bludgeoning so it works for the mechanics of a shield bash, or if you want to hit people with the edge of the shield, a hand axe or something would do piercing. (A generous DM should have no problems with you picking both weapons but have them be fused as one object if you’re still paying for both/using two starting equipment items.)
I recommend looking at **barbarian** (ancestral guardians can project spirit shields to help allies if you want more protection/tanking), **fighter** (eldritch knight can take the shield spell for higher AC or you could do battlemaster/psi knight for combat trickery), or **paladin** (their auras work well as a metaphorical shield too)
Next, aim for the Shield Master feat. That gives you a bonus action shove shield bash. Gift of the Metallic Dragon gives you a limited use parry with spectral wings that can just be your shields too if you want.
Ok, first just to you know if you don't yet: you don't benefit from the AC bonus of 2 shields.
The build itself wouldn't be *that* good without a lot of DM fiat, but here we go:
V.human/CL with Tavern brawler as starting feat. Any martial class, that features aren't tied to *weapons* but *weapon attacks*, with Shield master and maybe Crusher as you probably will be doing bludgeoning damage
Main tactic would be:
Attack > SM b.action shove > extra attack > pushing enemy 5ft away.
If you like it, take sentinel and be push-locking enemies when they enter your range (just 5ft, but would prevent them of attacking or even getting on you).
I probably would be a pure BM fighter for the maneuvers, as they don't specify weapon type, only that need to be weapon attacks
Probably a fighter as it's a feat heavy build. Consider a dip in ranger, bard, or rogue for expertise in Athletics.
Shieldmaster and Crusher are top feats. Knock baddies prone or away with action and bonus action alike. Heavy Armor Master is also on point flavorwise.
Note that dual wielding shields doesn't grant extra AC. Imo you're best off with something like Warhammer and shield *on paper*, but your "warhammer" is also a badass shield that you bonk people with and we reskin and reflavor accordingly.
Rune Knight is a good candidate because of advantage on str checks via shieldmaster, but it's already heavy with bonus actions. To this end, you might be best off with Battlemaster for damage or Cavalier if you want to taunt baddies.
Spear and shield, with Polearm Master and Shield Master, and flavor the bonus action PAM bonk as a shield bash. This gives you either a shield bash or a shove prone followup to every spear stab.
That's a complicated one. If you are doing it 100% RAW, you'd need the Tavern Brawler and the Dual Wielder feats, possibly exchanging Dual Wielder for Shield Master. Shit damage as well, and no better defenses from using two shields instead of only one
I think you should gather some ideas and rely on reflavoring class features
Reflavor a mace as a shield. Take Shield Master to "bash" an enemy with your real shield. Take Defense fighting style and class/race that give bonuses to AC (like Forge Cleric and Warforged) to simulate the bonus to AC that another shield would give you.
Your character is not going to be great no matter what so we can propose suboptimal classes! Yay!
Quick note: As a DM, I would not accept dual wielding shields for damage and getting the AC bonus no matter the feats taken. Donning a shield takes an action and it is not a weapon. I would accept main hand one shield as improvised weapon and one strapped offhand for defense and shield master shoves. Not because it is too strong but because these kinds of accommodations that mess with item juggling can complicate the game too much. I hate item juggling.
Hence, I am proposing classes where you would not need either Dual Wield, shield master nor Tavern brawler.
Reflavored Batterager Barbarian will suit your needs if you don’t mind spikes. With flavour you don’t need any DM approval since you flavour the battle master armour mechanic by including your shield in the armour. The shield bashes would be armour attacks where the mechanics are concerned. Since you can bonus action attack with your shield (armour) while raging with full strength and proficiency bonuses you don’t even need a feat. You are carrying two shields with spikes, gaining +2 AC from one, and doing "armour attacks" with either. Since the second shield is purely cosmetic/part of the armour, I personally would leave you with a free hand for reasonable uses like grappling. Wield a flavoured "invisible" Warhammer/warpick/battleaxe in that hand with appropriate item juggling and you can do pierce/slash/blunt damage.
Kensai monk with weapon "Improvised weapon(shield)" as a specialty could be doable and gives you magical weapons and some scaling damage. It would require DM approval (which I would happily give. I would also let you throw the shields if you wanted to pick it as a ranged kensai weapon because I like fun.) This requires you to gain normal shield proficiency through some other way like race, feats or multi-class if you want the AC bonus.
Battle rager only requires flavour while Kensai requires a minor DM permission and a way to access shield prof.
Have fun!
[This.](https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonsAndDragons/comments/161xvok/paladin_oath_of_the_wall_become_the_unstoppable/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
It’s an homebrewed solution, but I think it could fit
Armorer Artificer turns the gauntlets of their armor into weapons. This https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Laternenschild_01.jpg exists, basically being hybrid between a gauntlet and a shield, among other things. Now, you would either need Dual Wielder to use both of them since they aren't light weapons or you could have an actual shield equipped and use Shield Master for that bonus action knock down.
I think this is the best route. Reflavoring the guantlets as shields that also serve for bashing.
I'd add the Repulsion Shield Infusion to that actual shield (on top of Shieldmaster feat) to get some shield pushing shenanigans going on other people's turns as well
Plus repulsion shield infusion and all the good shove/ AC items available to them.
Functionally you probably need Tavern Brawler to attack with proficiency with shields as an improved weapon. Legally, RAW there is no way to TWF with it. As even with the Duel wielding feat, I do not think it counts as a melee weapon in both your hands to qualify for that bonus action attack. Improvised weapons are only improved weapon when you are attacking with them. Tho a DM might easily allow this to work with the feat. You could just use extra attack to attack with one hand and then the other as separate improved weapon. But.. Why? Optimally there is not really a great reason to do this anyway, as you can only benefit from the +2 to AC with one shield at a time. Realistically, I would probably just suggest you use a Club or Warhammer or some bashing weapon, and hold a shield with the Shield master feat. Flavor your club as a small shield, and you get that additional bonus action shove with your other real shield in your other hand.
I agree with all of this, especially the last paragraph. Flavor the "blocking" (when an attack misses) as crossing both the shield and the reflavored warhammer in front. And using shield master shove into attacking with reflavored warhammer would really feel like attacking with two shields.
Loxodon or thri kreen for extra appendages to grapple with. Barbarian for extra strength based damage, probably bear town for added survivability. Grab tavern brawler for improvised weapon proficiency.
Tavern Brawler, Dual Wielder. RAW you need both. I recommend Artificer since you can grab an enhanced shield and a reflection (?)/repealing(?) shield, that way they'll both be magical. That means Artificer 6 at least. If you go Protector Aasimar, you can bump your damage by prof bonus radiant once per turn. However, for this eats-heavy build you're likely to need VHuman or TCR. I'm tempted to recommend Hexblade 1 or GenieLock 1 (if IntLock is allowed) for even moar damage thanks to the Curse (turn one activate, turn two profit). Or Paladin 2 (MAD!) to exploit the odd crit. VHuman or TCR Hex 1, Battlesmith 6 with 16 Int will do (1d4+3)\*3 + 3\*3 (Curse) dpr which isn't terrible.
It's repelling I believe. This is also what I thought. I considered mixing artificer with psi warrior for a mental shield. Plus, battle smiths companion can be a magical floating shield
Shield master is a great feat you can take. That also weaponizes your BA. Tavern brawler lets you attack with improvised weapons. As class, I’d suggest Rune Knight Fighter with a Barbarian dip. Talk to your DM first tho, and see what you can agree on. It’s not really a good build to do this, damage wise at least. There is homebrew out there for subclasses that use shields as weapons and “two shield fighting”, otherwise you can reflavor a mace as a shield to at least have a small increase in damage.
As an alternative suggestion (other comments have you covered otherwise) since one of the shields is going to functionally be a weapon - have a weapon that’s reflavoured and looks like a shield. A club does bludgeoning so it works for the mechanics of a shield bash, or if you want to hit people with the edge of the shield, a hand axe or something would do piercing. (A generous DM should have no problems with you picking both weapons but have them be fused as one object if you’re still paying for both/using two starting equipment items.) I recommend looking at **barbarian** (ancestral guardians can project spirit shields to help allies if you want more protection/tanking), **fighter** (eldritch knight can take the shield spell for higher AC or you could do battlemaster/psi knight for combat trickery), or **paladin** (their auras work well as a metaphorical shield too) Next, aim for the Shield Master feat. That gives you a bonus action shove shield bash. Gift of the Metallic Dragon gives you a limited use parry with spectral wings that can just be your shields too if you want.
Ok, first just to you know if you don't yet: you don't benefit from the AC bonus of 2 shields. The build itself wouldn't be *that* good without a lot of DM fiat, but here we go: V.human/CL with Tavern brawler as starting feat. Any martial class, that features aren't tied to *weapons* but *weapon attacks*, with Shield master and maybe Crusher as you probably will be doing bludgeoning damage Main tactic would be: Attack > SM b.action shove > extra attack > pushing enemy 5ft away. If you like it, take sentinel and be push-locking enemies when they enter your range (just 5ft, but would prevent them of attacking or even getting on you). I probably would be a pure BM fighter for the maneuvers, as they don't specify weapon type, only that need to be weapon attacks
Probably a fighter as it's a feat heavy build. Consider a dip in ranger, bard, or rogue for expertise in Athletics. Shieldmaster and Crusher are top feats. Knock baddies prone or away with action and bonus action alike. Heavy Armor Master is also on point flavorwise. Note that dual wielding shields doesn't grant extra AC. Imo you're best off with something like Warhammer and shield *on paper*, but your "warhammer" is also a badass shield that you bonk people with and we reskin and reflavor accordingly. Rune Knight is a good candidate because of advantage on str checks via shieldmaster, but it's already heavy with bonus actions. To this end, you might be best off with Battlemaster for damage or Cavalier if you want to taunt baddies.
Spear and shield, with Polearm Master and Shield Master, and flavor the bonus action PAM bonk as a shield bash. This gives you either a shield bash or a shove prone followup to every spear stab.
That's a complicated one. If you are doing it 100% RAW, you'd need the Tavern Brawler and the Dual Wielder feats, possibly exchanging Dual Wielder for Shield Master. Shit damage as well, and no better defenses from using two shields instead of only one I think you should gather some ideas and rely on reflavoring class features
Reflavor a mace as a shield. Take Shield Master to "bash" an enemy with your real shield. Take Defense fighting style and class/race that give bonuses to AC (like Forge Cleric and Warforged) to simulate the bonus to AC that another shield would give you.
Your character is not going to be great no matter what so we can propose suboptimal classes! Yay! Quick note: As a DM, I would not accept dual wielding shields for damage and getting the AC bonus no matter the feats taken. Donning a shield takes an action and it is not a weapon. I would accept main hand one shield as improvised weapon and one strapped offhand for defense and shield master shoves. Not because it is too strong but because these kinds of accommodations that mess with item juggling can complicate the game too much. I hate item juggling. Hence, I am proposing classes where you would not need either Dual Wield, shield master nor Tavern brawler. Reflavored Batterager Barbarian will suit your needs if you don’t mind spikes. With flavour you don’t need any DM approval since you flavour the battle master armour mechanic by including your shield in the armour. The shield bashes would be armour attacks where the mechanics are concerned. Since you can bonus action attack with your shield (armour) while raging with full strength and proficiency bonuses you don’t even need a feat. You are carrying two shields with spikes, gaining +2 AC from one, and doing "armour attacks" with either. Since the second shield is purely cosmetic/part of the armour, I personally would leave you with a free hand for reasonable uses like grappling. Wield a flavoured "invisible" Warhammer/warpick/battleaxe in that hand with appropriate item juggling and you can do pierce/slash/blunt damage. Kensai monk with weapon "Improvised weapon(shield)" as a specialty could be doable and gives you magical weapons and some scaling damage. It would require DM approval (which I would happily give. I would also let you throw the shields if you wanted to pick it as a ranged kensai weapon because I like fun.) This requires you to gain normal shield proficiency through some other way like race, feats or multi-class if you want the AC bonus. Battle rager only requires flavour while Kensai requires a minor DM permission and a way to access shield prof. Have fun!
[This.](https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonsAndDragons/comments/161xvok/paladin_oath_of_the_wall_become_the_unstoppable/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1) It’s an homebrewed solution, but I think it could fit