You use shields not just for protection but also for offense. You gain the following benefits while you are wielding a shield:
If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield.
If you aren't incapacitated, you can add your shield's AC bonus to any Dexterity saving throw you make against a spell or other harmful effect that targets only you.
If you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you can use your reaction to take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, interposing your shield between yourself and the source of the effect.
Shield Master: More Pushin’ for the Cushion
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
While not overwhelmingly powerful, I like Shield Master. This is the kind of feat that you take on defensive characters if you’ve already done the Sentinel thing and want something lighter, or just really want to embody the shield bearer Captain America kind of hero.
To start, it's important to note how the attack action works, and what you can do when shoving a creature. When you take the attack action, with extra attack, you can use your movement between these attacks, but notably can’t take bonus actions between these attacks. The shove action either pushes somebody 5 feet away or knocks them prone should you win a contested check. Because Shield Master requires you’ve already taken the attack action to get a shove as a bonus action, you can’t benefit from knocking the creature prone in the same turn easily. For this to be particularly good, you’ll really want other melee combatants to get advantage on attacks against the prone creature, because a 5 foot shove isn’t usually impactful. Maybe you’ve got a Blade Barrier nearby, though, in which case this can be excellent.
While the bonus action shove is fine, but not that impactful at most tables, the remaining elements of Shield Master do make it quite a bit better. Functionally, you’re getting a +2 to Dexterity saving throws that would only affect you (which is less than you’d think), and a once per round half version of evasion by mitigating all incoming damage on a successful Dex save instead of the normal half. While somewhat niche, as it only will matter against creatures or environments forcing you to make Dex saves, they are one of if not the most common save type in the game, and normally the Achilles heel to strength based characters rocking a shield and heavy armor. With Shield Master, you’re getting a meaningful tool to help mitigate your weakness, or in the case of dex based characters, an improvement to your already decent ability to withstand damage from these saves.
I don’t think most characters, even ones with a shield, probably want to take Shield Master over an ability score improvement. All of the text is fine, but it isn’t going to redefine your build or open up new avenues of play you’d otherwise lack. Still, it can be a pretty fun tool to have in your martial tool belt, especially if you’ve got a monk and melee rogue that can take advantage of the bonus action shove and you aren’t otherwise using your bonus action for much. That leaves it probably best on paladins and fighters; if you’re in that camp, you can have a good time with it, but it won’t be breaking the game or wildly empowering your character in the way other feats can.
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