Halfling Buckler Shield

Cost: 8 GP

Weight: 2 lbs

AC: +1

Halflings and Gnomes both commonly use small bucklers, and each takes credit for the innovation. Most of the relative expense of the buckler comes from the high quality materials required for the straps and buckles to hold firm to the forearm. Undoing the straps takes time so donning or doffing a buckler shield is an action. Using a buckler shield correctly still requires shield proficiency and you can benefit from only one buckler shield at a time. An equipped buckler shield allows for enough use of the off hand to perform the somatic and material components requirements of casting a spell or other object interactions, but not enough to be used with two weapon fighting, two-handed weapons, heavy weapons, or versatile weapons which are being used with both hands. The weight requirements mean that demi-human bucklers are used for light deflection more often than absorbing blows, and so they are made of light wood. They are usable only by small sized characters and may not hold any permanent enchantment and have half as many hit points as a full shield.