Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense. Nothing spells victory like a shield-bearer holding the line in a doorway while his allies attack their foes from safety.
This skill tree governs combat with a weapon and shield, or a single light/finessable weapon. The abilities in the tree assume you are fighting with a weapon and shield (though a few can still be eligible for a single weapon), and most of them place an emphasis on defense and knocking down enemies.
Striking opponents with either weapon layout will increase this skill. At skill level 50 - One-Handed (50) - you will gain an extra attack at -10 to-hit.
Most One-Handed abilities branch at the third and fifth tier to allow some versatility in character building and combat. The below is a list of all One-Handed abilities to date:
Bull Rush[]
This ability, when used, will let you charge to a location, attacking everyone in your way. The tiers branch out to let you add a knockdown effect to your attacks, or to have your attacks do more damage.
Bull Rush (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (5)
Stamina Cost: 15
Required For: Bull Rush (II)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash on everyone you move past.
Bull Rush (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (25), Bull Rush (I)
Stamina Cost: 25
Required For: Forceful Rush (III), Power Rush (III)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash on everyone you move past. You get a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Forceful Rush[]
Forceful Rush (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (45), Bull Rush (II)
Stamina Cost: 30
Required For: Forceful Rush (IV)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash and a knockdown attempt on everyone you move past. You have a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Forceful Rush (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (65), Forceful Rush (III)
Stamina Cost: 35
Required For: Lightning Rush (V), Turtle Rush (V)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash and a knockdown attempt on everyone you move past. You have a +12 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Lightning Rush (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (85), Forceful Rush (IV)
Stamina Cost: 50
As a full-round action you rush to the target location with a +50% speed increase, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash at +4 damage and a knockdown attempt on everyone you move past. You have a +12 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Turtle Rush (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (85), Forceful Rush (IV)
Stamina Cost: 40
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash and a knockdown attempt with a +2 modifier on everyone you move past. You have a +12 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Power Rush[]
Power Rush (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (45), Bull Rush (II)
Stamina Cost: 25
Required For: Power Rush (IV)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash at +2 to-hit and 50% bonus damage on everyone you move past. You have a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Power Rush (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (65), Power Rush (III)
Stamina Cost: 30
Required For: Sweeping Rush (V), Extended Rush (V)
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash at +2 to-hit and 50% bonus damage on everyone you move past. Targets struck by your shield take 3 points of bleeding damage and you have a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active.
Sweeping Rush (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (85), Power Rush (IV)
Stamina Cost: 35
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash at +2 to-hit and 50% bonus damage on everyone you move past. Targets struck by your shield take 3 points of bleeding damage and you have a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active. The threat range for shield attacks is increased by 50%.
Extended Rush (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (85), Power Rush (IV)
Stamina Cost: 35
As a full-round action you rush to the target location, plowing through enemies and inflicting a shield bash at +2 to-hit and 50% bonus damage on everyone you move past. Targets struck by your shield take 3 points of bleeding damage and you have a +6 bonus to tumble checks to counter attacks of opportunity while this ability is active. Your rush distance is increased by 100%.
Shield Slam[]
Hit somebody with your shield and knock them off their feet. This ability tree branches to let you either improve your knockdown attempts, or inflict repeated shield bashes in a round. Not to be confused with Shield Bash.
Shield Slam (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (1)
Stamina Cost: 20
Required For: Shield Slam (II)
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 50% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +1 to-hit.
Shield Slam (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (20), Shield Slam (I)
Stamina Cost: 25
Required For: Power Slam (III), Double Slam (III)
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 75% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +2 to-hit.
Power Slam[]
Power Slam (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (40), Shield Slam (II)
Stamina Cost: 30
Required For: Power Slam (IV)
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 100% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +3 to-hit.
Power Slam (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (60), Power Slam (III)
Stamina Cost: 30
Required For: Domino Slam (V), Devastating Slam (V)
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 125% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +4 to-hit.
Domino Slam (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Power Slam (IV)
Stamina Cost: 45
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 125% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +2 to-hit. A successful knockdown allows you to attempt a knockdown on another nearby enemy. This continues until you run out of enemies or fail a knockdown attempt.
Devastating Slam (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Power Slam (IV)
Stamina Cost: 35
As a full-round action you make a single attack with your shield that deals 150% more damage and produces a knockdown attempt at +5 to-hit.
Double Slam[]
Double Slam (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (40), Shield Slam (II)
Stamina Cost: 35
Required For: Double Slam (IV)
As a full-round action you make two attacks with your shield that deal 25% more damage and produce a knockdown attempt on each hit.
Double Slam (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (60), Double Slam (III)
Stamina Cost: 35
Required For: Crushing Slam (V), Triple Slam (V)
As a full-round action you make two attacks with your shield that deal 50% more damage and produce a knockdown attempt on each hit.
Crushing Slam (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Double Slam (IV)
Stamina Cost: 45
As a full-round action you make two attacks with your shield that deal 100% more damage and produce a knockdown attempt on each hit.
Triple Slam (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Double Slam (IV)
Stamina Cost: 40
As a full-round action you make three attacks with your shield that deal 50% more damage and produce a knockdown attempt on each hit.
Covered Strikes[]
Defend and strike. You can eventually choose to make your strikes more accurate, or to inflict a bleeding effect on your strikes.
Covered Strikes (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (15)
Stamina Cost: 10
Required For: Covered Strikes (II)
As a full-round action you make a single attack from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round.
Covered Strikes (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (35), Covered Strikes (I)
Stamina Cost: 15
Required For: Expert Strikes (III), Wounding Strikes (III)
As a full-round action you make two attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round.
Expert Strikes[]
Expert Strikes (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (55), Covered Strikes (II)
Stamina Cost: 15
Required For: Expert Strikes (IV)
As a full-round action you make two attacks at +1 to-hit from a defensive position, gaining +3 AC until the next round.
Expert Strikes (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (75), Expert Strikes (III)
Stamina Cost: 20
Required For: Masterful Strikes (V), Deft Strikes (V)
As a full-round action you make two attacks at +3 to-hit and damage from a defensive position, gaining +3 AC until the next round.
Masterful Strikes (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (95), Expert Strikes (IV)
Stamina Cost: 30
As a full-round action you make three attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round. You inflict 3 points of bleeding damage if any two attacks hit and your target is dazed if all three hit.
Deft Strikes (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (95), Expert Strikes (IV)
Stamina Cost: 25
As a full-round action you make single melee attack followed by a defensive shield bash, each at +3 to-hit and damage. You gain +3 AC until the next round and your shield bash attempts a knockdown if both attacks hit.
Wounding Strikes[]
Wounding Strikes (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (55), Covered Strikes (II)
Stamina Cost: 20
Required For: Wounding Strikes (IV)
As a full-round action you make two attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round. You inflict 3 points of bleeding damage if both attacks hit.
Wounding Strikes (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (75), Wounding Strikes (III)
Stamina Cost: 25
Required For: Lightning Strikes (V), Stunning Strikes (V)
As a full-round action you make three attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round. You inflict 3 points of bleeding damage if any attacks hit.
Lightning Strikes (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (95), Wounding Strikes (IV)
Stamina Cost: 35
As a full-round action you make four attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round. You inflict 3 points of bleeding damage for every two hits.
Stunning Strikes (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (95), Wounding Strikes (IV)
Stamina Cost: 30
As a full-round action you make three attacks from a defensive position, gaining +2 AC until the next round. You inflict 3 points of bleeding damage if any two attacks hit and your target is dazed if all three hit.
Shield Defense[]
Resist ranged attacks and explosives alike with your shield. You can specialize in achieving greater protection while actively defending yourself, or to resist attacks coming from your flanks.
Shield Defense (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (10)
Required For: Shield Defense (II)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 90 degree front arc by granting a 5% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 5% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away.
Shield Defense (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (30), Shield Defense (I)
Required For: Shield Barrier (III), Shield Vanguard (III)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 90 degree front arc by granting a 10% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 10% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away.
Shield Barrier[]
Shield Barrier (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (50), Shield Defense (II)
Required For: Shield Barrier (IV)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 90 degree front arc by granting a 15% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 15% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away. Being in Block mode increases these bonuses by 5%.
Shield Barrier (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (70), Shield Barrier (III)
Required For: Shield Barrier (V)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 90 degree front arc by granting a 20% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 20% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away. Being in Block mode increases these bonuses by 10%.
Shield Barrier (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (90), Shield Barrier (IV)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 90 degree front arc by granting a 25% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 25% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away. Being in Block mode increases these bonuses by 15%.
Shield Vanguard[]
Shield Vanguard (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (50), Shield Defense (II)
Required For: Shield Vanguard (IV)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 120 degree front arc by granting a 15% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 15% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away.
Shield Vanguard (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (70), Shield Vanguard (III)
Required For: Shield Vanguard (V)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 150 degree front arc by granting a 20% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 20% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away.
Shield Vanguard (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (90), Shield Vanguard (IV)
Your shield protects you from attacks originating from locations in your 180 degree front arc by granting a 25% immunity to damage from explosions and inflicting a 25% miss chance on ranged attackers further than 10 feet away.
Shield Fighting[]
This passive ability tree lets you do more damage when wielding a one-handed weapon, or a weapon with a shield.
Shield Fighting (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (20)
Required For: Shield Fighting (II)
Your attacks with one-handed weapons and shields get +1 to damage.
Shield Fighting (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (40), Shield Fighting (I)
Required For: Shield Fighting (III)
Your attacks with one-handed weapons and shields get +2 to damage.
Shield Fighting (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (60), Shield Fighting (II)
Required For: Shield Fighting (IV)
Your attacks with one-handed weapons and shields get +3 to damage.
Shield Fighting (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Shield Fighting (III)
Required For: Shield Fighting (V)
Your attacks with one-handed weapons and shields get +4 to damage.
Shield Fighting (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (100), Shield Fighting (IV)
Your attacks with one-handed weapons and shields get +5 to damage.
Shield Bash[]
Not to be confused with Shield Slam, this ability tree allows you to do a shield bash as part of your attack chain. You may choose to incorporate your shield attacks more fluidly while in a defensive position, or specialise in delivering heavier blows with your shield.
Shield Bash (I)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (1)
Required For: Shield Bash (II)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at -5 to-hit. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any.
Shield Bash (II)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (20), Shield Bash (I)
Required For: Defensive Shield Bash (III), Heavy Shield Bash (III)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any.
Defensive Shield Bash[]
Defensive Shield Bash (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (40), Shield Bash (II)
Required For: Defensive Shield Bash (IV)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any. If you do not make any riposte attempts during a combat round, you can make a free shield bash attack against your current target.
Defensive Shield Bash (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (60), Defensive Shield Bash (III)
Required For: Defensive Shield Bash (V)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. In Block mode, you can make up to two shield bash attacks at +0 and -5 to hit alongside your riposte attempts. If you do not make any riposte attempts during a combat round, you can make a free shield bash attack against your current target.
Defensive Shield Bash (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Defensive Shield Bash (IV)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. In Block mode, you can make up to three shield bash attacks at +0, -5, and -10 to hit alongside your riposte attempts. If you do not make any riposte attempts during a combat round, you can make a free shield bash attack against your current target.
Heavy Shield Bash[]
Heavy Shield Bash (III)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (40), Shield Bash (II)
Required For: Heavy Shield Bash (IV)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. On a critical hit, you make a knockdown attempt at +1 to-hit and also add 25% to your critical hit damage. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any.
Heavy Shield Bash (IV)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (60), Heavy Shield Bash (III)
Required For: Heavy Shield Bash (V)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. On a critical hit, you make a knockdown attempt at +2 to-hit and also add 50% to your critical hit damage. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any.
Heavy Shield Bash (V)
Prerequisites: One-Handed (80), Heavy Shield Bash (IV)
As part of a full attack action you make a shield attack at full attack bonus. On a critical hit, you make a knockdown attempt at +3 to-hit and also add 75% to your critical hit damage. In Block mode, this attack is made at your first riposte attempt, if any.
Return to Offence.