1) For sake of argument can an unseen servant hold a tower shield vertical out of combat?
2) If Yes, what if any changes occur during combat?
Assuming Yes:
I don't believe the shield would provide any ac bonus as it is not wielded by a person. A melee person could easily push it aside, probably any bow composite bow with a strength bonus also.
It would probably provide cover though for ranged weapons.
Given the above what difference, if any, would it make if the unseen servant held up a piece of wood the approximate size instead of a shield?
Tower shields provide cover for the creature wielding it, not anyone else, so I don't see how it would matter.
Unseen servants can only carry 20 #. A tower shield weighs 45 #.
Unseen servants can only carry 20 #. A tower shield weighs 45 #.
Well there you go. Thank you.
Tower shields provide cover for the creature wielding it, not anyone else, so I don't see how it would matter.
a 10X10 (20lb) board can provide cover if you're standing behind it. I'm unclear on why a tower shield would be any different.
Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. As a standard action, however, you can use a tower shield to grant you total cover until the beginning of your next turn. When using a tower shield in this way, you must choose one edge of your space. That edge is treated as a solid wall for attacks targeting you only. You gain total cover for attacks that pass through this edge and no cover for attacks that do not pass through this edge (see Combat). The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else.
Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. As a standard action, however, you can use a tower shield to grant you total cover until the beginning of your next turn. When using a tower shield in this way, you must choose one edge of your space. That edge is treated as a solid wall for attacks targeting you only. You gain total cover for attacks that pass through this edge and no cover for attacks that do not pass through this edge (see Combat). The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else.
How is that different than having a 5X10 board on that dividing line?
Edit: I'm not being a smartass. I'm legitimately asking.
A tower shield is special because it provides cover for you without providing cover FROM you. A wall (or board) would provide cover from both directions.
There are not specific rules for 'movable walls' that I am aware of. A GM might could adjudicate something, but in any event it is unlikely that an unseen servant would be of much use. Even if you could come up with something that a unseen servant could carry, they are simply too weak to effectively brace it against any attack. At most I could see it taking a single attack action to knock away the cover (and I'd probably rule that it could be done as a free action myself) since the unseen servant can only handle 20lbs of force.
Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. As a standard action, however, you can use a tower shield to grant you total cover until the beginning of your next turn. When using a tower shield in this way, you must choose one edge of your space. That edge is treated as a solid wall for attacks targeting you only. You gain total cover for attacks that pass through this edge and no cover for attacks that do not pass through this edge (see Combat). The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else.How is that different than having a 5X10 board on that dividing line?
Edit: I'm not being a smartass. I'm legitimately asking.
Well, as a GM I would tell you it behaves like a tower shield and would only provide cover to the person holding it. So, it's not.
As to why other GMs would say it provides cover to everyone behind it...that would cause a big discrepancy with how the rules work.
Ostensibly, the Devs didn't write in objects that could provide mobile cover except for tower shields which have this specific drawback.To me it stands to reason that anything improvised shouldn't work better than that.
An Unseen Servant should be able to "hold" a tower shield that some other creature set upright, "hold" as in hold a chair, not "hold" as in hold/carry/equip/ wield a shield.
It should provide cover as a tower shield does, but it is just standing there essentially unsupported. Any attack against it should knock it over as the Unseen Servant can't even pick it up, unless you want to make a bunch of weird STR checks for it.
As for moving it, an Unseen Servant can only drag it along the ground, face down.
I'm fairly certain that an unseen servant is not a creature and thus not a valid target for Bull's Strength.