I was wondering if the soulknife blade skill "Mind Shield" actually supplies you with a physical shield. (Note I am specifically referring to the blade skill "Mind Shield" not the "form mind shield" class feature from the shielded blade archetype.)
The description only mentions simply giving a shield bonus if the soulknife has a hand free. It does not mention the ability to use it was a weapon for bashing or any armor check penalties or arcane spell failure. There are other blade skills that further boost the options of the "Mind Shield" blade skill but the only ones that begin to specify armor check penalties are ones that turn the shield into a tower shield.
I am specifically asking for the purposes of having a "shield" without actually having a shield specifically in the case of the stalker art Alacrity, from the Stalker PoW class, which specifies not carrying a shield, and various einhander feats and features that rely on not carrying a shield and having a free hand.
Best Answer
No, it does not
Having a shield bonus doesn’t mean you have a shield; if it gave you an actual shield, or made you count as having a shield, it would have to say so. I worked for Dreamscarred Press (though well after mind shield was published), and I’m confident that the authors intended this, because they are careful enough to specify something like that when needed.
Ultimately, the mind shield seems most similar to the force screen power, or the shield spell—a vaguely shield-shaped emanation of magical force that protects in a manner similar to a shield, but which isn’t actually strapped to the arm and doesn’t actually weigh anything or interfere with movements.
Contrast with tower mind shield, which specifies that you get an actual item—a tower shield—and applies all¹ the physical effects of having that item, as opposed to just a shield bonus to AC.