[RPG] Can Dual Wielder be used with Tavern Brawler to stack the AC bonus with that of a shield being used as an improvised weapon

combatdnd-5efeatsunarmed-combat

Here's the logic: You have a level 4 Fighter who has Tavern Brawler and Dual wielder. He is using the shield as an (improvised) melee weapon and his empty main hand as the other. That logic leads me to believe this could work per the Dual Wielder feat (PHB page 165):

You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.

Now, Tavern Brawler implies the unarmed strike is a melee weapon. If that's not the case, you could grab a "stick" to count as a weapon.

My question is, can I get the +1 AC from Dual Wielder in this situation?

Best Answer

No.

Tavern Brawler's relevant ability is:

You are proficient with improvised weapons and unarmed strikes.

The rules for improvised weapons in the PHB say two things:

  • Some non-weapon objects can just be treated as weapons if they are mostly similar to weapons.
  • Other objects just do 1d4 damage.

That interacts with the proficiency rules. If an object is essentially just a club (table leg, wooden branch, torch), spear (pitchfork), greatclub (log, broken stalagmite), or whatever, then a character proficient in simple melee weapons is proficient in using such weapon-like objects as weapons.

Objects that "bear no resemblance to a weapon" (PHB, p. 148) aren't treated as weapons and as such characters can't be proficient with them. A table leg is close enough to a club for club proficiency to transfer; a candelabra or a serving platter or a horse's saddle ... not so much.

(As a side note, many tools that a character may be proficient with may also be treated as weapons in the above sense, but unless the character is proficient with their use as weapons, they can't use their proficiency bonus when attacking with them).

Tavern Brawler's effect is to give proficiency with anything being used as a weapon, even if it's not remotely weapon-like. That's not the same as being able to treat it like a weapon!

Dual wielder grants +1 AC if the character is wielding separate weapons in each hand. Proficiency isn't a factor. We can test various cases for Tavern Brawlers getting this bonus:

  • No weapon in either hand. No Bonus. Unarmed strikes are not weapons.
  • Club-like improvised weapon in both hands. +1 AC Bonus. This is the same as if the character had a "real" club in either hand.
  • Unbalanced non-weapon object in one or both hands. No Bonus. They aren't weapons.
  • Shield on one arm, club-like object in the other hand. No Bonus. A shield doesn't "bear any resemblance" to a weapon.

In fact, Tavern Brawler doesn't do anything that would change whether the Dual Wielder bonus applies. It doesn't say that you can treat non-weapon objects as if they were weapons; it just lets you use your proficiency bonus with them.

As far as attacking with shields goes, it's worth noting that the Shield Master feat doesn't give any enhanced ability to do damage with a shield, just to shove and block with it.