OoC thread

[Selina Parcellus]

I've looked into Armor Spikes and I think I've solved the debate.  They're considered weapons despite not being obviously wielded.  This from the SRD:

"You can have spikes added to your armor, which allow you to deal extra piercing damage (see Table: Weapons) on a successful grapple attack. The spikes count as a martial weapon. If you are not proficient with them, you take a -4 penalty on grapple checks when you try to use them. You can also make a regular melee attack (or off-hand attack) with the spikes, and they count as a light weapon in this case. (You can’t also make an attack with armor spikes if you have already made an attack with another off-hand weapon, and vice versa.)"

...refers to spikes as a martial weapon.  Also:

"An enhancement bonus to a suit of armor does not improve the spikes’ effectiveness, but the spikes can be made into magic weapons in their own right."

So, you can add enhancement bonuses and other magical properties (*cough*Defending*cough*) to a set of armor spikes.  This likely means you can attach spikes to a shield with similar effect:

"When added to your shield, these spikes turn it into a martial piercing weapon that increases the damage dealt by a shield bash as if the shield were designed for a creature one size category larger than you. You can’t put spikes on a buckler or a tower shield. Otherwise, attacking with a spiked shield is like making a shield bash attack.

An enhancement bonus on a spiked shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but a spiked shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right."

EDIT: Just thought about it a bit more. A spiked shield is no more or less a weapon than a regular shield, it just deals more damage if you shield bash with it.