Shield Guardian 5e: The Amulet, the Damage Split and How to Break It

A shield guardian is a CR 7 Large construct with AC 17, 142 hit points, Regeneration (10 hit points a turn) and two fist attacks at +7. On its own it's a slow brute. Its real job is protecting whoever wears its amulet: while it's within 60 feet, half of all damage the wearer takes goes to the guardian instead, and its reaction raises the wearer's AC. It can also hold one spell of 4th level or lower and cast it later. The 2024 rules make it a much better bodyguard: its reaction goes from +2 AC to +5 AC after an attack hits, and its fists gain 10-foot reach and extra force damage.

Table of Contents

• •Shield Guardian Stat Block (2014)
• •The 2024 Shield Guardian
• •How the Amulet Works
• •How Shield Guardians Fight
• •Running a Shield Guardian Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Shield Guardian
• •Shield Guardian Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Shield Guardian Stat Block (2014)

The 2014 guardian is a durable wall. Strength 18 and Constitution 18 power two fists at +7 for 11 bludgeoning each, 22 a turn if both land. Its defenses are long: immunity to poison, and to the charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed and poisoned conditions. Its mental scores are poor (Intelligence 7, Charisma 3), and it understands commands in any language but can't speak.

Its speed is 30 feet and its Dexterity 8, so it acts late and can't chase anyone fast. That's fine. It isn't meant to chase. It's meant to stand next to one person.

The 2024 Shield Guardian

Same AC, hit points, CR and XP (2,900). The changes all point at protecting its wearer better:

The Protection change is the big one. In 2014 the guardian adds +2 AC before the roll. In 2024 it waits until an attack hits, then adds +5, which can turn that hit into a miss and also raises AC against every other attack until its next turn. Its 10-foot reach also lets it stand beside its wearer and still punch anyone who walks up to the wearer.

How the Amulet Works

All three of the guardian's signature traits point at the amulet's wearer:

• •Bound. As long as the guardian and amulet are on the same plane, the wearer can telepathically call it, and it always knows the distance and direction to the amulet. If it's within 60 feet of the wearer, half of any damage the wearer takes (rounded up) is transferred to the guardian.
• •Shield / Protection. The reaction only works when the wearer is within 5 feet of the guardian.
• •Spell Storing. Only a spellcaster wearing the amulet can store a spell in the guardian.

The SRD doesn't give the amulet its own stats, a price or crafting rules. The 2014 Spell Storing text has the guardian cast "when commanded to do so by the wearer", and both editions say it understands commands in any language. Neither edition says in general terms that it obeys whoever wears the amulet. DM ruling: treat the wearer as its master for all purposes, since every feature is built around that person. Under that ruling, whoever takes the amulet takes the bodyguard.

Damage transfer math. A wearer hit by a 25-damage fireball takes 12, and the guardian takes 13. A 2014 mage with 40 hit points needs to take about 80 damage before it drops, as long as the guardian stays within 60 feet and stays standing, and the guardian regains 10 of what it absorbed every turn. One rules-as-written quirk: the guardian is immune to poison, so the half of any poison damage it absorbs simply disappears.

Spell Storing in play. The stored spell can be 4th level or lower and is cast with no components. In 2014 the guardian casts it when the wearer commands or when a situation the caster defined comes up ("if anyone touches the vault door, cast Lightning Bolt at them"). The 2024 text drops the trigger language and says the guardian casts it using the original caster's spellcasting ability. Good choices:

• •Fireball or Lightning Bolt for a burst of damage the mage didn't spend an action on.
• •Cure Wounds aimed at the wearer, for a heal at the worst moment for the party.
• •Hold Person against a humanoid attacker.

The SRD doesn't say who concentrates on a stored Concentration spell or whether a reaction spell like Counterspell can fire from a 2014 trigger. Decide before the session.

How Shield Guardians Fight

Stand beside the wearer, always. Protection and Shield both need the wearer within 5 feet of the guardian. A good wearer moves, then the guardian moves after it; with the 2024 version's 10-foot reach, the guardian can stay adjacent and still hit anyone who closes on the wearer.

Save the reaction for the big hit (2024). Protection triggers after a hit. If the rogue lands a sneak attack that beat the wearer's AC by 4 or less, +5 AC turns it into a miss (a natural 20 still hits). Then the wearer keeps +5 AC until the guardian's next turn, so the fighter's next swings face it too. Against a wearer with AC 15, a +9 attacker hits 75% of the time; at AC 20, only 50%.

Fight like a wall. The guardian's fists are not the threat. At +7 against AC 16 it hits 60% of the time: about 13 damage a turn in 2014, about 22 in 2024. Use it to body-block a doorway or a staircase while the wearer casts from behind it.

Make the party choose. Every round the party has two bad options. Hit the wearer and half the damage gets eaten by a 142-hit-point construct that heals 10 a turn. Hit the guardian and they're spending their turns on the least dangerous creature in the room.

When the wearer runs. The wearer can call the guardian telepathically from anywhere on the same plane, so it's also a getaway escort. A wearer who flees through a door and keeps the guardian in the doorway behind it is very hard to catch.

Running a Shield Guardian Encounter

A shield guardian is worth 2,900 XP. Using the 2024 budget for four characters:

The guardian-plus-mage pair is the classic build, and it plays harder than its XP. The mage's hit points effectively double while the guardian lives. Our encounter calculator also applies the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide group multiplier (×1.5 for a pair).

A guardian alone, without a wearer, is a poor encounter. It has no ranged attack and no way to catch a mobile party. If you want a guardian fight, give it someone to protect.

How Players Beat a Shield Guardian

• •Separate them. Shield and Protection need the wearer within 5 feet, so a shove or a Thunderwave that pushes the wearer 10 feet switches the reaction off until the guardian catches up. Bound's damage split stops past 60 feet. The guardian walks only 30 feet a turn (60 with the Dash action), so a wearer dragged, pushed or lured well past 60 feet takes full damage until the guardian closes the gap.
• •Take the amulet. Steal it, grapple the wearer and pull it off, or kill the wearer and grab it. The guardian's features follow the amulet.
• •Target its Charisma. At Charisma −4, the guardian fails a DC 15 Charisma save 90% of the time. Banishment removes it for the duration if you hold Concentration, and suddenly the wearer is alone.
• •Don't waste the wrong spells. It's immune to paralysis, charm, fear and poison. Hold Monster and Fear do nothing. Restrained, prone, stunned and blinded all work.
• •Shatter works well in 2024. Constructs have Disadvantage on the save against the 2024 Shatter. The 2014 version gives Disadvantage to a creature made of inorganic material such as stone, crystal or metal; whether a guardian counts is a DM ruling, since the SRD doesn't say what it's built from.
• •Kill the wearer with one big burst. Half of every hit still lands on the wearer. A 40-hit-point mage needs about 80 damage to drop through the split. Spreading that over several rounds gives the wearer time to heal or flee, so save the big hits for one round.
• •Counter the stored spell. If you suspect a stored Fireball, spread out before you engage.

Shield Guardian Encounter Ideas

The orphaned guardian. The party buys an odd amulet at a market. Three days later, a shield guardian walks out of the forest and keeps walking toward them, through fences, walls and a farmhouse, because it always knows where its amulet is. Its old master is dead. Whoever wears the amulet now has a bodyguard and a long list of property damage.

The magistrate's escort. A corrupt city magistrate (a noble stat block) never goes anywhere without a shield guardian. The party has a warrant. Fighting in the street means taking down a 142-hit-point construct while the magistrate's guards close in. Getting the amulet off his neck during a crowded festival is the smarter play.

The vault's last line. A long-dead wizard's vault holds a shield guardian standing over an empty chair, with a 2014-style trigger: "If anyone but me opens the vault, cast Fireball." The amulet sits on the chair. Whoever picks it up first gets the guardian, and possibly the stored Fireball.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a shield guardian?

A shield guardian is CR 7 (2,900 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with AC 17 and 142 hit points.

How does the shield guardian amulet work?

The amulet's wearer can call the guardian telepathically, and while the guardian is within 60 feet, half of any damage the wearer takes (rounded up) goes to the guardian instead. Its reaction protects the wearer when within 5 feet, and a spellcaster wearing the amulet can store one spell of 4th level or lower in it.

How do you stop a shield guardian's Regeneration?

Nothing in the SRD shuts it off: it regains 10 hit points at the start of each of its turns as long as it has at least 1 hit point left. Drop it to 0 hit points and it's destroyed, so deal more than 10 damage a round or remove it with Banishment.

What's the difference between Shield and Protection?

Shield is the 2014 reaction: +2 AC for the wearer when a creature attacks it. Protection is the 2024 version: after an attack hits the wearer, the wearer gains +5 AC against that attack and every other attack until the guardian's next turn.

Can a shield guardian cast spells?

Only the one spell stored in it. A spellcaster wearing the amulet casts a spell of 4th level or lower on the guardian, and the guardian casts it later with no components. Storing a new spell erases the old one.

Can players own a shield guardian?

The SRD has no crafting rules for one, but nothing stops a DM from giving the party a guardian and its amulet as treasure. Whoever wears the amulet gets the damage split, the reaction and the telepathic call. If your table ends up with one, Loreify can record the sessions and keep track of which character has the amulet and what spell is stored in it.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.