Halfling Paladin and Shields?

[Furryrat]

On the topic of CMANS, being new to the paladin class, I put all my CMAN points into SoS with remainders into Wspec. I decided to buck the norm and play a blunt and shield halfling paladin, and I'm curious as to what shield size and SHIELD skills are best to train in order to be the most effective. Being of such small size I expect the large penalties. I currently have 3 ranks in Tower Shield Focus, 2 ranks in Shield Bash, and 3 ranks in Shield Charge and have 60 Armor Use ranks to mitigate the maneuver penalty from armor (wearing augmented chain), and with Surge and 509 up I am never encumbered, yet I always seem to face penalties in the upper 20s. Are there spells/training I can use to mitigate these penalties, or should I switch to a smaller shield size?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Jeril]

Those penalties come from size to size comparisons and if you happen to be wounded or have major scars. Minors on the limbs give you -7 and majors give you -28, minor scars have no affect but major ones give you the same -28 as wounds do. You can try using a small shield and see if it helps but I highly doubt it. If you are within your 30 days you can change your shield spec easily but if you aren't just remember to adjust for it when you try the smaller shield.

[Furryrat]

Ah, thanks Jeril! I was so fixated on size relations (insert joke here) that I totally overlooked the wound/scar aspect.

[Jeril]

Ah, thanks Jeril! I was so fixated on size relations (insert joke here) that I totally overlooked the wound/scar aspect.

Welcome, anytime.