# Animated Shield > [!info] Item Details > | | | > |---|---| > | **Category** | Armor | > | **Rarity** | Very Rare | > | **Attunement** | Yes | > | **Source** | DMG p.151 | --- ## Description While holding this shield, you can speak its command word as a bonus action to cause it to animate. The shield leaps into the air and hovers in your space to protect you as if you were wielding it, leaving your hands free. The shield remains animated for 1 minute, until you use a bonus action to end the effect, or until you are incapacitated or die, at which point the shield falls to the ground or into your hand if you have one free. It stops animating early if it moves more than 5 feet away from you. --- ## Properties - As a **bonus action**, speak the command word to cause the shield to hover in your space. - While animated, you gain the shield's **+2 AC bonus** with both hands free. - Lasts **1 minute**, ends early if the shield moves more than 5 feet away or you are incapacitated. - Requires attunement.