<snip>
> shield. If you learn 'Sword & Shield Combat', the shield shouldn't
> make your skill worse, your skill is based on having the shield.
>
> Secondly, I still think shields are far more useful than that. A good
> shield user can basically just put his shield in the way and keep a
> poor attacker at bay, in a way he could not do without the shield (I
> just saw it done, in a live roleplaying mass battle). Shields can stop
> you dead from hurting an opponent. I would suggest the following
> (admittedly extreme) rule:
>
> Shield use: Bonus +3 to defence (+5 for a Roman-type big shield), Edge
> ^5 if hit
>
> therefore, it's bloody hard to hit (without multiple attacker
> penalties), and even if you hit, you have to expend more effort (AP)
> to get through/past the shield. Now... my own argument, above, is
> against the bonus to defences for using a shield just as it's against
> the penalty to attacks, so I'd be prepared to drop the +3 bonus. The
> ^5 for the shield isn't so much armour, as the extra effort needed to
> get around it.
>
> Wulf
I know the effect you are thinking about Wulf, but live game and reenactment shields tend to differ a lot from real shields, namely they don't weigh nearly as much.
Large shields are good for shieldwalls, and defending agains missile weapons. An aggressive fighter in a free melee would want nothing bigger than a target shield. Here's what I use in an improved RQ system
Against projectiles/ Free melee/ in shieldwall Duel (bonus) (maximum skill) - 20 Buckler --- + 0 Target 100 +20 Viking round 80 +40 Troll / Hoplite 60
This is what I use, after a lot of tought and researsh. Shields are a complicated issue.
A large shield gives you good coverage, but is slow to move about and your opponent can use the blind zone it creates for you.
---
Oh, and I would let sword and shield / spear and shield skill to be used to parry arrows and such. Works well with the suggested simple contest usage, with even a bonus for using a large Viking (orlanthi?) style shield (+2), or a huge hoplite shield (+4).
-Adept
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