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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7495361" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>The Viking Period sword-and-shield combat style is more like two-weapon fighting. The viking shield is very light. The combatant wields it actively, rather than passively holding it against the body. The offhand grabs its handle, like a buckler, and it is never strapped to the forearm. The combatant aims the shield boss to punch weapons out of the way (parry) and to attack the opponent.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101504[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101498[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The viking roundshield is roughly 90 cm in diameter − and light. It is made from cut planks of pine wood that are glued together. This wood is very thin, overall about 6 millimeters thick − about 7 millimeters thick around the boss and tapering slightly to about 5 millimeters around the rim. Millimeters! It is probably more useful to consider viking roundshields as a kind of leather shield, rather than wood shield. It uses the wood to hold its shape. The shield maker glues boiled leather across the front and back, and then wraps a strip of boiled leather around the rim of the shield to reinforce it. The shield maker then sews these pieces together around the rim, thru perforations in the wood. The leather can be of cattle, sheep, goat, or pig. The boiled leather shrinks tight and hardens while drying, and also helps to hold the shield together. The result is shield that is solid, tough, light, and highly maneuverable. It deflects oncoming arrows, and so on.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101949[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>One archeologist, involved in scientifically rigorous combat experiments, noted that failure to wield the viking shield actively tended to result in its wielder becoming ‘dead’. Also the shield incurred damage more quickly when held passively.</p><p></p><p>Among the remains of viking shields today, usually only the metal bosses survive, and these indicate damage patterns from active wielding.</p><p></p><p>The viking shield synergizes with the overall combat style that relies on agility. The viking shield requires skill to use properly. The wielder also wields it for offhand attacks.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here are some archeological remains of viking shields. Normally, the shields are painted bold colors, but here the paints have decayed over the centuries.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101499[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Today, some replicas trim the edge of the shield with metal to reinforce the wood, but this is modern, apparently a misunderstanding of the metal ring that some museums attached to the shield remains as a mount for display.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101502[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]101501[/ATTACH] </p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here are similar shields from around the same time in the Baltics, where some leather covering has survived.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]101503[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>D&D 5e lacks a basic parry action. (The fighter and monk classes have special mechanics to do something like it.) Should a parry mechanism become available in the future, the viking shield is suitable. In current rules, any parrying subsumes into the abstraction of the AC +2 shield proficiency bonus.</p><p></p><p>One way to represent the viking shield is as an item that can benefit from both shield proficiency and from weapon proficiency. Where 5e makes the whip a martial melee weapon that deals 1d4 damage, this seems comparable to the level of skill necessary to make an effective attack with a viking shield. It exhibits the ‘light’ description for use in the offhand. </p><p></p><p>Also consider fighter class fighting styles, maneuvers, and feats that synergize with a viking shield for D&D combat, both as an offhand weapon and as a shield. It might be worthwhile to develop new ones here in this thread.</p><p></p><p>Any fighter character optimizers, please comment on the viking shield stats, to help ensure that it is a good choice and balanced compared to other good choices.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Martial Melee Weapon</em></p><p><strong>viking shield</strong> (1d4 bludgeoning; light, special − shield proficiency grants AC +2)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 7495361, member: 58172"] The Viking Period sword-and-shield combat style is more like two-weapon fighting. The viking shield is very light. The combatant wields it actively, rather than passively holding it against the body. The offhand grabs its handle, like a buckler, and it is never strapped to the forearm. The combatant aims the shield boss to punch weapons out of the way (parry) and to attack the opponent. [CENTER][ATTACH=CONFIG]101504._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]101498._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] The viking roundshield is roughly 90 cm in diameter − and light. It is made from cut planks of pine wood that are glued together. This wood is very thin, overall about 6 millimeters thick − about 7 millimeters thick around the boss and tapering slightly to about 5 millimeters around the rim. Millimeters! It is probably more useful to consider viking roundshields as a kind of leather shield, rather than wood shield. It uses the wood to hold its shape. The shield maker glues boiled leather across the front and back, and then wraps a strip of boiled leather around the rim of the shield to reinforce it. The shield maker then sews these pieces together around the rim, thru perforations in the wood. The leather can be of cattle, sheep, goat, or pig. The boiled leather shrinks tight and hardens while drying, and also helps to hold the shield together. The result is shield that is solid, tough, light, and highly maneuverable. It deflects oncoming arrows, and so on. [CENTER][ATTACH=CONFIG]101949._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] One archeologist, involved in scientifically rigorous combat experiments, noted that failure to wield the viking shield actively tended to result in its wielder becoming ‘dead’. Also the shield incurred damage more quickly when held passively. Among the remains of viking shields today, usually only the metal bosses survive, and these indicate damage patterns from active wielding. The viking shield synergizes with the overall combat style that relies on agility. The viking shield requires skill to use properly. The wielder also wields it for offhand attacks. Here are some archeological remains of viking shields. Normally, the shields are painted bold colors, but here the paints have decayed over the centuries. [CENTER][ATTACH=CONFIG]101499._xfImport[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Today, some replicas trim the edge of the shield with metal to reinforce the wood, but this is modern, apparently a misunderstanding of the metal ring that some museums attached to the shield remains as a mount for display. [CENTER][ATTACH=CONFIG]101502._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]101501._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] Here are similar shields from around the same time in the Baltics, where some leather covering has survived. [ATTACH=CONFIG]101503._xfImport[/ATTACH] D&D 5e lacks a basic parry action. (The fighter and monk classes have special mechanics to do something like it.) Should a parry mechanism become available in the future, the viking shield is suitable. In current rules, any parrying subsumes into the abstraction of the AC +2 shield proficiency bonus. One way to represent the viking shield is as an item that can benefit from both shield proficiency and from weapon proficiency. Where 5e makes the whip a martial melee weapon that deals 1d4 damage, this seems comparable to the level of skill necessary to make an effective attack with a viking shield. It exhibits the ‘light’ description for use in the offhand. Also consider fighter class fighting styles, maneuvers, and feats that synergize with a viking shield for D&D combat, both as an offhand weapon and as a shield. It might be worthwhile to develop new ones here in this thread. Any fighter character optimizers, please comment on the viking shield stats, to help ensure that it is a good choice and balanced compared to other good choices. [I]Martial Melee Weapon[/I] [B]viking shield[/B] (1d4 bludgeoning; light, special − shield proficiency grants AC +2) [/QUOTE]
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