Shields

[Mark]

* Though he did meet his demise going over a cliff after a couple more sessions.

That's where the kite shield comes in handy.

 

[Quartz]

I think one problem is that many GMs and many canned adventures don't feature cool shields. When was the last time there was an interesting and useful shield in Dungeon that was on a par with the weapons?

Even a low-level fighter will find a Shield +1 interesting if it acts as a Ring of Feather Falling.

 

[Silver Moon]

"Women are helpful, they make the best shields" Cerebus the Aardvark.

 

[diaglo]

How often have shields in your games played a larger role than just being a modifier to armor class?

all the time

Do characters (NPCs and PCs) in your games use shields for identification?

yes.

Do shields in your games ever have additional powers?

yes. i'm not sure when it was but early on in my gaming career i introduced the Wall Shield to our campaign. a magic shield which acted like a "wall of" spell. metal or wood version.

Do shields in your games ever get used in unusual or nonstandard ways?

yes. i've seen shields used to cross pits or to drag bodies/l00t on..

 

[el-remmen]

A character in my current campaign recently had a masterwork heavy shield made from the carapace of a bulette/landshark.

Another, had his hireling's shield decorated with a personalized version of his family's crest.

 

[Presto2112]

Even a low-level fighter will find a Shield +1 interesting if it acts as a Ring of Feather Falling.

Consider this stolen.

 

[Zaruthustran]

In one campaign, one of the quotes that was used most frequently was "Shields are for sissies." All the PCs and supporting NPCs either had TWF or chose to use a two-handed weapon. Of course, when our female paladin and female priestess opted for shields...

... the quote still applied.

Man, real TWFighters use spiked shields. Of bashing.

With the right feats, you get to keep your shield bonus to AC, and it hits as hard as a greatsword (2d6).

For true cheese, use one on each arm.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A character in my current campaign recently had a masterwork heavy shield made from the carapace of a bulette/landshark.

Now THAT is old school! I remember that was always one of my goals for warriors in 1Ed/2Ed. Perhaps I should ressurect that goal...

I think one problem is that many GMs and many canned adventures don't feature cool shields

I know from recent experience that there is at least one in RttToEE- one was just dished out to a Dwarf Ftr/Cleric in my main game group.

Man, real TWFighters use spiked shields. Of bashing.

That was my eventual goal for Klor-Kon the Bounty Hunter...

 

[Quartz]

It takes a lot of feats to be able to use a shield as a weapon - either Two Weapon Fighting and Improved Shield Bash if you've got the stats, and then you're limited to light shields; or Shield Specialisation, Improved Shield Bash, and Agile Shield Fighter. Plus, of course, making two attacks is a full attack and therefore a full round action.

Compare this all with just having a two-handed weapon. Compare it too with a TWF fighter with a longsword in one hand and a Defending weapon in the other.

How about merging Agile Shield Fighter with Improved Shield Bash?

 

[frankthedm]

How often have shields in your games played a larger role than just being a modifier to armor class?

Yes, partly because i ruled Power attack function only "x1.5" with two handed weapons.

Do shields in your games ever have additional powers?

Yes. Someone with a shield can have it add it's AC bonus to many energy damage Touch Attacks and Reflex Saves, but the shield takes damage as if unattended.