Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Some ideas: Two weapon fighting
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 232499" data-attributes="member: 3146"><p>I think that you'd do better to double the AC bonusses that shields give instead of using cover mechanics. It's much simpler that way.</p><p></p><p>So: Buckler still gives +1 AC</p><p>Small Shield=+2 AC</p><p>Large Shield=+4 AC</p><p></p><p>That makes shields an incredible advantage when combined with armor. It's even feasible to use a shield and no armor--you've still got the same AC as a fighter in scale mail. However, this method doesn't introduce directional mechanics or AoO negation to the combat mix.</p><p></p><p>As to the historical discussion, I believe that you're in the wrong. As full plate armor was developed, shields fell out of favor (they were no longer necessary as full plate provided sufficient protection--this is especially noticable in late tournament armors--where protection was most essential and one could afford to give up flexibility--which eschewed the use of shields). At the same time, weapons like pikes, bastard swords, greatswords, military picks, poleaxes, and maces began to replace one handed swords as the primary knightly weapons of war. (One handed swords no longer had the power to reliably penetrate fullplate). </p><p></p><p>As the penetrating power of firearms and crossbows improved, armor grew even heavier, and the less essential parts (greaves, sabatons, etc)were jettisoned so that it didn't grow too heavy to wear (that's the origin of half-plate). As firearms continued to improve, breastplates became even heavier until the only parts that remained were a leather coat, breastplate, helmet and guantlets. (Elizabethan/James I/English civil war era). Around this point, the shield came back into favor for a brief time when the spanish infantry (longswords, breastplates, and small shields) defeated French pikemen in Italy. It didn't last though. Later armies abandoned shields in favor of muskets (infantry) and pistols and sabres (cavalry).</p><p></p><p>Samuraii are another story entirely. My understanding is that they belonged to a much more tradition bound culture than medieval europe and were expected to use bows, naginatas, and katanas in battle. Seeing as two out of three of those are two handed weapons (and the katana was usually used in two hands) there's not a lot of room for a shield. I doubt that they allowed their tradition to dictate an inefficient form of combat to them though. More likely, their tradition crystallized an effective form of combat and held it in place for all sides. My understanding is that their armor was sufficient even without a shield.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Elder-Basilisk, post: 232499, member: 3146"] I think that you'd do better to double the AC bonusses that shields give instead of using cover mechanics. It's much simpler that way. So: Buckler still gives +1 AC Small Shield=+2 AC Large Shield=+4 AC That makes shields an incredible advantage when combined with armor. It's even feasible to use a shield and no armor--you've still got the same AC as a fighter in scale mail. However, this method doesn't introduce directional mechanics or AoO negation to the combat mix. As to the historical discussion, I believe that you're in the wrong. As full plate armor was developed, shields fell out of favor (they were no longer necessary as full plate provided sufficient protection--this is especially noticable in late tournament armors--where protection was most essential and one could afford to give up flexibility--which eschewed the use of shields). At the same time, weapons like pikes, bastard swords, greatswords, military picks, poleaxes, and maces began to replace one handed swords as the primary knightly weapons of war. (One handed swords no longer had the power to reliably penetrate fullplate). As the penetrating power of firearms and crossbows improved, armor grew even heavier, and the less essential parts (greaves, sabatons, etc)were jettisoned so that it didn't grow too heavy to wear (that's the origin of half-plate). As firearms continued to improve, breastplates became even heavier until the only parts that remained were a leather coat, breastplate, helmet and guantlets. (Elizabethan/James I/English civil war era). Around this point, the shield came back into favor for a brief time when the spanish infantry (longswords, breastplates, and small shields) defeated French pikemen in Italy. It didn't last though. Later armies abandoned shields in favor of muskets (infantry) and pistols and sabres (cavalry). Samuraii are another story entirely. My understanding is that they belonged to a much more tradition bound culture than medieval europe and were expected to use bows, naginatas, and katanas in battle. Seeing as two out of three of those are two handed weapons (and the katana was usually used in two hands) there's not a lot of room for a shield. I doubt that they allowed their tradition to dictate an inefficient form of combat to them though. More likely, their tradition crystallized an effective form of combat and held it in place for all sides. My understanding is that their armor was sufficient even without a shield. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Some ideas: Two weapon fighting
Top