The Fantasy Armory ยท Chapter 13
Shields
Shields are weapons. The core rules stat them with damage, a critical rating, and a full quality line, so they appear here rather than with armour.
What a character buys is Defensive, which adds melee defence, and Deflection, which adds ranged defence. Damage on a shield is close to irrelevant; only the Bulwark treats it as the point.
The real cost is Encumbrance, not coin. A kite shield costs less than a dagger and weighs as much as a greatsword, so the price of carrying one is what you leave behind.
Shields have a counter, and it is in this book. Six weapons carry Wrapping, which ignores Defensive and Deflection from a carried shield: the Flail, the Bearded Axe, the Weighted Chain, the Meteor Hammer, the Shotel, and the Three-Section Staff.
Skill: Light Melee throughout. A shield occupies one hand and cannot be used alongside a two-handed weapon.
Buckler
Fist Shield, Hand Shield, Small Targe
+0 5 Engaged 1
Light Melee 35 Common Crushing Defensive 1, Disarming 1
A steel disc the width of a spread hand, gripped at the boss rather than strapped to the arm. It protects almost nothing and it is used actively, punched out to bind a blade or trap a hand. Light enough to wear on a belt, which is most of why duellists carry them.
Madu
Maru, Horn Shield, Fakir's Horns, Parrying Shield
+1 3 Engaged 2
Light Melee 110 Rare Thrusting Defensive 1, Pierce 1, Disarming 1
A small disc of hide or steel with a pair of blackbuck horns lashed across the back of it, points outward past either edge. It is a buckler that answers back.
It is the only shield in this book that is Thrusting rather than Crushing and the only one carrying Pierce. What it does not carry is Deflection: two horns and a plate the width of a hand stop nothing that arrives from a bow. A madu is for the person standing in front of you.
Round Shield
Aspis, Hoplon, Targe, Viking Shield
+1 5 Engaged 2
Light Melee 80 Common Crushing Defensive 1, Deflection 1
Planked wood, a hide facing, an iron boss. The baseline shield and the one most soldiers in most armies have carried: light enough to march with, broad enough to matter, cheap enough to replace.
Kite Shield
Heater Shield, Norman Shield, Almond Shield
+1 5 Engaged 3
Light Melee 100 Military Crushing Defensive 1, Deflection 2, Cumbersome 3
Long and tapered, strapped to the forearm to cover from shoulder to shin. Deflection 2 is the best missile protection a character can carry and still move, which is why it was the horseman's shield for three centuries.
Pavise
Tower Shield, Scutum, Mantlet, Standing Shield
+1 5 Engaged 6
Light Melee 45 Restricted Crushing Defensive 2, Deflection 2, Cumbersome 4, Awkward 3
A body-height wooden board, often propped rather than held. It is cheap because it is a plank, and it protects better than anything else here because it is enormous.
Awkward 3 and Enc 6 are the whole story: a pavise is for a crossbowman who intends to stand in one place, and it is a catastrophe for anyone who intends to move.
Bulwark
Spiked Shield, Boss Shield, Battle Shield
+3 4 Engaged 3
Light Melee 250 Rare Crushing Defensive 1, Knockdown, Concussive 1
A heavy reinforced shield with a spiked or flanged boss, built to be driven forward rather than held up. It is the only shield in the book that is genuinely a weapon: it hits as hard as an arming sword, it puts people on the ground, and Concussive takes their next turn away entirely.
It gives up missile protection to do all of that. A bulwark is carried by someone whose plan is to reach the enemy, not to survive the approach.
