Shields

A shield does not add to your Physical or Elemental Defense. Each shield works in its own way, as its properties below describe, and any shield can also be used as a bludgeoning weapon. The table gives each shield’s category, damage, Required Might, movement and Stealth effects, and crafting cost (Crafting Level, materials in gold, and workload in Crafting Points).

Shield	Category	Weapon Damage	Required Might	Movement	Stealth	Craft Lv.	Materials (gold)	Workload (C.P.)
Buckler Shield	Light	1d4	1	—	—	2	2	5
Heater Shield	Medium	1d6	2	—	—	3	5	15
Kite Shield	Medium	1d6	3	—	—	3	20	35
Pavise Shield	Heavy	1d8	4	-1 m	—	3	25	40
Tower Shield	Heavy	1d8	5	-2 m	-2	4	50	100

Using a Shield.

A shield takes one hand. While you carry one, you cannot wield a two-handed weapon or a second weapon, so a weapon used beside a shield needs at least 1.5 times its Required Might (see Melee Weapons).
A shield’s Reaction uses your one Reaction for the round.
Movement and Stealth effects apply while you carry the shield.
The category (Light, Medium, or Heavy) decides which Shield Weapon Techniques the shield can use.
If your Might is lower than the shield’s Required Might, the shield gives you none of its properties and opens no Shield Weapon Techniques. You can still bash with it.

Shield Properties.

Buckler Shield (Light). Parry (Reaction): when a melee attack hits you, reroll your defend roll and keep the better result. Strapped: the buckler sits on your forearm, so that hand can still hold a torch, a potion, or a Wand or Rod (for Arcane Conduit techniques), but not a weapon.
Heater Shield (Medium). Deflect (Reaction): when a melee attack you can see targets you, gain +1 to your defend roll. Splinter (once per scene): when you would take a Mild Consequence, the heater takes it instead. The shield is then Damaged and cannot Splinter again until you repair it during a short or long rest.
Kite Shield (Medium). Arrow Guard (Reaction): when a ranged attack you can see targets you, gain +1 to your defend roll. Covered Retreat: Disengage costs you 1 AP instead of 2.
Pavise Shield (Heavy). Plant (1 AP): stand the pavise upright in an adjacent space. Until you pick it up again (1 AP), you and one ally directly behind it gain +1 to defend rolls against attacks from its front, and it no longer occupies your hand, so you can shoot and reload behind it. Weight: -1 m movement while carried.
Tower Shield (Heavy). Moving Wall: you and allies directly behind you gain +1 to defend rolls against ranged attacks from your front. Brace for the Blast (Reaction): gain +1 to a Reflex defend roll against an area effect, such as a Fireball or a breath weapon. Weight: -2 m movement and -2 to Stealth while carried.

Shield as a Weapon. Shields deal bludgeoning damage as listed in the table above.