What's up with shields?

[Warpig]

What I understand the rules to be:
- shields (small, medium, or large as PFRPG typically classifies them as) in and of themselves don't provide the user any kind of bonus to parry... Even though they are purpose built to do that.
- The skills for WP shield and WP sword, blunt, battle axe, etc provide almost identical bonuses to parry.

So my question is, as a 'Man at Arms' OCC or any other player, why would someone waste a skill selection on WP shield or waste gold in buying/equipping a shield when you can do the same thing with mostly any other weapon/skill?

I'm inclined to propose a house rule to my PFRPG group: small shields don't provide a bonus, medium shields provide a +1 parry bonus, and large shields provide a +2 bonus... Any thoughts?

[drewkitty ~..~]

The Text about shields that is most easily found is the the text covering them in the HU;Aliens Unlimited book. Page 179 in the 1st ed book, and page 191 in the revised (2nd ed) book, (copy&paste) In which the text says that having a shield will give a +2 Parry vs melee attacks.
It also states that parrying projectile and energy attacks are parried at a -6.

For this text I would roll archery attacks under the melee rules. Making the word 'projectile' equal to 'firearm' or 'rail-gun'.

[Warpig]

Thanks!

I also bothered to search for posts on this topic and saw that it's been thoroughly covered

[Tyberius]

I struggle to come up with the right balance regarding shields, making them worthy. I like what DrewKitty pointed out. I also, like the idea of making them take 1/4 damage or something like that. A shield shouldn't shatter every few hits having someone needing to bring multiple shields. Maybe on a crit, or something. But a shield is designed with the express purpose to block oncoming attacks. I would house rule a few things for sure. Not sure what exactly.

[Library Ogre]

A rule I saw someone use for 1st edition AD&D was "You may sacrifice a shield to ignore a single hit." So, if you're about to get creamed by Bob the Troll, who just rolled a critical and an improbable number of d6s for damage, and the GM is rooting around for his calculator to add bonuses... you can say "I sacrifice my shield".

It takes the hit and is destroyed into uselessness. You take no damage, but are now shieldless.

[eliakon]

The other advantage that is brought up often is that a shield can, in some situations, be used as cover besides parrying.
Since its you can't easily target things behind cover this is actually pretty useful.

[GMDijarian]

The other advantage that is brought up often is that a shield can, in some situations, be used as cover besides parrying.
Since its you can't easily target things behind cover this is actually pretty useful.

I could be wrong as I don't have my book in front of me but I don't believe there are any rules for cover in the Palladium Fantasy game. I do believe the OP was asking for an answer in the RAW.

Again though I don't have my book but I want to say that RAW is as Drew kitty stated with the modifier to parry with WP shield IIRC.


Edit: Looking at my book now Palladium Fantasy RPG Second Edition Fourth Printing - Page 60 states, "+1 to parry at levels 1, 3, 6, 9, 12..." etc. "+1 strike... at levels 4, 8, 12"

There is also an additional optional rule suggesting that shields can soak 10% of damage while they are being used.


So the efficiency of choosing the WP to me comes from the damage soaking, unless your GM allows them to combine the parry bonus with the bonus of the weapon used in the other hand as it states, "A shield can be used in one hand and a weapon in the other"

[Marcethus]

IIRC, don't have my books in front of me, Shields take 10% of damage rolled to the shield when they parry the attack. I recall reading it in PFRPG main book.

[Axelmania]

Shields exist in PF to block flaming breath attacks. Those are not treated with penalties like energy weapons according to the Millenium Bark Shield description in Rifts England which we could introduce here.

[Marcethus]

Shields exist for more than just blocking breath attacks though that is a very good use of them. In that case they would probably take full damage in place of the character using the shield to block. Though I do not recall any specific rule being presented as such. It has been a long time since I looked at my england book. I will need to look over that. I also should look that book over as I love playing a Chiang-Ku Dragon and the Temporal Classes.

[Axelmania]

WP Shield states that Shields are blunt weapons, therefore WP Blunt and WP Shield stack when using a shield as well, since WP Blunt says "all blunt weapons"

Clever.