Does it cost endurance to wear a shield?

[Christopher R Taylor]

Let me ask for a clarification: are they actually harder to hit, or is it harder to hit the areas that the shield does not cover?

 

Because SCA is not using live weapons to kill; a hit on a shield from a blunted weapon is not likely to cause significant damage to the material, but an axe swung with desire to kill can damage it and even what is behind it.

 

In other words, is the shield adding DCV, or armor?

[Panpiper]

The shield itself is really easy to hit. The hard part is hitting the man behind the shield, using it for cover.

 

To your assertion however that the shield is a fragile thing, and easy to penetrate, we'll leave aside that this defies history. Remember that while you are swinging your axe, the other guy is trying to hit you with his sword. If you haul off with a "tree felling" two hand swing intending to penetrate or otherwise break the shield, you are going to be killed before the blow lands. And even if you somehow escape death, what is very likely to happen is that your axe will now be stuck inside the shield. If that happens, you are dead.

 

Furthermore, you are incorrect about the ease with which they can be penetrated. Shields were basically the equivalent of plywood, with wood grain running in multiple directions. Try hanging  a piece of plywood against from a tree branch and swinging at it with an axe. There is virtually no chance of penetrating it. 'Maybe' if you propped it against a tree trunk so it couldn't move, you could get 'some' sort of penetration, but that would simulate nothing. A man holding a shield is NOT a tree trunk. Hit the shield hard, and the shield will yield a bit, robbing the axe of much of it's impact.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Quote

To your assertion however that the shield is a fragile thing, and easy to penetrate, we'll leave aside that this defies history. 

 

Good idea, since I didn't remotely even begin to somewhat suggest any such thing. 

 

But thank you for confirming my suspicion that you don't so much have a hard time hitting the person, you have a hard time hitting somewhere that isn't protected by the shield.  Which makes it an issue of being extra protection for the areas, rather than DCV.  You can, if you choose, take the OCV penalty to target areas the shield isn't covering, but that doesn't mean the shield gives DCV.

[Panpiper]

19 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

But thank you for confirming my suspicion that you don't so much have a hard time hitting the person, you have a hard time hitting somewhere that isn't protected by the shield.  Which makes it an issue of being extra protection for the areas, rather than DCV.  You can, if you choose, take the OCV penalty to target areas the shield isn't covering, but that doesn't mean the shield gives DCV.

The shield gives DCV because your 'target' uses the shield for cover, ducking away from the blow, a duck that "would not be possible" without the shield. Think of it like a partial cover DCV bonus.

[unclevlad]

2 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

Good idea, since I didn't remotely even begin to somewhat suggest any such thing. 

 

But thank you for confirming my suspicion that you don't so much have a hard time hitting the person, you have a hard time hitting somewhere that isn't protected by the shield.  Which makes it an issue of being extra protection for the areas, rather than DCV.  You can, if you choose, take the OCV penalty to target areas the shield isn't covering, but that doesn't mean the shield gives DCV.

 

What do you mean by extra protection, if it isn't DCV?
If the attacker can take an OCV penalty to negate...is that not fundamentally DCV?  "The defender gets +3 DCV" versus "the attacker takes -3 OCV to avoid the shield".  Feels like the same thing to me.

 

[Ninja-Bear]

@Christopher R Taylor have heard of the shields shall be splintered rule? It’s for D&D (not exactly if it’s official or a popular house rule). With it the character can sacrifice his shield (hence splintered) to avoid taking any damage from that hit. I think it could work in a Fantasy game no problem. I would even allow it as a defensive action. So that Troll rolls 18 Body? I’ll trade my shield for not taking that! Realistically? Meh. Cinematically? Yes I see it working.