All numeric values on this page are playtesting values and may be adjusted.
Related pages: Weapons (damage factors and special properties) and Armor (absorption values and movement costs).
The Defence Bonus is measured in automatic successes added to a defence roll. The total becomes: successes from the Gift die + successes from the Defending Skill die + the shield's defence bonus. A Tower Shield with +3 automatic successes means you succeed at defence almost every time — the question is whether you can afford the
The Absorption Bonus is a flat value added to your armor and
The FM Penalty reduces the character's
Heavier shields offer more protection but reduce mobility. A Tower Shield’s +3 auto successes and 30 absorption are formidable — but −2 FM means a slow character may barely move. Both bonuses only apply when you spend 1 AP to defend. Without that spend, the shield does nothing — it is dead weight on your arm. Defence costs 1 AP regardless of which shield you carry: the difference is how much protection you get for that AP, and how much movement you give up to carry it.
| Shield | Defence Bonus (auto successes) | Absorption Bonus | FM Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckler | +1 | 15 | 0 |
| Round Shield | +2 | 20 | −1 |
| Tower Shield | +3 | 30 | −2 |
Shields are powerful. A character behind a Round Shield with decent Defending skill is very hard to hurt — the combination of automatic successes and 20 flat absorption on top of armor makes direct damage unreliable. The counters are AP starvation and mobility pressure. Every defence costs 1 AP, so forcing multiple attacks per round exhausts the defender. But the FM penalty opens a second angle: a Tower Shield user with Physical Speed 2 normally has 3 FM per round — the −2 penalty leaves them with 1. They can barely reposition. Flanking becomes trivial; just walk around them. Fast weapons, outnumbering, and aggressive repositioning are how you beat a shield wall — not by hitting harder. Magic is also effective: spells bypass both armor and shields entirely, making a mage the natural counter to a heavily defended fighter.
Setup: A bandit attacks Sera (Chain Mail, 25 absorption;
With Round Shield (+2 auto successes, 20 absorption): Sera spends 1 AP to defend. She rolls 1 success from her dice. The Round Shield adds +2, giving her 3 total.
Without shield: Sera gets only 1 success. Degree of success: 4 − 1 = 3. Raw damage: 3 × 20 = 60. Absorption: Physical Toughness 5 + Chain Mail 25 = 30. Final: 60 − 30 = 30 damage. Health drops from 100 to 70. Wounded.
The Round Shield turned 30 damage into 0 — by adding 2 auto successes that cut the degree of success, and then adding 20 flat absorption that finished the job.
The cost: the Round Shield’s −1 FM penalty reduces Sera’s movement pool by 1 every round while it’s equipped. A Buckler trades 15 less absorption and 1 fewer auto success to avoid that cost entirely. A Tower Shield would have stopped the hit more decisively, but costs −2 FM — and against a fast opponent, that missing movement matters more than the extra absorption.
A shield bash costs 1 AP and rolls
The full mechanic — procedure, worked example, and tactical notes — is on the Actions page .
© Soltherra RPG System