I know there was a Q Re Bucklers a couple years ago but I still am confused about shields. I have played quite a while but usually use 2H weapons or spells. Please let me know if the following is correct:
For Armor I think of the A# as the amount of damage energy the armor can ABSORB before taking (deflecting) damage or transmitting damage to the adventurer. Armor is rated A0-A4 indicating it can absorb 0-4 units of damage first, then beyond that may be damaged by up to 2 units before transmitting the excess to the adventurer (with the option of sparing the armor and letting the adventurer take some or all of the excess).
I thought the same would apply to shields. The Buckler is S0, so would absorb no damage before being damaged itself or transmitting damage to the adventurer. The Targe at S1 can absorb 1 unit of damage before either taking damage and/or transmitting it, and so on.
The shields of course have the additional advantage that they can deflect up to 4 units of damage at half a pip each, AND can be moved by the adventurer to any body position to absorb and take damage. This begs the question of if the shield absorbs/deflects damage IN ADDITION TO or INSTEAD OF the armor (if any) at that position.
Example: Marcus has a leather cap (A0) and a Kite Shield (S3). He is hit by an Orc (Dmg+1) targeting his head (+3) with a die roll of 4 for incoming energy of 4+3+1=8 units of potential damage. Marcus could let it hit his leather cap, which can absorb nothing before taking up to 2 damage and transmitting the remaining 6 to his head - ouch! But instead he quickly raises his Kite Shield which absorbs 3 units, then sustains 4 units of damage (2 pips), leaving just 1 unit bonking his head (ignoring the cap).
Is that right? Do I add the shield to the underlying armor (that seemed logical but possibly over powered)? Does the S Rating mean something else?
Shields can be tricky. The S value of a shield equates to the number of damage it may block. So a shield with S3 could block up to 3 damage, whilst a shield with S2 will block up to 2 points of damage. The shield also may block damage that is dealt to any location. So a blow struck to the head location can be blocked by the shield and also an item worn in the head slot.
For instance if the adventurer has a shield S2 equipped and has just received a blow that hits the head for 6 points of damage and a mail coif (A2) is worn. The damage is first reduced by 2 (for the A2 mail coif), then the player may block with the shield (up to 2 points of damage, because its a S2) or deflect up to 2 points to the mail coif, or both. In this example the player could prevent all damage. First from the mail coifs A2 value (-2), by blocking with the shield (another -2) and lastly by deflecting to the mail coif (another -2). The result would be 1 damage pip shaded on the shield (shields suffer 1/2 a pip for each full damage point blocked) and 2 pips shaded on the mail coif.
Bucklers however have a shield value of S0. This means that they cannot block damage to other locations (because their S value is 0). However, they can block the standard 2 pips of damage from blows struck to the off hand (were the buckler is equipped). They still retain the advantage that 1/2 a pip of damage is applied to the shield for each full damage that is blocked.
In addition, an interesting question was raised by a player about shields that I had never thought about or was raised in play testing. The player asked - if when using a shield my adventurer is struck to the off hand, can s/he block the damage with the shield (using its S value) and then deflect the standard 2 points of damage allowed by having an item equipped in the off-hand. This would mean that a Shield with a S4 value, could block 4 points of damage to all locations and up to 6 from a blow struck to the off hand. I think it would be acceptable to allow this.
The modified example of Marcus :
Example: Marcus has a leather cap (A0) and a Kite Shield (S3). He is hit by an Orc (Dmg+1) targeting his head (+3) with a die roll of 4 for incoming energy of 4+3+1=8 units of potential damage. Marcus lets it hit his leather cap, which can absorb nothing (A0) but can deflect 2 points of damage leaving a remaining 6 to hit his head - ouch! He quickly raises his Kite Shield which absorbs 3 units (1 1/2 pips of damage to the shield), leaving the last 3 points of damage to be suffered by Marcus.
Got it! Nicely explained. And thank you for replying so quickly!