30 More Shields

1-Hoplon

The large wood and bronze shield of the ancient Greeks, this is very good in a shield wall or push of pike and has great protective power whilst being lighter then it looks. It's an excellent shield to use.

2-Kite Shield

Shaped like a kite and meant for use on horseback, this protects one whole side of the body and is very effective against arrows, but is somewhat cumbersome when used to fight on foot with.

3-Knightly Shield

The classic shield of the knight in plate armour, this is smaller then many other kinds of shield and has the crest of the knight who owns it painted on it, being designed for those in full plate armour. By law, each crest has to be unique so the owner can be identified when his visor is down, although some knightly orders (see 101 Knightly Orders for ideas) will have their own crest that all the order's knights use.

4-Invisible Shield

With a spell on it to make it invisible, this shield can easily be lost when dropped or forgotten about when put somewhere and is a great bother to find again when this happens, but is a nasty surprise to a foe.

5-Force Shield

A smaller, weaker version of the Shield Spell, this drains far less of the caster's life force and so can be cast for much longer before eating deeply into it. Offensive weapons or magic can be cast with it, as it is no bigger then a hoplon. It glows a deep red when cast.

6-Police Riot Shield

Marked with the word Police and made of hard see through plastic, this is very effective but the local law enforcement won't exactly be pleased if they see it in the hands of those who are not themselves law enforcement officers. Unlike most other shields these can be used in games set in the modern day.

7-Police Riot Shield with Taser attachments

Again marked very clearly as police property, these can deliver a nasty, paralysing shock to the unarmoured when pressed against them, and can likely deliver some pain to even less well armoured foes. Law enforcement will actively seek to recover them from unauthorized users with great vigour.

8-I shaped Gladiatorial Shield

Little more then a thick staff with a thin handle in the centre and meant for the arena rather then the battlefield, this needs proper training to use properly. Those who are trained well in it's use can use it as a second hand to hand weapon like a quarterstaff.

9-X shaped Gladiatorial Shield

In the shape of an X and made of wood with a bronze lining, this requires careful training to use properly and is not much good against missile weapons or in a shield wall, being designed for single combat in the gladiatorial arena. In the hands of someone well trained in it's use, it is reasonably effective in the one on one hand to hand combat that it was designed for. Swipes and slashes are easily parried with this, but it is less effective against thrusting swords like the rapier.

10-Gun-Shield

This gun has a small bulletproof shield around it, but the weight makes it hard to aim and load for all but the strongest owners, and if raised high the shield blocks the view of the owner. It's use is frowned on socially in a duel, and it is not much use on the battlefield either.

11-Buckler

This small shield is very manoeuvrable, but it's small size makes it less effective then larger shields, not very effective against arrows or javelins, and no real use in a shield-wall.

12-Huge Shield

This covers almost the whole body of the user and is rather heavy to hold for long. It is best used in the shield wall or in the push of pike. A duellist who turned up with one of these would be laughed at by many and considered cowardly.

13-Spiked Shield

Like a hoplon but covered with spikes that have often been poisoned with dirt or excrement to infect wounds, this is very useful against those with no armour at all or only chainmail, and even against plate armour it has a chance of injuring a joint unless the armour is properly fluted. A charge by a large group of soldiers with these is fearsome to behold. Normally only the front rank will have these spiked shields to avoid injuring their own side by mistake, but it often still has a bad effect on the morale of the foe. An unarmoured person can be impaled by one of these in the hands of a strong warrior.

14-Grave Good Shield

Found in an ancient tomb, often in the bony hands of a Bandage Beast or similar type of undead, this counts as Funeral Gold and Grave Silver and whilst effective often brings bad luck or unwanted attention on those who would take it from it's resting place.

15-Improvised Shield

In an emergency, pot lids, suitcases, even chairs can serve as some sort of improvised shield that whilst not very effective is normally better then no shield at all.

16-Notcher Shield

The Notcher is designed in such a way that hitting it hard with an edged weapon will damage the weapon, making it less and less useful over time. Weapons such as maces and warhammers that lack an edge to be notched are much less effected if at all-against them it acts like a normal shield. But even magical swords can end up badly damaged by one of these.

17-Fireball blasting Shield

Huge and heavy at first, this wooden shield can shoot fireballs, but like The Sword of Fire it burns and shrinks with each use. After the first use it is a bit smaller and lighter, a second shot shrinks it to a hoplon size, a third shot to that of a kite shield, a fourth shot to that of a knight's shield, a fifth shot to that of a buckler, a sixth shot to only slightly bigger then a fist, and a seventh shot leaves only the handles behind. This can be common in a high magic world or a thing of great power in a low magic world.

18-Stone Shield

Made out of stone, this is good against weapons such as rapiers and smallswords, but heavy weapons can splinter it after a few strong blows.

19-Rude Shield

This shield has your world's equivalent of a Nazi swastika on it. Deeply offensive to many people, some towns or whole countries might ban it outright.

20-Magnetic Shield

This was made so iron weapons and armour would get stuck to it, but it has no effect on non iron weapons, and if the owner's weapon is iron it can get stuck to the shield if the owner is not careful and is hard to pull off. It is a common shield of Faerie warriors, who carry swords of bronze.

21-Magic Repelling Shield

This shield absorbs fireballs and most kinds of combat magic harmlessly into itself, but it absorbs combat magic cast by the wieldier into itself as well, so the owner cannot use this and cast combat spells.

22-Iron Rimmed Shield

Rimmed with iron, this round shield of wood can fend off the cuts that could otherwise wear it down and destroy it and is only slightly heavy to carry.

23-Legionary Shield

This is the rectangular shield of the Legions with a metal boss in the centre. It is effective, but if the PCs are not in the Legions and are seen with these by serving Legionnaires, they may have some explaining to do at the least.

24-Glow Shield

The paint on this shield glows brightly in the dark. Using it means you can see far in the dark, but your foes equally can see you coming.

25-Shield Spell

This spell creates a dome around the wearer, that is immensely strong, but drain's the caster's life force for sustenance and cannot be cast for very long. Even Dragonfire cannot get through it.

26-Shield on Wheels

This is a mantlet, so thick and heavy that it has to be wheeled about. It is strong enough to block a bolt from a heavy crossbow or even a sword swipe from an angry Ogre, but in bad weather or difficult terrain it quickly bogs down and can hardly move.

27-Triple-Thickness Shield

Three times as strong and thick as the average shield, this is also three times as heavy and only a very strong owner can carry it for long or use effectively in battle. It was designed for the King's Legions but such were the number of complaints about it that it soon fell out of use.

28-Golden Shield

The ornamental round shield of a famous general of the past, this is made of pure gold. On the plus side, that makes it worth a lot of money. On the minus side, it is too soft to be effective in battle and a few blows from even an average sword will soon cut right through it.

29-Singing Shield

This rather silly round shield was made by a battle mage with a sense of humour, and whilst in combat it sings songs such as 'Hit Me Baby One More Time.' Most owners find it annoying to use and sell it after one or two uses.

30-Silence Shield

If charged by a mage or witch first, this deep black square shield sucks all sound within thirty feet of itself into itself, meaning there is no noise from the combat, the person you are fighting cannot call for help, nor can they cast spells (but nor can the shield's owner.) It's magical effects last for half an hour before it needs to be recharged. It was a favourite weapon in the past of the once infamous Ninjas of Ka-Phum who would use it to help them silence castle guards whilst they thought them.