Lost Souls & Midian

Note: This is very much a work in progress. Some of this isn't even in sentences yet. I wanted to give another sneak-peak at the behind-scenes creative processes. That, and to add a whole bunch more shields to the game.

Right now it's just basic categorisation stuff. Block bonuses, cost, weight, et al. still need to be done.

Materials are either expendable or durable. Expendable materials--wood, leather, wicker--are light & cheap to replace, but aren't likely to survive more than one or two battles. Total destruction during the first fight isn't unlikely. Durable materials, meaning metal, are heavier and more expensive. However, they will last for many fights if they are properly maintained and repaired as needed.

Shield--armour class--encumbrance--description

Buckler: +2 none
Many bucklers are not strapped to the wielder's arm, but are instead simply held in the hand. There's not much to a buckler, it's a small metal salad plate with a handle. The small round metal boss in the center of other shields (where the spike goes, opposite the grip) is nearly a buckler by itself.

Small: +3 light
A good compromise between weight, cost, and protection, small shields are the most commonly used. Small shields are about as wide as your forearm, and are usually round. As these shields do not commonly have a proper grip--having only a simple strong leather strap across the hand instead--they may be worn when wielding two-handed weapons. However, the shield cannot block if that arm is occupied with a weapon. Unlike their smaller kin, these shields are strapped to the arm.

Medium: +5 medium
The shield of the horseman, medium shields are the ones most often seen depicted in artwork. These shields are large enough to cover the entire torso. Medium shields are the largest that are circular in shape, but are more commonly seen in "shield" shapes of heraldry, such as the heater with its flat top & slightly pointed bottom.

Large: +8 heavy
The large shield is the protective device of the tough guy. Too large to be used effectively on horseback, and too heavy for lighter infantry, but still effective as a personal shield of a solitary warrior. When placed on the ground, this shield stands to the chest or shoulders of the wielder. Due to their great size, the shape of large shields are almost always sharply pointed on the bottom--kite shaped--but some are stretched-out ovals. It takes a strong arm to carry & block with a large shield. Only one-handed weapons may be used.

Tower: +13 very heavy; also called wall shield or pavise; some sources use wall, others use tower, fuck it--I might just call them 'door shields'...

In essence, you are taking your own wall with you into battle to hide behind. Another way to look at this is a pavise is like putting carrying handles on one side of a strong door & calling that your shield. Tower shields are not typically strapped to the arm, but instead have a strong bar that is gripped and moved with both hands as needed. Mostly you're just holding it upright & sitting on the ground while praying nobody walks around it during battle.

List different shield types by size & material, maybe with a few extra features. Name and describe some of these according to different cultures, so that no one catches on to the fact that an "Orckish Smasher" (or just "Orckish Shield") is just a large iron shield with a spike...

Wood is cheaper & lighter, but isn't likely to survive more than one battle. Hide/leather is even lighter, but even more fragile & cannot be "sacrificed". Metal shields are the long-term ones, but are really heavy, especially bronze & iron--they suck for weight versus strength.

Shield materials: wood (linden), metal (steel), wicker, bronze, iron, hide, turtle shell, 'gator skin, leather, ceramic, seashell, wire frame, light wood, hard wood, bone, kittens... some are layered, such as the Comanche shields of leather stuffed with paper, feathers, hair, etc.) or the Aztec chimalli with leather-covered wood;

Heater has flat top w/round or pointy bottom, later Norman heaters had lance notch on top left; wavy tops???

Wooden Buckler
Wooden Small Shield
Wooden Medium Shield
Wooden Large Shield
Wooden Pavise

Metal Buckler
Metal Small Shield
Metal Medium Shield
Metal Large Shield
Metal Pavise

Small Hat (ancient Dwarven stone buckler)
Smallshield (Elven light small shield made from high-quality stainless steel reinforcing ceramic or a large seashell)
Jousting Shield (Formourian medium steel heater w/lance notch on top left)
Orckish Smasher (large oval spiked iron & bronze shield)
Walking Fort (Dwarven arbalest pavise w/window & arrow slit; steel rimmed, hide covered, wooden backed, stuffed layers for ballistic padding on both sides; either wedge shaped [two-sided] or box shaped [three-sided])

Duelist's Shield (Bizzannite spiked steel buckler)
Sun Shield (small bronze shield polished to a mirror finish, Elder Kingdoms??)
Turtleshell Medium Shield (Greatsea islanders, just what it sounds like)
Fang of the Swamp (Ogres & Firps; large wooden kite covered in thick scaled hide from an aligator or other great reptilian beast)
Croucher (Hobgoblin wicker pavise, typically camouflaged)

Kitten of Doom (Trolls of Byzant and Heldanns; handle on the back of a cat; counts as a buckler; straps go around neck, just after forelegs, & just in front of rear thighs to reduce squirming; slight guard on handle to prevent scratching; may be thrown...)
Light Shield (Formourian and Bizzannite; small oval leather shield)
Bone Shield (medium)
Invisible Shield (Northern Protectorate large shield; rectangular steel border with wire frame center; not really invisible, but you can easily see through the 1/4 inch mesh)
Cane Shield (Killian large cane wicker shield)
Mobile Wall (Mudsquatters; light & hollow concrete pavise [think cinderblocks]; definitely looks like brick, & is even painted with red earth to enhance the effect; very heavy, but not nearly as much as an actual brick wall would be; easily smashed by crushing attacks, but completely flameproof & resistant to stabbing [arrow, bolt] attacks; 60° angle--even light siege missiles tend to bounce off; may be free-standing; 4' tall)