Physical Shields and Cover Rules

[Merrick]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has run into players using a physical shield in combat?

I am referring to a physical riot shield or say a slab of metal sheeting a brawny combat type character may pick up and carry to provide himself some cover.

For instance the Riot shield from Gundarks p.59. (Skill Melee Parry, Difficulty Easy, Strength of 4D) If the character makes the skill roll, the user has used the shield to block incoming attacks on one facing. The shield has a Strength of 4D.

Question 1 (Difficulty to hit): Would the Melee Parry Roll work as a typical reaction skill for all attacks from the one direction? Does that become the difficulty for attackers to beat, or would the difficulty for attackers at that point forward become the base difficulty to hit the character standing still but damage goes right to the shield? (full cover)

Question 2 (Damaged Shield): With cover I understand full damage is rolled against the Strength or Body of the cover. (In this case 4D for the Riot Shield) If the Riot shield is Heavily Damaged by a Blaster Rifle (5D), it stops 2D of the damage and 3D hits the wielder of the shield. Does this damage reduce the effective strength code of the shield or would it roll the full Strength code to resist the next blaster bolt?

Thank you in advance.

[Kytross]

Before I answer your questions I want to let you know there are no specific rules for shields in the 2E R&E Rulebook. On pages 94 & 95 they go over Cover, Protection and Armor.

Please note, if you are familiar with combat terms used by the military than you know that concealment means being harder to see, while cover is protection, something to take the round for you. In WEG Star Wars the term cover means concealment, i.e. that you are harder to see. Protection means cover, i.e. a defensive position. Armor still means armor.

If we get jargon mixed up then we will get quite confused. I will be using the WEG terms.


Question 1 - Yes, it would become a typical reaction skill, used the same way as melee parry for a sword or ax or lightsaber, in melee combat.

The shield works differently in ranged combat. In ranged combat, assuming they make the roll and get the shield in place in time, you roll the damage against the strength of the shield and person, like armor on page 94 and 95 of the 2E R&E rulebook. Someone else may know the page numbers for REUP, if you're using that. If they make the melee parry roll than the attacker hit the shield.

Question 2 - Treat it like standard Armor. If the blaster bolt does more damage than the shield and player together can handle than the rolled damage goes to both the armor and the player, degrading the armor and hurting the player as appropriate.

At least, that's what I do, and it makes sense to me. Stand by for a flurry of opinions by people who know this game better than I do.

[garhkal]

On 1, yes it would become a standard parry roll to interpose the shield. But i can also see some logic in making you take a MAP each time you do so, as they are bulky.

On 2, imo i would treat the shield like armor. If the shield takes a light-heavy-serious damage rating, it should degrade.
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[nuclearwookiee]

Question 1: If the character is using something large and just carrying it around like portable cover (which you seem to describe in your question), then I would not use an opposed roll. Just treat it like anyone else hiding behind stationary cover. I don't have my books with me, but I think it's something like +1d to the ranged difficulty for 1/4 cover, +2d for half cover, +4d for 3/4 cover, or something like that. If the shield/chunk of metal is so big that it gives total cover, then it is impossible to hit the target directly. The base difficulty is determined like normal for a ranged attack, then roll the "cover dice" and add it to the base difficulty for the total difficulty to hit the character. If the attack roll beats the total, it hits the character outright. If the roll is less than the total but equal to or greater than the base difficulty, it hits the cover and has to roll damage against the cover first.

Question 2: I would not treat the shield like armor. Giving the shield itself a strength of 4d, rather than giving it an armor bonus like any armor entry would (e.g., +1d against energy, +2d against physical), indicates it is meant to be treated as an independent object. Plus, adding 4d to both energy and physical resistance of a character is a bit extreme. I agree that the effectiveness of the shield should be degraded as it takes damage, but do it according to the object-damage rules, as you do in your example. A riot shield is supposed to deflect bottles and rocks, which a strength of 4d should have no problem doing. A riot shield is not supposed to withstand sustained fire from anything less than a light repeater (even wielded by a human of average strength, this shield would get to resist damage with 6d if treated like armor).

[garhkal]

Would (or should) shields have a min str rating to use? What about dex penalties?
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[Kytross]

Like I said, the core rules are silent on this, and that leads to discrepancies. Some of the shields have descriptions on how they are to be used. Some of the shields were designed to be used with 'protection' rules, others with 'armor' rules. The 4D Riot shield could go either way, but a 2D shield or a +1 shield are hardly worth bringing into combat under 'protection' rules. I prefer armor rules in general; they are closer to shield rules for starships. Shields give a big advantage in combat, so keep that in mind as a GM.

Garhkal, three of the statted shields are energy shields. No weight, no encumbrance.

Cover rules do not apply to shields. A character with a shield has to roll to block with it, just like every other defensive weapon.

[nuclearwookiee]

[cheshire]

[Merrick]

[griff]

Here is a monkey wrench for this topic, Gungan energy shield that can parry back blaster bolts.
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[nuclearwookiee]

Are you saying there are rules on the Gungan energy shield somewhere or are you asking how the Gungan energy shields would work?

[garhkal]

Bringing this question up, as i am thinking of making a Melee focused barbarian like character (shield and axe)..
First off
Would using a shield count for your melee parry or would it just add a Cover bonus..?

Secondly, if it IS used for melee parry, would it be vs all attacks from the front/side the shield is on, or only for that specific attack, needing a separate MAP'ed roll for other attacks?

Third.. Could one offensively use said shield (capt america style)? If so, what would a good damage rating be?

Fourth, what would the 'body/soak' rating of shield types be?
Primitive wooden round (small) shield
Primitive wooden kite shield (medium)
Medieval metal round shield
Medieval metal kite shield
Medieval metal body shield
Modern metal/composite body shield (riot troop/swat troop) style?
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[MrNexx]

In Star Wars rules, I would be inclined to have shields count as part of the Melee Parry skill when used against melee attacks, and provide a cover bonus when used against ranged attacks. As a melee parry, I would let it apply against all attacks, since a weapon used in melee parry doesn't have a problem; if used as cover, I might limit it to a single facing. When used as a weapon, I'd probably add two pips per size to the strength roll... so a small shield would be STR+2, Medium would be STR+1D+1, and Large would be STR+2D (as you're basically hitting them with a door).

I'd go based on REUP pages 93 and 94... a small shield would be 1/4 cover, medium 1/2, and a large, scutum style, shield would give you 3/4 cover. I'd let you choose to increase that by "hunkering down"... a small shield can cover half of you if you drop to a crouch. As for defense, a wooden shield would be 2D-3D, a metal shield would be 3D-4D, and a modern composite shield would be 6D. However, since Star Wars usually doesn't deal in damage to weapons or armor, I wouldn't deal much with damage to the shield.

In this version, you have two reasons to choose a shield. One, you can specialize in melee parry with your shield for a cheaper advancement. But shields also give that cover bonus against incoming fire.
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[CRMcNeill]

If you have a copy of D6 Fantasy, they provide stats for Shields on pg. 116.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Whill]

And if you don't have a copy of D6 Fantasy, then it is officially available for free download as a part of Open D6.

(As a side note, I recommend all Star Wars D6 GMs at least download D6 Space as it is pretty much an IP-less WEG SW 3E.)
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