Bastard sword and shield

[Muggins]

[quote="[MKF]Kapten]
Just a minor nitpick: The town's name is Visby with a "V". It still exists (with the same ringwall as the one the battle was fought outside intact).[/quote]

That would depend on who you spoke to. Oddly enough, the word in Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages is 'Visby', as in 'Viking', but the Scandinavians always convert the words to 'Wisby' and 'Wiking' when speaking English. I have a feeling that the roots of the problem lies in the way they are taught to speak English...

James

[bottleneck]

have a feeling that the roots of the problem lies in the way they are taught to speak English...

well... or that the root of the problem lies in the way of the english language not having the right sounds...
the scandinavian 'v' is somewhere between english 'v' and 'w', close to a gerrman 'w' - but not quite any of them. Anyway, scandinavian words are never spelt with 'w'.

BUT whatever connection does this have to the subject of this thread?

personally, I'd never use a shield: it would only slow me down when I'm running like a chicken:-)

[Ingenious]

'the english language not having the right sounds'
That's subjective my friend. I could say Norweigians can't speak with 'right sounds' too.. but then I'd be insulting my ancestry..etc.

Back to the point of this thread.(And pardon the over-analysis)
I think sword and shield is far more effective than you might think.
It's got a very low DTN(ties for the lowest), and that used in conjunction with a simultaneous block/strike attack makes for an impressive exchange of blows.. where-by you might completely block the opponent's attack(using 50% of your CP, or even 25% of it).. and then spending the rest on the attack..(in the case of using this in the second exchange, and therefore wanting to use the rest of the CP)
But even in an active defense a shield is a bitch to attack..
The character can block on the first exchange.. put 7 dice into it.. and win the margin more times than not. Even if this leaves you with 3 dice left..you might lose initiative that time.. but then you're back to actively blocking.
This works well when fighting someone and you are trying to gauge your opponent's combat pool.. You can start off by blocking in the first exchange with 90% of your CP.. and lower that each first exchange.. until you get hit..or you hit your opponent.
Also.. one might use a shield in an attempt to wait out a fight(in the case of outclassed PC's).. defend defend defend.. until whoever has the higher EN score wins. That endurance rule is a beast of a game mechanic.

It's super for defense yes. It also frees up dice for an attack also. You can block and defend at the same time. And due to the low DTN, your opponents will have to put more into their attacks to hit you.. thus possibly leaving them wide open with no dice to defend with..

Couple this with a high TO, EN, and plate... and you will be nearly unstoppable. (You're still vulnerable to missile attacks that you can not see and actively defend..)(And also big, gigantic CP Penalties for the type of shield you use and for the plate..) Especially feints.. with someone really skilled in feinting.. shit. It'd be like me trying to play some basketball against Kobe Bryant.. he'd fake me out of my shoes.

-Ingenious