Brainstorming with Ping about this one: what about adding rules for shield bashing? Not to address the issue of shield game balance, just because it's sexy.

Make shield a range 0 weapon, follows all the normal rules for left-hand attacks so if you bash you can't use those dice to defend, and if it's a second attack you are taking the normal -2, etc.

I could see it being popular when there are opponents at different range bands and a hero just wants to throw down instead of defend: I shield bash the guy next to me then hurl my javelin down field.

Pretty sexy. Bold and potentially foolish, but sexy.

I like it. Would it be a d8 weapon?

John wrote:
I like it. Would it be a d8 weapon?

What's more natural than to give a heroic yell and swat the guy closest to you? Pretty sexy. :)  As a nice side-effect it gives an attack option for Range 0 and allows the guy who finds himself suddenly positioned out of weapon range to potentially have other options, not without risk of course since they can all shield bash him in return and he might not have any defenses by then.

Q1. Does it make sense to allow heroes to shield bash out of Range 0 at penalties?  Even if there is a mechanic, I'm not sure it makes that much sense to shield bash someone 2 bands away at -4, but I'm possibly taking the battlemap too literally.

Q2. If this is going to become an official weapon, then presumably it can be used by minion groups.  Would they then all lose their shield dice for defense?

I was thinking ceteris paribus ("all other things being equal") -- so no special rules, the shield would act like any other weapon.

Except perhaps for the stylistic point that anyone trying to wield two shields to get some advantage should be bopped with the genre stick.

Which means the answers to your questions would be yes and yes.