(TFT) Another take on shields

["grabowski" <grabowski@erols.com>]

Over the past few months there have been many comments on shield use in TFT
and the "problems" there seem to be with the game system vs. realism.  First
of all, I can say it's a GAME balance thing but that does not keep us from
questioning rules.  The following was my take from July 12th.

Shields:

Rather than just stopping individual hits of damage to a character, the
shield may totally stop an attackers damage.  When a character with a shield
is attacked from a front hex, the character rolls against adjusted Dexterity
(adjDX).  If their roll was equal to or below their adjDX, the shield is hit
instead of the character.  When a shield is hit, the opponent still rolls
his damage to see if the shield is destroyed.  If the damage against the
shield is more than seven points plus whatever the shield stops passively or
stoppage value (ie. a +1 magic large shield stops three hits plus seven
means the damage against the shield would have to exceed ten points in order
to be damaged). Of
course, any damage that exceeds the shield being damaged rolls over and
damages the character.

When fighting against more than one attacker, the following rule applies.
When using a shield against two opponents, the shield roll is -2 DX against
both.  When using it against three opponents, the shield roll is -4 DX
versus the trio of opponents.

On the shield block, if you roll a three, four or five the block is
automatic.  If the roll is a three or four, the shieldbearer does not have
to roll to see if the shield is destroyed.  On a roll of sixteen through
eighteen, the shieldbearer fails to block the attack.

This I believe answers the problem of shield passivity and the what if a
giant hits the shield.  But as always there can be gaps in any house rule.
Like what if a rapier hits the shield and gets triple damage?  What about
missiles?  As far as shields are concerned shouldn't missiles be classified
as high velocity (bow/crossbow/gun) and low velocity (thrown weapons)?  I
believe that high velocity should be able to be dodged (4d vs. DX) or
blocked at +4DX with the shield as long as the character does not move and
faces the attackers arrows.  Low velocity missiles can be blocked much like
a melee attack at any time as long as the attack can be seen.  Maybe this is
too complicated for TFT but it is only a thought and a house rule!

Yours in Cidri,
Justin





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