I think shield size SHOULD be limited...based in the shield type (Light/Medium/Heavy). The max phys-rep size should also be based on the user.The use of a shield is an effective defensive tactic. They can be used to block most melee and ranged weapon attacks as well as some magical attacks. The protection of a shield comes with a draw back. Shields are often heavy and awkward to use; therefore, if a character is using a shield their armor category is increased by 1. Thus if they are wearing light armor and carrying a shield, they are considered to be in the medium armor category. Armor points are still awarded based solely on the light armor actually worn (See the Armor section on Page 88).
All characters may use a shield on one arm to block incoming blows, but unless the character possesses the 'Use Shield' skill they cannot perform any action that produces any effect with greater than 0 (zero) damage while wielding a shield. If using a shield, the character may not hold a weapon in the same hand as the hand/arm that has the shield.
Shield Destruction
Shields are not indestructible. The amount of damage a shield can take is dependent upon the material it is made from, not necessarily its size. The three types of shields are Light, Medium, and Heavy. The materials and time required for the Craftsman to make shields is located on page 68.
A Light shield can take a single 5 damage attack and is then destroyed. Anything less than 5 damage does not destroy the shield. Light shields are made from hide, wood, or steel and may be of any safe size (see below). Medium shields can take a single 10 damage attack before they are destroyed. Anything less than 10 damage does not destroy the shield. Medium shields are made from wood or steel and can be of any safe size (see below). Heavy shields can take a single 15 damage attack before they are destroyed. Anything less than 15 damage does not destroy the shield. A Heavy shield is made from steel or wood. Heavy shields may be of any safe size (see below). Damage done to shields is not cumulative, meaning that any shield can take unlimited hits from damage that is less than its destruction number (5 for Light, 10 for Medium, 15 for Heavy). All destroyed shields must be discarded. If the shield cannot be discarded then all attacks that hit the shield are considered Crush damage.
Shield Tags
All shields must have an appropriate item tag attached to the back of the shield. Furthermore, the type of shield must be identified through the use of strips of tape attached to the back of the shield. The tape should be a contrasting color to the shield back. A single strip of tape will
denote light shields, two strips will denote medium shields, and three will denote heavy shields. The strips of tape should be at least 1/2" wide and 5" long.
I suggest using current rules for heavy, medium is reduced 3" in length and width, light is reduced 6".
With the use of these suggestions, light shields should also NOT increase armor category. The current exotic item would still be needed for Medium and heavy shields to get the same effect.
Any other shield size restrictions needs to consider these facts:
>LARPs make concessions to ensure safety in live combat. This includes removal melee tactics like bashing, shield hooking, weapon pinning and grappling. Removal of several of these reduce the effectiveness of smaller shields in general, let alone in a LARP combat setting.
>They also use light padded weapons. This means the speed that a player can attack is MANY times faster, and therefore harder to avoid than real weapons. Therefore a shield NEEDS to cover a larger area to balance that LARP combat fact, for fairness.
>Smaller shields will simply lead to more strenuous effort to hide behind them, further limiting legal targets, and increasing risk hits to the head as players crouch to cover.
>Shields currently make hitting a user a challenge...which is what they are SUPPOSED to do. Any resizing should be based on shield category, not some mis-perceived combat inequity.
