Posted: 28 Sep 2005, 20:41
Whoops...heh, yeah.?? you mean ...effect notgettinghit% I assume.
Yes, I'm aware that they're used as a deflection tool. But, to use a personal example: I study Wing Chun Kung Fu, wherein the theaory in terms of defence is to redirect an opponent's attack rather than use hard blocks like some styles do. This means a good deal less energy is expended by me as the defender, but it doesn't make it an easy task. When you deflect something, unless that something is very weak, there's still a pretty solid amount of force that has to go into the deflection. And that's for doing things that would be the equivalent of hitting the shield against the side of the sword mid-swing; you aren't directly opposing any of the force of the swing. A 45-degree hit on the shield would still require the defender to absorb (roughly) half of the swing's power, lest even the deflected strike knock them back. Even a glancing blow, if it's powerful enoug, is capable of tossing people around. Evasion, on the other hand, implies no contact with the attacker whatsoever; you only have to move around a bit. I'd think it would be much, much easier to concentrate on something like casting a spell while dodging, than while deflecting with your shield.One Base thing about shields:
The main use of a shield is to "reroute the attack", NOT to block it.
Maybe the best way to explain it, is like that:
If a claw/sword/ whatever clashes onto a shield in a 90? degree, all
the energy of the slash has to go somewhere. The sword comes to an abrupt
stop. Most probably 2 things happen:
- The sword is forged well and the shield not, which causes the shield to break.
Imagine an axe hitting a tree strunk.
- The hit is too strong for the shieldbearers power, so the shield is
"bounced out of the hands of the wearer"