Exile Game Studio

[AlexK]

The party of seven has one, the Amazon, who uses a spear & shield. None of the rest have shields. Tonight they will encounter 19 natives, 16 of whom will use spear & shield, the rest using atlatls or slings. All of the shields in use are large leather (Zulu type) shields.

Based on size (and reputation for sometimes even stopping bullets) I am inclined to give these shields the +2 Defense Bonus. This will make the natives harder to beat, but will help the Amazon in the long run.

Spears are listed as 3L, 9lb. r.10' weapons. But I see no rule determining if spears are one or two handed weapons or having differing damage if used one-handed rather than two-handed. I can think of several possible house rules to give two-handed use of spears more damage than one-handed use. I am not sure that such is needed.

[demon_llama]

[AlexK]

Shield construction varies widely. A shield made of wicker would be decent at 'parrying' weapons coming at the wielder because it would be light and fast, but it could be easily penetrated.

Shields of solid metal were rarely made or used because they were too heavy. I can think of few metal-only shields other than classic Greek bronze shields and medieval bucklers. Shield makers found that using several ply of wood in different directions gave more strength per pound and having a thin metal surface was sufficient for having a surface that would 'glance' a blow.

Frankly, while out of place in a simplified simulation such as HEX, shield size and construction could have a number of different defense characteristics depending on how they are made and what they are defending against. Brushing aside a club is much different from trying to stop a bullet.

[AlexK]

Thanks! I'd missed that.

For the game I decided on a house rule of a -1 penalty if using a spear one-handed. It seemed to work fine.

Lots of historical examples of spears being used one-handed. Not something to try with a halberd or pike though.