Using Shields Shields may also be used as a weapon in their own right, using the Fighting (Shield) skill. With a successful attack, a shield deals the damage indicated under the Damage column on Table 2: Shields. If a shield is equipped with a spike, it deals an additional 1D3 damage.
A shield provides additional armor to the person using it. The shield gives protection equal to the shield’s Armor value (see Table 2: Shields). When the shield-user elects to dodge in response to an attack, they are using the shield to block the blow, and they should use their Fighting (Shield) skill instead of their Dodge skill, and so gain the value of the shield’s armor even if they fail to win the bout of combat. Where the shield user elects to fight back rather than dodge an attack, if their opponent wins the combat with a draw (both achieve the same level of success) then the shield user also benefits from their shield’s Armor value. However, if the attacker wins the combat outright (gaining a higher level of success than the shield-using opponent), then the blow has struck past the shield (the shield provides no protection against this attack).
A shield user may, at the start of the combat round, announce that they are only defending this round (they forego all other actions and will attempt to dodge every attack). In this situation the shield user gains a bonus die to each of his or her Fighting (Shield) rolls for that single round of combat. Essentially, the shield-user is doing all they can to anticipate and block blows, rather than looking for an opportunity to strike their attacker. This is particularly effective if trying to defend something, such as covering another person