shield apron.

Notice how, when you're a shieldman rushing an Archer, the archer either books or takes aim, and shoots you in the leg! Now you could crouch low as possible to cover those legs, but that will slow up your charge. You could be Barrikade and get a monster shield, but you'll have to have Barrikade's arms too. Hmmmm, I have another solution, one from history. A shield apron. Yes my friends, the handy dandy shield apron. Invented by the Greeks who found, as wonderful as their beautiful round Hoplon shields were, their legs were vulnerable to missile weapons. Arrows from their Persian foes, and Javelin's from their Thracian neighbors. So they invented the Shield apron. It is a rectangular piece of armor grade leather that is attached to the inside of the bottom rim of their shield and hangs to about their calf's.

Pro's: It won't add too much weight to the shield, its flexible, and it will stop arrows and Javelin's. They also painted nifty designs onto them.

Con: Armor grade leather is expensive, won't and shouldn't be allowed to stop hand weapon blows to the legs as long as the blow follows through the leather hard enough to hit the target body part.

Could it fit into dagorhir combat? Would it be a hindrance or a danger in close in fighting, shield checking and bashing?

Just throwing something out of my head.

Konradr

Great idea. Very practical. Wouldn't work under Dagorhir's rule set. Using an armor grade leather would make it armor, armor is pierced by missile weapons. It would be great to see someone doing this, I just don't think it could work under the current rules set.

K-

Hmmm, if it could be classified as 'shield' rather than armor, because its attached to the shield and not a body part, that could work. But I guess that would be experimental at a realm level and would take an act of congress, I mean, vote at the rag war council or something to make it Dag legal. Have to test it first so if I ever get some leather, I might just do that.

Konradr

I would say 'go for it'. Even if you can only use it here it would be cool.

K-

Or you could use a foam core and a thin layer of cheap pleather to cover the outside techniquely making it an extension of say the middle layer of foam.


Konradr very nice idea. very nice.

You know I have always had the shield apron idea on the back burner in my mind (along with many other's, surprising they don't catch on fire back there). Points to consider:

1. True, Arrows pierce armor grade leather. But the Armor is on the body so the force of the arrow though being diminished by the armor, carries into the flesh beyond. The shield apron though being pierced by the arrow, would, in my opinion, diminish its power to the point that it would not reach the legs/groin beyond. More that likely the arrows would pierce the leather and then be stuck in it, or the shield apron could be considered like head armor. Because of its flexibility and strength, it would form curves that an arrow would strike and most likely deflect from.

2. I might make one out of closed cell foam, sew it into a cloth and use velcro to hitch and unhitch it from the shield. We'll see how that works.

Konradr