Shields getting wieghted down by missiles.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

I've always been frustrated when i put an entire bag of javelins in an enemy's shield and he just keeps coming.
I think that several things should happen when you put a missile in an enemy's shield. (and vice versa)
1) Small amount of knockback, enought to cause them to stop for an instant.
2) Makes the shield slower to raise, and increases encumbrance by something like twice its wieght (since it is in an awkward position, harder to hold something horizontal from one end than to carry it on your back)
3) After it is weighted a certain amount, depending on your strength, another blow should knock the shield out of defensive position.
4) After a certain weight, you should not be able to hold the shield up at all.
If endurance ever gets in, this could be tweaked so that the heavier it is, the more it exhausts you to hold it up, and it automatically goes down when you run out of stamina..

 

[Valec SKylien]

Most missiles wouldn't stick in a shield but simply hit and fall perhaps taking a piece with it. If it stuck in the shield it would be simple to remove the missile from the shield.

The Romans used a special type of javelin that was used for the specific purpose of making an enemies shield usesless, but you could only carry 2-3 of those.

 

[Raybur Ravenloc]

hmm, true, a lot of javelins were designed to break or bend, but i'd still think a lot would stick, especially arrows and knives, (maybe not axes so much)

and its no easy thing to remove a projectile which has punched into a shield (or any piece of wood), you would have to take the shield off, put down whatever is in your other hand, turn the shield over, and wrestle the damn thing out.. not an easy task, especially if the guy who put it there in the first place has more... but i guess clearing your shield should be an option..
knives of course could be removed relatively quickly, and arrows just broken off (this you might manage by swinging your weapon around at them..), but javelins which stuck and then bent a bit behind the head (as most were designed to do on impact, so they couldn't be thrown back) would be a serious matter

just bothers me to see a half dozen thick metal shafts (jarid) in this knights shield and he just keeps coming like the terminator..

 

[Valec SKylien]

hmm, true, a lot of javelins were designed to break or bend, but i'd still think a lot would stick, especially arrows and knives, (maybe not axes so much)

-depends on the material for the shield.

and its no easy thing to remove a projectile which has punched into a shield (or any piece of wood), you would have to take the shield off, put down whatever is in your other hand, turn the shield over, and wrestle the damn thing out.. not an easy task, especially if the guy who put it there in the first place has more... but i guess clearing your shield should be an option..
knives of course could be removed relatively quickly, and arrows just broken off (this you might manage by swinging your weapon around at them..), but javelins which stuck and then bent a bit behind the head (as most were designed to do on impact, so they couldn't be thrown back) would be a serious matter

-As you said I would just swipe the missile off with my weapon.

 

[Raybur Ravenloc]

well, since we are assuming these weapons are piercing guys wearing black plate armor.. i think its safe to assume that any of them can pierce a shield or at least bite into it at least half an inch or so..
not an easy thing to swipe something off with your weapon.. try taking an axe and burying it half an inch into a tree.. now try to get it out... its a *****
same goes for a knife if it goes deep
javelins are the main thing i'm focusing on though i guess.. no way you could knock one out with your weapon.. and with the shield still attached to your arm, no way you are hacking through even the wooden ones..

 

[FurionLumin]

The most you could really do is break off the arrows that are driven into your shield...

That would drop the added weight some, but not much (since a lot of the weight will be in the -metal- arrowhead). The arrowheads should stay, along with a bit of wood. It would be cool if some of the arrows could skim the shield, hit and fall off, or like.. be knocked off.

Pulling an arrow out of a shield, in the middle of combat, with one hand.. it'd be pretty hard. And yeah, although I don't agree with the short stopping, I think that shields should eventually get heavy with arrows. I was fighting a horseman with an axe, and I unleashed around 20 arrows into his shield..

All the added weight should decrease the shield raising, and possibly cause it to not lift at all. On top of the added weight, the area the weight is dispersed is increased (the added weight will be further forward, instead of being just -added- to the shield.)

 

[anaemic]

i dont know if encumberance woudl be all that great an idea, that said ive always wished there was a smaller hitzone on an enemies shield where i could piece through into his arm or hand, but men with shields are the only real obstacle to archery being the superclass so im not that bothered either way :/

on a side note, dont waste 20 arrows firing at a man with a shield, just let him get close enough to swing his sword and loose one into his head before he can land it

 

[Róisín]

i dont know if encumberance woudl be all that great an idea, that said ive always wished there was a smaller hitzone on an enemies shield where i could piece through into his arm or hand

What you want is a Knightly Pole-Axe. It's got a hammer, an axe head, and a pike at the top. You can find a picture here.

The way it was used was simple. Every shield has rivets on it- usually 6 (hand straps are usually two straps in an X- this gives you better control over the shield, even with an open hand). These rivets perfectly outline where the shield-bearer's arm is, so you use the hammer to break through his shield and break his arm. Then you turn it around and bring the axe head down into his neck and shoulder. The pike at the top is used against cavalry.

Considering how difficult it is to precisely land a blow in a computer simulation, I don't think that's a realistic expectation.

 

[Raybur Ravenloc]

on a side note, dont waste 20 arrows firing at a man with a shield, just let him get close enough to swing his sword and loose one into his head before he can land it

this is where a shield bash would come in handy
realistically, a knight wouldn't stand in front of an archer with a drawn bow, move his shield out of the way and try to stab him before being shot, he would slam his shield forward, break the archer's wrist or at least cause him to lose his grip, then run him through...

 

[FurionLumin]

this is where a shield bash would come in handy
realistically, a knight wouldn't stand in front of an archer with a drawn bow, move his shield out of the way and try to stab him before being shot, he would slam his shield forward, break the archer's wrist or at least cause him to lose his grip, then run him through...

Or if it's a small shield, the archer would shoot him in the foot =P

 

[Sanctus Servo]

The Romans used a special type of javelin that was used for the specific purpose of making an enemies shield usesless, but you could only carry 2-3 of those.

I'm not sure, but I think the pilum has since been reassessed as a penetrating weapoin, instead of a bending one. Meant to inflict causalties by going through shield and armor alike. Althought I'm not sure...I could be wrong...

 

[SPARTACVS]

The Romans used a special type of javelin that was used for the specific purpose of making an enemies shield usesless, but you could only carry 2-3 of those.

I'm not sure, but I think the pilum has since been reassessed as a penetrating weapoin, instead of a bending one. Meant to inflict causalties by going through shield and armor alike. Althought I'm not sure...I could be wrong...

Sanctus Servo is right. They were carring a small pilum (can't remember name) that made the enemy shield encombrant. Once the enemies drop their unusable shields, then they fire the pilums. And enemies remaining were fighted with the glaive.