Shield

Cost: 1 Point

The character has some form of shield with which they may defend themselves; this attribute is usually placed on an Item of Power rather than taken directly as a character attribute. If a character fails a defense roll, but still rolls under their defense roll + 1, they block the attack with their shield. An attack blocked by a shield does 1 less level of damage (usually from 5-15 points of damage, depending on the setting) to the character. No penalties affect the shield's target number to block.

Example: Jon the Vampire has a Defense + Dodge score of 6, but he has a shield. When defending against an arrow, he rolls a 7. This means that the arrow still hits Jon, but it does 1 level less damage due to his shield.

Example: Jon the Vampire is attacked a second time that round, but he only has 1 defense. That means that he must roll a 4 or lower in order to defend himself, but he rolls another 7. He fails to defend himself, but because his shield's target number is not affected by any penalties (in this case, the multiple defense penalty), he still manages to block the attack with his shield.