I was just sitting here thinking (something I do every so often) and I happened to ponder about shields. Currently they just act as an extra slot to:

Give stops to certain body parts or entire.
Increase regeneration.
Set some attributes.
Increase some of the statistics.

Inherently a shield could do all those in a fantasy setting but what crossed my mind is something the shield in real life is used for. The shield is used for deflecting attacks from your opponent. That's why I was thinking that shields inherently could have a percentage that it will deflect the attack against you so that you won't get hit at all.

Example:
To me - Vulsin's assault is deflected by your shield!

To him - Your attack was deflected by Guildus' shield!

Or even just a plain message saying a deflection or possibly negating that and have it be a pure miss. That kind of judgement call would be based upon the coder, heh. Granted this is just an idea because I've never noticed such a thing before it does exist as is. I feel it would be nice to actually see those people who choose to wear a weapon and a shield instead of always wanting to go for the two-handers all the time. Not everyone used a two-handed weapon, it was based on skill and personal taste.

The Guildinator

Seems like a logical idea, though if used that way, it would stand to reason it would stand a greater chance of taking damage / being scrapped if hit by a very powerful weapon.

Yes, yes it would. So then one would need to be mindful of their shield so as to not let it scrap as it would be the item that would take the brunt of the force from the attacker. A very solid point indeed.

The Guildinator

I agree wholeheartedly. I'd be overly happy if we ditched AC/Stops on shields and instead we changed it to evasion properties.

Another thing I'd love to see, is parrying. Especially for those dual-wielders. Parrying is what made people think about wielding two swords. You might not have as good as an evasion property dual wielding as you would with a shield, but you could also attack with it without getting so close you could smell your opponent's breath.

*shrug*

I'd love to see something like either (or both!) of these implemented. I think it'd change some people's opinions on what kind of weapons they were looking for.

On a post thought, I believe only certain classes would get these type of skills. Well, more pointedly, maybe we'd have to add another skill to the skill sets already present to make use of such things.

A good point for both. Anyone can pick up a shield or an extra sword but only those who have taken the time to learn how to use it effectively would be able to see any bonus from it. Could also then make the parrying for dual wielding a part of the actual dual wield skill. That and for shields a simple skill called, possibly, "shields" could be instituted.

The Guildinator

With perhaps an improved bash?
Or even another level up to stunning bash, with a chance to stun for any variable of rounds.
Shields are fun, and way underused.

Good stuff. I'm actually kinda happy I had a few weeks off DL to check out other mudds.

Shields on some mudds added stops to you but also added the "You stopped his crush with your shield" message. I rather like that. So what if your shield gets hit. Staff, up the hit points on it, and people who use their shields like this, be mindful of your shield. I'd much rather have my shield stop an attack, than say my cloak, or my bone earrings. Raise your hand if you've fixed some bone earrings for me.
More on shields. Shield bash. It's a bash that does damage much like a kick. Not a huge bonus, but it's one more bit of damage along with sending someone sprawling. Bash is a prerequisite to it, another skill to learn at a higher level. I know many warriors like to dual those massive weapons, maybe this could be a small option for them. If you didn't have a shield, you'd get some silly message where you fall down because you're imagining that you're wearing a shield. Stunning bash is a good idea. I think those that can bash already do enough damage though. Just carry around a monk with you and that'll take care of the stuns. Man, I miss Pheous.

Parry. I didn't see a lot of parry, but I also didn't play classes that had it. When I did see a person parry, it was automatic. Same thing like a shield, they'd parry away the attack and just keep on going. With no damage anything. Hrm, I think paladins and druids would be good with parry. Monks and ninjas need more skills like this, not just lowering their nat melee, but blocking attacks. Especially if the mob they were fighting wasn't using a weapon.
*A ranger tries to strike you but you block it's attack with your arm.* Maybe even give a chance that their arm gear would get a little damaged if they blocked a critical attack. It's the whole "wax on, wax off" idea. If a monk isn't using a weapon, he's got his hands and feet to deflect blows.