Thorwaler Shield

“One hundred shields and one hundred orc-noses for one hundred warriors from Prem. The battle line facing the wild barbarians from Gjalskland waited until the Gjalsks had hurled their spears. When they charged into close combat, we broke their jaws with blows from our shields and used our orc-noses to finish off all who remained standing.”
— Erlgard Swerfildsdottir, warrior from the Fortress of Prem, 1037 FB

Thorwalers craft excellent wooden shields reinforced with metal. Besides their common use in duels, Thorwaler shields are perfectly suited for shoving enemies aside when charging and attacking with primary weapons. Thorwalers are not known for their cavalry skills, so this shield is not intended for use from horseback.<.p>

To intimidate their enemies, Thorwalers often beat their weapons against their shields. This tactic improves with greater numbers of warriors.

“It’s true. Our shields are useless on horseback. But we rarely fight like that anyway. Whether dueling another Thorwaler or facing a hail of arrows from an enemy ship, this is the shield I want.”

— Tjalva Garheltsdottir, Hetja of Prem

Technique	Damage	P+T	AT/PA	Reach	Weight	Length	Cost	Complexity
Shields	d6+1	STR 16	–5/+2	short	4.5 stn 9 lbs	–	70 S	simple

Note: medium shield, 25 structure points

Weapon Advantage: When combined with a main weapon for the maneuver Charge, the main weapon receives a bonus of +1 DP.

Weapon Disadvantage: When used while mounted, this shield grants only the simple shield bonus.