Quick switch Bow to Sword & Shield

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Coleopterans are, indeed, awesome. Coleopteran Knight would be even more awesome, but pretty expensive.

I was thinking Mutant elves.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Bookman

As Dan Howard points out, it isn't really reasonable to strap on a shield quickly. However, a large center-grip shield used as you describe could be employed using the Buckler skill. I know the shield stuck in the ground as cover as a pavise, but there may be other more-correct terms for that. I think the character would require the Skill Adaptation perk (Buckler uses Shield Skill), but I don't know if that's even the right perk name - IDNHMBWM.

Remember that bucklers are just sheilds that are held and not straped on in G4.

[Carlos]

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

Apparently, there's a fourteenth-century buckler somewhere that was believed to have been worn by archers for pretty much this purpose.

Yes, and I remember something like that in AD&D.

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

Otherwise, you're looking at three-to-five Readys to sling a bow, unsling and ready a shield and draw a sword.

The bow can be released as a free action and the sword can be quickly prepared with Fast-draw. The only problem is the shield.

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

You could allow style Perks to reduce this time?

Hmmmm... I don't know.

Originally Posted by chris1982

Use the shield as cover by ramming a spike at the bottom of the shield into the ground. Then drop the bow as a free action, use a ready action to put on the shield and fast-draw the sword...

After all its cinematic...

It takes too much time and the ground may not be so soft to fix the shield. I don't think it will work. Anyway, the large shield is more difficult to use this switch strategy.

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Clearly your character needs more arms. Buy and extra arm for this and problem solved.

Come on, the character is a Wood Elf, not a shokan from Mortal Kombat.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Coleopterans are, indeed, awesome. Coleopteran Knight would be even more awesome, but pretty expensive.

Yes. They are strong and have four arms (which can allow 4 parries with no penalty!), but socially dead in a humancentric game.

[Brandy]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Remember that bucklers are just sheilds that are held and not straped on in G4.

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I'm referring to.

The character has the Shield skill and wants to quickly ready a shield, so I recommend a "large center-grip shield," which in GURPS 4e uses the Buckler skill. Because the character has the Shield skill and will be using a Buckler (for the faster readying time), I then recommend the skill adaptation Perk.

[davidtmoore]

Corrected in GURPS terminology. By "buckler" I mean a small Shield around 12" across, strapped to the arm to leave the hand free. You should be able to shoot with it attached to the arm; there was apparently a late-medieval design for this.

I guess, in GURPS terms, this would be a specialised small shield using the Shield skill, with a very low DB? 1 or even 0?

There's a reason there aren't many historical fighting styles based around switching from a bow to a sword and shield...

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Bookman

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I'm referring to.

The character has the Shield skill and wants to quickly ready a shield, so I recommend a "large center-grip shield," which in GURPS 4e uses the Buckler skill. Because the character has the Shield skill and will be using a Buckler (for the faster readying time), I then recommend the skill adaptation Perk.

Have we established if the character has Shield:Sheild, or Sheild:Buckler?

If it was a medium sized sheild like object it could be used with either after all.

[SuedodeuS]

Seeing as this is DF, why limit ourselves to real shields?

One idea would be to design a "folding" shield. Basically, it would ordinarily look like an odd forearm protector with an inward-facing protrusion. Grab the protrusion with your other hand and you can basically wheel the whole thing around, unfolding as it goes, until you have a full circular shield. You could even design it such that the bottom part moved along with the top and it met in the center (which would make putting in a handle much easier). You could probably unfold something like that with a single Ready action, although refolding would take 2+ (as you'd need to unlatch it first). You could probably manage a Medium Shield with such a mechanism (Large would be possible, but your hand would basically be at the dead center and thus it would be quite unwieldy). In that case, your scheme would be Drop Bow (Free action) + Unfold Shield (Ready), then next round Fast-Draw Sword (Free action) + Attack or whatever. Enchanted with magic, I could see the shield being able to unfold on command as a Free action.

When folded, the shield would only penalize you based on its mass, if it penalizes you at all. One of the issues with this shield would be durability, as a shield made of interlocking, movable plates is probably going to be less durable than a solid slab of metal (yes, you'll pretty much have to make this shield out of metal). DF generally ignores durability of shields, however, so that's not a problem.

EDIT: For a visual of what the shield might look like, see around 4:57 on this video. Note that's what the magic (automatic) version would probably do.
And, yeah, the Abridged version was the first video I came across that had this scene.

[Carlos]

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

Corrected in GURPS terminology. By "buckler" I mean a small Shield around 12" across, strapped to the arm to leave the hand free. You should be able to shoot with it attached to the arm; there was apparently a late-medieval design for this.

That's not what is written on basic set characters, page 220. But I always tought in a buckler in the way you described: a free-handed shield, strapped into the arm.

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

I guess, in GURPS terms, this would be a specialised small shield using the Shield skill, with a very low DB? 1 or even 0?

Minimum is 1. BS characters, page 287.

Originally Posted by davidtmoore

There's a reason there aren't many historical fighting styles based around switching from a bow to a sword and shield...

Yes. In a real game, I don't think such thing is possible. But our game is a cinematic one. It's a DF game.

[Bruno]

What you want, I think, is the Dual Ready perk from Powerups 2. It allows you to match two specific weapons to be readied with a single action.

Sword - and - Buckler is different from Sword - and - Dagger and needs a different perk.

Or you can take Fast Draw (Sword) and use that to draw the sword as a free action, then use the regular Ready to draw the shield.

Either way, you'll have to just Drop the bow, unless the GM will let you buy Fast-Draw (Bow) and use the Quick Sheathing rules from Martial Arts.

[Bruno]

Actually, further thought. If I were GMing, and this is going somewhat into Making Crap Up territory but hurray I love DF:

1) Take the Special Training: Can use Fast Draw (Bow), only to quick-sheathe, only with "Bow quick sheathing rig". Bows don't normally qualify for Fast Draw, so the perk would be needed.
2) Buy Fast Draw (Bow) with the note that it's only useful for quick-"sheathing", as per the above perk.
3) Buy a $500, 1lb kit for a single bow and a single Delvers Harness, adding a nice toggle or ring on the bow, and a clip or hook on the harness. Price charged based on installing it without ruining the bows balance or handling, and low demand. Ie Special Order Tax. This kit reduces time to sling a bow to one second, and allows a specific bow to be fast "sheathed" or slung with a specific Delvers Harness, with the above skill and perk.
4) Stow sword and buckler on the Delvers Harness, ready for quick drawing.
5) Learn Fast Draw (Sword) or get the Dual Ready perk for your sword and buckler.
6) Get Technique Adaptation or discuss with the GM correcting which Shield specialty was learned, if this is a character that hasn't seen play yet or only seen a session or so (I allow small errors like this to be corrected pretty freely after the first "shakedown cruise" session).


So now, equipped with some specialized gear and skills, the character can stow his bow and draw the bucker and shield, by making at least the Fast Draw roll to quick-sheathe the bow, and possibly a fast-draw roll for the sword depending on if he bought Dual Ready or not.