Passive cover bonus from shield and cloak?

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Hide

So, how do/would you work with this, without falling in “house rules”?

Since there's nothing in the rules for handling normal shields as cover, any solution will necessarily be house rules.

My own take is here. The brief version: Use the DB stat in the normal manner (as an Active Defense bonus), or as a cover-like penalty to hit the defender, whichever makes sense for the situation. (Don't apply both benefits vs the same attack.)