Palladium Fantasy is an excellent setting, but a very important aspect of defense, namely the shield, seems to have not gotten the attention it deserves. This article will present optional rules for using shield in combat and how shields are constructed. These rules expand upon what is briefly mentioned in the Palladium Fantasy main book and are designed for that setting, but they could be used in any other Palladium Books setting, such as Rifts, Heroes Unlimited, or even Robotech.
There are many varieties of shields, but they all fall into one of four general categories: Bucklers, Small Shields, Large Shields, and Tower Shields. Bucklers are small shields that are attacched to the wearer's arm, completely freeing the hand for other tasks, including wielding weapons. Small shields are heavery and are strapped to the forearm, but because of their size, the wearer's hand is free for holding objects, but not for using weapons. Large shields are strapped to the forearm, but because of their weight, the wearer's hand is used to help hold the shield. Tower Shields are the largest shields and cover most of the wearer's body, but they are very awkward.
Shields can be made of many types of materials, but the most common are plain wooden shields and metal shields. Wood is the most common and cheapest shield material and it can further be modified with metal bands or plating. In contrast, metal shields are heavier and expensive, but are far stronger. Due to their expertise in metal working, Dwarves, Kobolds, and Jotan can manufacture superior metal shields.
The following table shows the various types and materials for shields and lists their weight, S.D.C., bonus to parry, penalty to dodge, the amount of damage they inflict if used to strike a target, and the standard cost in gold.
| Shield Type | Shield Material | Weight | S.D.C. | Parry Bonus | Dodge Penalty | Damage | Cost |
| Buckler | Wooden | 4 lbs (1.8 kg) | 10 | +1 | - | - | 5 gold |
| Buckler | Wooden - Metal Bands | 5 lbs (2.3 kg) | 15 | +1 | - | 1 | 10 gold |
| Buckler | Metal | 5 lbs (2.3 kg) | 20 | +1 | - | 1 | 15 gold |
| Small Shield | Wooden | 7 lbs (3.2 kg) | 25 | +2 | -4 | 1D4 | 30 gold |
| Small Shield | Wooden - Metal Bands | 8 lbs (3.6 kg) | 30 | +2 | -4 | 1D4 | 50 gold |
| Small Shield | Metal | 9 lbs (4.1 kg) | 40 | +2 | -6 | 1D6 | 75 gold |
| Large Shield | Wooden | 10 lbs (4.5 kg) | 50 | +3 | -8 | 1D6 | 60 gold |
| Large Shield | Wooden - Metal Bands | 13 lbs (5.9 kg) | 60 | +3 | -8 | 1D6 | 110 gold |
| Large Shield | Metal | 15 lbs (6.8 kg) | 75 | +3 | -10 | 2D4 | 180 gold |
| Tower Shield | Wooden | 30 lbs (13.6 kg) | 80 | +5 | -12 | 2D4 | 150 gold |
| Tower Shield | Wooden - Metal Bands | 38 lbs (17.2 kg) | 100 | +5 | -12 | 2D4 | 250 gold |
| Tower Shield | Metal | 45 lbs (20.4 kg) | 120 | +5 | -14 | 2D6 | 350 gold |
Shields really have only one purpose in combat: to parry incoming attacks. In order to perform this function, most shields are fairly large and made to take hits in combat. A character equipped with a shield can use it when performing a parry instead of using their weapon or their body. The shield's parry bonus is applied only if it is used to parry an attack, at which time the any parry bonus from a weapon is not used. Any bonus to parry from a Hand-to-Hand combat skill, high PP attribute, or sources other than a weapon is also applied to the shield's parry bonus.
Unfortunately, using a shield does craete some problems. The most important problem is that as long as a sheild is being used in combat, the wielder receives a penalty to dodge. The exact penalty depends on the type of shield with larger and more awkward shields having higher penalties. A shield can also be destroyed, but it must be specifically attacked, which requires a called shot, and a shield that is being attacked cannot be used to parry the attack and if the shield's wearer tries, the attack automatically hits the shield and inflicts damage.
In an emergency or with practice, a shield can be used as a weapon, although it is awkward to use and is not usually designed for the task. A character using a shield as a weapon is unable to use the shield to parry until the character's next melee action because the shield is out of position. Warriors that commonly use their shields as weapons often modify them to house spikes or blades, which increase the damage by +2 for light shields, +4 to heavy shields, and +6 for tower shields.