These posts go back to the days of the old Blackisle forums...long ago!

Anyway I don't know who wrote them but I think they're great!

Why I love my shield as opposed to dual wield or two handed weapons:

1. I can use my shield to go sledding. Even two broadswords make lousy skis.

2. Makes a great griddle over the fire. Worgdogs have tendencies to fall off
swords. Xan's sword is completely useless being fire resistant and all as
the worgdogs don't cook right on the inside. And you can forget about that
war hammer plus two for cooking. You might as well call it war hammer plus I
'm still really hungry.

3. Polish your shield real glossy and you can do that whole defeat Medusa
reflection thing. Without out it, close your eyes, start swinging, and hope
for the best.

4. I can paint my shield and place a big skull on it or a menacing message
(like "I am the law, and I am real p*ssed" or "If you can read this, your
too close" or "I should of killed your mom when I had the chance" or "
Berserker on Board" or " I've never been in touch with my feminine side" and
my favorite " Your gonna die b*tch!". The most you can do with your weapon
is carve your initials in the handle so no one will take it.

5. I can hide a Dwarf behind my shield so I can say lines like " Say hello
to my little friend." (Yes I know you can hide a dwarf in your cloak, but
there is only one question people ask you when this happens and the only
response is " yes, there is a dwarf in my pocket, and no, I'm not happy to
see you".) With only weapons it's " Hi, I'm so-and-so and this is a dwarf ".
The dwarf, seeing how lame you are, commences to leave.
I will think of more later.

PS I've read some disgusting posts on frying, broiling, and roasting elves.
This sort of thing just sickens me. Everyone knows that elves need to be
boiled and served with butter.

(the second post)

More Reasons why shields rule:

1. Chicks dig it. "Oooooh.....Is that your shield? It's sooooo big.".

2. Halflings with a large shield must stand on their tippy toes to see over
it to view the enemy. Once said enemy is rolling on the ground with laughter
Halfling then proceeds to kill said enemy. "How do you like that tall, dark,
and stupid!"

3. Always use protection. Accidents can happen. (there is a two percent
chance that the shield might fail.)

4. When facing a dual wield opponent, simply raise shield and wait for the
"I'm a ninja!" demonstration to end. Then gut him.

5. A good shield will hide the crappy armor your wearing. "That stealth
armor I bought seemed like a good idea at the time."

6. Get enough people with shields, and you can make a fort!

7. If you place sponges on your shield, you never have to buy arrows again.

8. Did I mention chicks dig the shield? "Wow, did you see the size of his
shield! And you know the bigger the shield........" Well, you get the idea.

SHIELDS RULE!

This *is* funny.
Ahem, it's dang serious, of course.



(I wanted to give Ajantis a two-handed sword.. maybe I should think that over again.)

Heh, this certainly makes clear the fact that shield is your friend.

Some people will think I am insane but I usually give Minsc a shield and a sword... and not a two handed sword. However, when he is my ranged warrior, he has a two handed sword beyond the bow, so he can defend himself if needed.

Well, Minsc using sword and shield isn't so bad. I usually give Minsc Sentinel +4 (in SoA) & Crom Fayer and that just is so uber!

In BG1, there's no question that a shield is by far your better option.

I'm going to make two arguements here, one if you have BGTuTu installed, and one if you don't.

First, if you DON'T have BGTuTu installed, then it's completely a no-brainer - use a shield. The only thing a 2 handed sword gives you in BG1 is the potential to do two more points of damage than a character with long sword or bastard sword. In fact, when you do the math, you'll see that the average damage for a two handed sword is only one more than the average damage of a bastard sword or long sword. And, since dual wielding isn't allowed in the standard game, why would an extra point of damage even be considered over a bonus in armor class? It's not like there's some uber two handed weapon available in the game that is vastly superior to one handed weapon counterparts.

Now, if you have TuTu, the answer is admittedly more complicated, as you are potentially greatly increasing the amount of damage a character can do. Once again though, I have to go with the shield, especially at the lowest levels. If you're a typical fighter, paladin, or ranger, and you wish to dual wield, chance are you are going to place two proficiency points into dual wielding, and the other two into a weapon class of your choice. That means you still have a -4 penalty to hit with the off hand. Since low level characters have pretty lousy THAC0s to begin with, a 4 point penalty is huge. Swinging a second weapon is only an advantage provided you can hit something with it.

I play Baldur's Gate 1 (non TuTu) and I have 3 of my 6 characters wander about without shield. The reason is simple: you cannot use a bow with a shield. And since the bow is by far the most effective weapon at distance, I had to equip it for at least 3 of my heroes. If it was not because of the bow, I would equip them all with shields.

I've rarely used anyone with a 2 handed weapon. Fighter wise. I often give mages a staff etc. But for fighters, I love giving them shields. 2-handed weapons never really did it for me. Minsc usually gets a mace and shield. Just something about having a piece of wood on the arm... *sigh*

As for the reasons... very funny.

Admittedly, bows are powerful in BG1. However, if you want to use a shield, you could always give your character proficiency points in missile weapons, and equip them with either a sling or a dart. Alternatively, you could devote a couple of points to small swords (more useful choice for a fighter, paladin or ranger) and equip them with throwing daggers. All three of these options give your melee tanks the ability to have a missile weapon, and still have a shield equipped.

Not to mention a pretty neat returning throwing axe!