Missile vs Shield

[Endoperez]

Will arrow hurt a shielded man? Probably not.

First, the formula for determining whether or not a missile hits (manual, page 77):

Attacker: DRN + (size points in square), if the bow is non-magical
Defender: DRN +2 + 2xParry - (Fatigue / 20)

Let's assume the worst case: 6 size-points in the square, and the target is unconscious at 100 fatigue.

DRN + 6 vs DRN +2 -5 + 2xParry
or, DRN +6 vs DRN -3 + 2xParry

Shield, Parry 4:
DRN +6 vs DRN -3 + 8
or DRN +6 vs DRN +5, which gives advantage of 1 to the attacker. According to the table on pg 5 of the manual, this is 54% chance of exceeding the defender's value, which in this case means 46% chance of not dealing damage to an unconscious soldier.


Great Hide Shield (Machaka Hoplite), Parry 6:
DRN +6 vs DRN -3 + 12
or DRN +6 vs DRN +9, which gives penalty of -3 to the attacker. 24% chance of hitting, or a 76% chance of a miss. Why, those Hoplites have an Air Shield!

Tower Shields have parry 7. Magical shields have parry values from 7 up to 9 or so. Parry 9 gives deflection:

DRN +6 vs DRN -3 + 18
or DRN +6 vs DRN + 15, -9 penalty to the attacker and 5% chance of success. 95% Air Shield. It stacks with the magical one, too!

Now, if the shield-bearer isn't unconscious, and has just 20-39 fatigue, his chances of avoiding a hit go way up. 74% chance of deflection for Parry 4, 92% chance for Parry 6, 1% chance for Parry 9.

Archers are already used very much, so normal Shields shouldn't be made (much) weaker... but surely the magical ones get too much oomph from the doubling!