# Shield Walls
In larger battles between armies, Norse warriors favor the shield wall (skjaldborg), with a group of fighters standing side-by-side several ranks deep, with those better armed and armored forming the front rank. The shield wall is initially interlocked to receive the impact of the enemy’s first charge and then loosens to provide more elbow space for weapon swings. For this reason, only medium and large shields can be used to form a shield wall.
It is not just large armies that can benefit from the shield wall formation. Small groups of four or more warriors may form a shield wall formation to better protect themselves against groups of armed foes. Forming a shield wall takes one full combat round if all participants are within 15 meters of each other. During this combat round, as they enter formation, the warriors may parry or Dodge at a –20% penalty but cannot attack.
Fighting in shield wall formation has several significant advantages.
# Knockback Prevention
A warrior in a shield wall formation is not subject to knockback unless the attacker is of at least twice the SIZ of the defender.
# Limit to Number of Attackers
No more than one opponent can make a frontal attack against a hero in a shield wall formation, except for heroes at the corners of the shield wall, who may be attacked by up to two opponents. Warriors in a shield wall lose the ability to Dodge but may parry as many attacks as they receive.
The hero on the far-left side (the shield side) of the shield wall formation suffers a –20% penalty to all attacks they attempt. The hero on the far-right side (the weapon side) corner suffers a –20% penalty to all shield parries they attempt. Heroes in shield wall formation cannot attack or parry opponents to the rear without breaking formation and turning around.
# Defense in Formation
A hero that keeps to shield wall formation has several hit locations protected by the shield of the person on their immediate right: chest, abdomen, and right leg. The hero’s left arm is protected by their own shield. Heroes in a shield wall formation that is under attack have two options during each combat round:
- Stay in formation
- Break formation and parry
Each is described in the following sections.
# Stay in Formation
The player does not roll for their hero’s parry, relying instead on the formation defense. The shield of the person in formation to the right automatically successfully parries any attack that hits the hero’s right leg, abdomen, or chest. An attack that hits the left arm is successfully parried by the hero’s own shield. Damage above the current armor points of the shield is applied against the hit location (armor will reduce that damage). The current hit points of the shield are reduced by 1.
An attack that hits the hero’s left leg, right arm, or head is not parried. Instead, the hero gets 1 extra armor point in that location.
# Break Formation and Parry
Such an action is viewed as dishonorable and cowardly. The parry roll is attempted as normal but with the following caveat: unless the parry achieves a special or critical success, the hero to the left and right suffer a –20% penalty on their attacks and parries this combat round and the following combat round, when the shield wall reforms.
If someone breaks formation due to being wounded, knocked unconscious, or killed, the heroes to the left and right suffer a –20% penalty on their attacks and parries this combat round and the following combat round. This simulates the ranks closing and someone stepping in to fill the gap as the wounded hero is dragged to safety behind the shield wall.
# Attacking in Formation
A hero armed with a weapon more than 1 meter (1.1 yard) long can fight from behind the shield wall against opponents engaged with the shield wall. Their attack is penalized based on weapon length:
# |Weapon Length Modifier
| Length | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1.0–1.9 meters (3–6 feet) | –20% |
| 2.0–2.9 meters (6–9 feet) | –10% |
| 3.0+ meters (10+ feet) |
The shield wall does not protect heroes fighting in this manner from long-reach weapon attacks by their opponents. However, it is common for a second wall (or rank) to be formed behind the first shield wall (rank), enabling heroes in the second wall to be defended by their own shield wall formation.
# Moving the Shield Wall
A shield wall formation can move forward at a movement rate of 1 without penalty. It can move forward with a movement rate of 2 if the shield wall leader succeeds on a Battle skill roll. Failure means that the shield wall formation breaks, and all the benefits of the formation are lost. The leader must then succeed with an Orate roll to rally the fighters back into formation.
A shield wall formation can change its facing in one combat round if the shield wall leader succeeds on a Battle skill roll. Failure means that the shield wall formation breaks, and all the benefits of the formation are lost. The leader must succeed with an Orate roll to rally the fighters back into formation.