Three Magic
Shields of the
Flanaess
Written by Lord Josilar
While it is true that magic weapons, and
especially swords, ignite the imagination of
many, it can truly be said that the shield
can be just as important to a warrior as his
weapon.
Herein are presented four such humble
defensive devices, which can be inserted
into your own campaign as-is, or used as
inspiration for your own unique magic
shields.
Iron Jack
This humble-seeming large metal shield
has been mentioned in records for at least
the last hundred years. It functions as a
shield +2, but gives +4 protection against
attacks from mounted opponents. In
addition, if the bearer is struck by a lance
or spear from a mounted opponent, there
is a 50% chance that opponent will be
unhorsed (cavaliers subtract their level
from their die roll).
The shield itself resists paint of any sort,
and any such decoration will peel off within
1d3 days. Some owners have taken to
using a leather cover to bear their coat of
arms, but these too seem to have a very
short life-span, having a 1/3 chance of
being cut to tatters for every melee in
which the shield is used. The shield is of
plain steel, with many nicks and scratches
on its surface.
Forged in a smithy in Radigast City, Iron
Jack is a footman’s shield, and a rough-
and-tumble one at that. It is thought to be
the work of an apprentice in the shop of the
half-elven master smith Tularean
Strongarm, who is noted for his disdain of
mounted knights and cavaliers after
suffering several indignities at the hands of
such when presenting his works to the
court of the Count of Urnst. Iron Jack is his
revenge against those who would bully
common footmen from the safety of their
saddles.
First mentioned in an account of a
regiment of foot soldiers from the town of
FIRESEEK 581
Hardwyn on the border of Reyhu in the
Bandit Kingdoms, Iron Jack was in the
possession of the captain of the regiment,
one Lorel Fostwaith, youngest son of a
proud noble family. Captain Lorel was
famous for fighting on the line alongside
his troops, and the unit proved its worth
time and again against bandit raiders
trying their luck across the Artonsamay.
When at last the company was disbanded
and Lorel presented with a small estate of
his own as reward for more than a decade
of service in CY 488, Captain Lorel gifted
the shield to his High Serjeant, Parek
Gold-tooth.
Gold-tooth joined a mercenary company,
the Golden Eagles, who were in the long-
term service of Nyrond. The Golden
Eagles saw much service on Nyrond’s
northeastern border, fighting humanoids in
the southern Rakers and Flinty Hills, acting
as the anvil upon which the hammer of
dwarven and gnomish troops would batter
the humanoids that infested the region.
Gold-tooth kept Iron Jack in good use for
more than 20 years, until he was slain by a
bugbear ambush along the upper reaches
of the Harp River. The shield is thought to
have been kept by the bugbears, and
thence traded to other humanoid tribes, for
the next time it is mentioned in any
chronicle is when it was captured as loot
from a band of ogres on the shores of Lake
Abanfyl by a band of adventurers in 555.
Not recognizing it for what it was, the
adventurers sold to a merchant in
Wintershiven, who after several years sold
it to another adventurer.
As of CY 581, Iron Jack is in the
possession of Ariana Westfield (F8), a
member of a band of adventurers based in
Redspan.
Mossback
This small shield is famous in the annals of
the Old Faith, for it has served the Great
Druids of the Celadon Forest for many
generations.
Mossback is a small shield made from a
large turtle shell. It is usable by druids as if
it were a small wooden shield. Mossback
serves as a shield +2. However, when a
command word is spoken when the shield
is slung on the wearer’s back, the whole
shield will grow into a large turtle shell
which covers the entire back of the wearer.
When in shell-mode, not only do enemies
not get the regular +2/+4 bonus for a flank
or rear attack, but the full defensive bonus
for the shield will still apply, including for
missile weapon attacks. Finally, when in
shell-mode, the wearer can hold his or her
breath for up to 2 hours with no ill effects.
The origins of mossback are not known.
The Great Druid of the Celadon Forest
simply appeared with it in CY 399, refusing
to say where he had gotten it from. It has
been in the possession of the reigning
Great Druid since then, being passed
down from one holder of the office to the
next. It has occasionally been loaned to
agents of the druids, but always with the
admonition that it be returned as soon as
possible.
Bolt
Bolt is a spiked buckler known throughout
the Wild Coast and the surrounding
environs for at least 50 years. It functions
as a spiked buckler +2, but when the
command word is spoken the spike will
shoot out up to 3” and then return to its
place on the shield. In any given round,
bolt can make a melee attack like a regular
spiked buckler, or it can be used to make
the missile attack. Its shielding properties
still apply in either case, again like a
normal spiked buckler. The spike does the
same damage as a missile weapon that it
would do as a normal spiked buckler.
First discovered in an orcish tomb complex
in the Lortmils in CY 525, Bolt was first
claimed by the leader of a band of halfling
thieves and fighters from the hills around
Tristane, who were systematically looting
humanoid ruins in the wake of the Hateful
Wars, in which the power of the humanoid
tribes was broken by the elves, dwarves,
halflings, and gnomes, and they were
driven southeast towards the Pomarj.
The halflings held on to the unique buckler
for several years, finding great sport in
surprising enemies with an attack from
across a room. Eventually the halflings
disbanded, and the buckler made its way
to Narwell around CY 530.

The Wild Coast is notorious for its lawless

ways, and such a prize as Bolt is difficult to
conceal. It went through six owners (and
six different towns) in but a dozen years,
finally ending up in Highport in the hands
of the assassin Shadowtress. She was
known for coating the spike in poison, thus
increasing the danger of the surprise
missile. She carried the buckler when she
went out in search of the legendary tomb
of Krovis, somewhere in the Drachensgrab
Hills in the year CY 541. Unfortunately she
disappeared during the expedition and
was never heard from again.

The buckler turned up in CY 570 in the

hands of the half-orc pirate captain Utho
the Ugly, whose small fleet of ships led by
the galley Fury were the scourge of the
Sea of Gearnat for several years. When at
last a squadron of Onnwalish warships
cornered the Fury and captured Captain
Ultho, the buckler was not found. Ultho
hinted at revealing the location of the
shield in return for his life, but his offer was
scorned and he ended up dancing a jig at
the end of a rope in CY 574. The buckler
remains lost seven years later.

DRAGONNE 65
 Dragonne magazine is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not
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Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. The rest is Copyright © Joseph Bloch, all rights reserved.

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