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Unless you apply the +2 Defence bonus after you split your Defence.
Ah. Now
that makes it interesting...
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You could, even though I probably wouldn't go this far in my own game, apply the bonus to any target against which your character assigned zero Defence...
If applying this to Expert Parry, I wouldn't go that far. If the character is not actively defending (zero DEFENCE), then he doesn't get to use is expert skill either. Although I would still allow the 1 in 6 with zero DEFENCE simply because the shield is
there.
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The other thing is the shield roll is made against all attacks against a character, even those against which he is offering no active defence.
Which is very useful. I don't allow shield rolls for attacks made to the character's rear - the character has to be
able to allocate a defence - even if he chooses not to.
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The shield mechanic is unique to DW, as far as I know, but it's also clumsy - an extra die to roll every time the character is hit.
Personally, I've never found it an inconvenience and my players seem to like it. Some have taken to rolling for their shield at the same time as I'm rolling to see if they're hit (which speeds things up)...
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And with the best will in the world to make combats more narrative, they eventually just end up in a dice-rolling grind as most players run out of creative ways to narrate how they skewer their opponent with their blade (or fail to).
I suspect that, unless you eliminate dice rolling altogether, this will always be the case.
(I've tried "Amber" diceless role-playing for a year; I didn't like it much.)