If you tuned in for my previous post about Shields and their use in the martial world of the past [at least as far as we can reconstruct], you know that I was relating things to gaming throughout. Below, you will find two feats suggested by what I posted earlier. These are for D&D 3.5, but it should not be too hard to rework them for other games. These ones are yours for your faithful reading. Use them as you see fit.

They are also a tease for work that I plan to post in the awesome Book Forge, hosted by Skirmisher Publishing, d-Infinity's sister site. There you will find goodness for 3.5 from myself and other developers, in discreet chunks like single feats, or monsters, or weapon stats, or similar, that you can purchase for reasonable prices.

As cool as that is, the coolest thing about Book Forge is what you can do with what you purchased. You can build it into the book you want, with only the info you want. So you don't have to buy a 20 dollar splat book for 2 prestige classes and a couple of feats, or a whole monster manual for four statblocks you want for the adventure you are running this weekend.

Anyway, I promised a couple of feats, so here they are:

Improved Shield Work [General]

Prereq: Proficient with a shield type. Base Attack Bonus +1.
Designate one type of shield with which you are proficient as your favored shield type. You gain a dodge bonus to AC when using that shield type. The bonus is +1 if you are using a Buckler or Tower shield, or +2 if you are using Light or Heavy shields. If you are flat-footed or otherwise deprived of your dexterity bonus to AC, you lose this bonus as well. This bonus stacks with other dodge bonuses you might possess.

Shield Wall [General]

Prereq: Improved Shield Work, Base attack Bonus +5.
When using your favored shield type, you gain a +2 equipment bonus to AC against missile weapons [including magic weapons, but not magical attacks] originating from in front of you. This bonus stacks with the bonus to AC from Improved Shield Work. If you are flat-footed or otherwise deprived of your dexterity bonus to AC, you lose this bonus as well.