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Special Ability Shield

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Shields are an important part of human history, with many different kinds of shields with different properties for different situations, and even in the modern age when firearm-based warfare is the norm, riot shield and ballistic shields still find a lot of use. However, people often still see shields as boring, and sometimes they are simply useless against what threat the heroes go up against. So some writers decided to give shields more zest, and turn them from disposable boards of wood or metal, into much more versatile protectors.

Special Ability Shields are shields possessing intrinsic abilities that affect battles in ways other than simply blocking attacks; they're at home in Fantasy settings, where they are usually enchanted, but they are not unheard of in more Sci-Fi leaning media, where they'll be an Enhanced Archaic Weapon.

They almost universally benefit the wielder, and they either have less Damage Reduction compared to simple shields, or they're special, rarer items. These abilities can either activate after blocking an attack, can be triggered by their wielder themself, or can be passive effects.

These are the most common secondary functions Special Ability Shields can have:

  • Restoration: shields that increase the wielder's survivability beyond mere blocking, they also heal their wounds; or they can replenish some other resource instead, such as Mana or the Sprint Meter; this is the most common variety of Special Ability Shield, especially in videogames.
  • Storage: shields that carry other items inside, most often swords; they might even interact with the shield in other ways as well; the most mundane varieties of Special Ability Shields, using shields as scabbards were actually Truth in Television in ancient and medieval Europe.
  • Shooting: shields that offer the wielder ranged attacks, often used together with a strong close-range weapon; they are however portrayed as less reliable than normal ranged weapons.
  • Reflections: shields that function as attack reflectors; they may look similar to shooting shields, but they need to be struck first before they can attack; being actually shiny and mirror-like is an option.
  • Statuses: shields that inflict Status Effects or Status Buff, positive or negative, on the user or the opponents, even when not actively blocking.
  • Barriers: shields that deploy force fields and extend the protected area well beyond the actual size of the shield, and defend way more people than just the wielder compared to normal ones.
  • Warding: shields that grant resistance or immunity to Status Effects or spells, even when they can bypass normal shields; this variety is not universal, as in some settings these would be standard shield properties.

This list doesn't even include rarer effects that are often setting-dependent. The different varieties are not spread equally in fiction: shields that restore Hit Points are almost omnipresent in video, but carrying other weapons in shields is almost non-existent there because it's easier to program weapons to hang from the back or the hip; vice versa, they're pretty common in non-video game media, but healing shields are not seen because healing can be hard to connivingly portray.

This trope is essentially about superpowered shields; instances of shields being used as weapons are already covered in Shield Bash and Throwing Your Shield Always Works but can apply if the shield is modified for better bashing or throwing. Similarly, if a shield is used for transportation, it's Shield Surf instead, but it can overlap if it's a special shield intended to be used as a sled. And if an item has a shield mode, it goes under Swiss-Army Weapon, Bifurcated Weapon, or Morph Weapon, but can be an example of this trope if it has other skills besides transforming into another weapon. Nevertheless, it is a Sister Trope to the first three tropes. Its more offensive counterpart would be the Spell Blade.

If a seemingly normal shield offers some other advantage beyond Damage Reduction with no justification, Improbable Accessory Effect is also in play.

If the shield's special effect is "breaking after use" it's a Single-Use Shield.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 

    Comic Books 

    Fan Works 
  • Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls:
    • Sunset Shimmer wields a Flaming Sword and shield. Whenever the shield blocks an attack, it increases the power of the sword's flames. On the opposite side, whenever Sunset hurts someone with her sword, it charges the shield and eventually allows her to heal.
    • Pony Fluttershy's Inheritor Relic is a shield that, besides being menacing, grants her abilities like Vampiric Draining and summoning a horde of bats.

    Film 

    Live-Action TV 

    Mythology & Religion 
  • Classical Mythology:
    • Perseus' shield has a shiny, reflective surface like a mirror. While it doesn't have any magical abilities, it was instrumental in killing Medusa once and for all, letting Perseus look at her indirectly and not be affected by her petrifying gaze.
    • Diomedes, a Greek hero in the Trojan War (not to be confused with Diomedes of Thrace, who had the man-eating horses that figured in the Eighth Labor of Heracles/Hercules), used a shield that apparently breathed fire in one account.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Dungeons & Dragons:
    • Magical shields can have different effects, from the Boomerang Shield (can be used for a ranged attack and instantly reappears on the wielder's arm), to the Shield of Shouting (the wielder's voice is ten times louder), to the Shield of Missile Attraction (halves damage from ranged attacks, but causes them to converge on the wielder).
    • An Artificer can craft a Shield of Repulsion, which shoves an enemy back 15' after being a Shield Bash.
    • The Shield of Absorption can negate energy level drains against its wielder.
    • The Shield of Charm causes anyone who strikes it to fall under the control of the wielder.
    • The Shield of Cure Wounds can heal its wielder.
    • The Shield of Energy Drain drains a level of experience from anyone who hits it.
    • The Shield of Ethereality allows the wielder to enter the Ethereal Plane.
    • The Shield of Fly can cast a Fly spell on its wielder.
    • The Shield of Haste allows its user to move and attack at double normal speed.
    • The Shield of Invisibility can make the user invisible.
    • Rheddrian's Mirror-Shield allows the user to cast the spells Teleport, Legend Lore and Monster Summoning.
    • The Shield of Remove Curse can cast a Remove Curse spell on its user.
    • From Advanced Dungeons & Dragons specifically:
      • The shield of the dwarven deity Abbathor and the Copper Shield can blind opponents.
      • The Aegis shield can cause fear in the hearts of opponents.
      • The shield of the Greek deity Athena and the Goblin Shield of Pomarj cause anyone who looks at it to turn to stone.
      • The Shield of Blow Turning makes attackers choose another target.
      • The Shield of Dragon Protection, the Dragonshield, Huma's Shield and the Shield of Lorin can provide immunity to dragon breaths.
      • The shield Dzance's Guardian provides immunity to Magic Missile spells and electrical attacks.
      • The Shield of Electricity and Wind's shield do electrical and fire damage, respectively, to anyone who hits their wielder.
      • The Shield of Gaseous Form can cast a Gaseous Form spell on its user.
      • The Shield of Greyhawk can cast a Dispel Evil spell.
      • The shield Grimjaw can adversely affect any magic item touching it.
      • Anyone using the shield of the deity Hastsezini cannot be attacked from behind.
      • The shield Hawkstone's Bulwark can change into a bridge.
      • A Holy Shield can confer a permanent Protection from Evil effect on its user.
      • A Shield of the Holy gives a priest using it increased ability to Turn Undead.
      • The Shield of Kirith-Kanoi gives Attack Reflector abilities against spells.
      • The shield of the deity Laduguer gives immunity to attacks by normal missiles.
      • Laeral's Spell Shield gives immunity to a number of spells and acts as an Attack Reflector against physical missiles.
      • The Medicine Shield gives the user a Protection from Normal Missiles spell.
      • The Shield of Medusae acts as a Attack Reflector against petrifaction attacks.
      • The Missile Deflector Shield can negate Magic Missile attacks.
      • The Shield of Reflection acts as a Attack Reflector against Light and Continual Light spells as well as petrifaction attacks.
      • The shield Reptar's Wall can make the user invisible and allow them to fly.
      • The shield Shoon's Buckler can glow like a Light spell, levitate and allow its user to move as per the Blink spell.
      • The Sticky Shield causes all weapons that hit it to become stuck to it.
      • The shield Thurbrand's Protector mends any damage it takes and can create breathable air for its user.
      • The Thillonrian Shield of Berserking can cause barbarians to go into a berserk rage.
      • A dragon will only attack the user of the White Shield in self-defense.
      • The shield of the halfling deity Yondalla will act as an Attack Reflector against Bolt spells.

    Toys 
  • BIONICLE:
    • All Bohrok carry two shields which are used to channel their Elemental Powers.
    • The Toa Hagah carry giant shields that can launch Rhotuka spinners.
    • The Skrall carry circular shields with sharp saw-blade edges, which are also effective as throwing weapons.

    Video Games 
  • Azure Striker Gunvolt: Aside from his gun, Copen is armed with a special shield that can emulate the power of fallen Adepts after he has harvested what remained of their body.
  • Borderlands: Certain shields, like "Wee Wee's Super Booster" or the Tediore shields, give Regenerating Health when worn.
  • Dark Souls:
  • Demon's Souls: the Adjudicator's Shield can restore hit points over time.
  • Dungeon Crawl: Shields of reflection can be found, which reflect ranged attacks such as arrows and crossbow bolts back to the attacker. A very rare shield is the Warlock's Mirror, which can also reflect magical effects.
  • Elden Ring:
    • The Jellyfish Shield can increase the player's attack.
    • The Pillory Shield prevents one-hit kills to the player.
    • The Perfumer Shield offers immunity to poison.
    • The Coil Shield is in fact a coiled snake that can bite enemies and poison them.
    • The Icon Shield slowly restores hit points passively.
    • The Visage and One-Eyed Shields are two fire-breathing shields.
    • The Erdtree Greatshield absorbs ranged spells and fires off a bolt in retaliation if its skill is active.
  • The Elder Scrolls: the player can enchant shields themselves, but there are also a lot of pre-generated examples:
  • Fate/Grand Order: Mash's shield is extraordinarily durable and has the ability to project a powerful barrier capable of blocking Noble Phantasms as powerful as Excalibur. It's also a relic representative of a place "where people gather", making it suitable for preparing summoning rituals in tandem with a leyline. Her shield originally belonged to the Heroic Spirit she was merged with, Galahad, whose shield is representative of Camelot's Round Table. His Noble Phantasm, Lord Camelot, recreates the walls of Camelot to defend against nearly any attack so long as Mash's will remains firm.
  • Final Fantasy II: in this game engine, shields work by increasing the wielder's evasion rate. But this has the side-effect of characters becoming faster when equipping shields.
  • Final Fantasy XIV: gunshields are a form of Mix-and-Match Weapon used by high-ranking Garlean officers. In addition to being made of cermet, an alloy harder than any metal Eorzean smiths can forge by hand, shields like the ones used by Rhitatyn sans Arvina can be equipped with gatling guns and missile launchers. The shields can also project barriers that repel and counter-attacks made against them. Before Varis became emperor, he wielded another gunshield like Rhitatyn's in tandem with an enormous gunblade.
  • Fire Emblem Gaiden: The Blessed Shield recovers Life Points at the beginning of each turn, and the Hexlock Shield halves damage sustained from Black Magic attacks.
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses: The Ochain, Seiros, and Aegis shields are "crest" items related to the setting's divine figures. Ochain restores HP each turn and negates critical hits, Seiros restores HP each turn and halves damage taken from monsters, while the Aegis gives a random chance for the bearer to take half damage from any hit.
  • Genshin Impact:
    • Zhongli's Elemental Skill "Dominus Lapidis", when held, has him create a Geo-elemental barrier for himself and the team. Aside from its main effect, it can also reduce the elemental and physical resistances of nearby enemies as long as it's active.
    • Baizhu's Elemental Burst "Holistic Revivification" has him create a special Dendro-elemental barrier for himself and the team. The unique effect of this barrier is that it breaks and reforms itself every 3 seconds, and each time it breaks (including from being attacked), it'll heal the active character and shoot a homing Dendro projectile onto the closest enemy.
  • Get Amped: Several accessories/gears take the form of a shield, or has a shield component; many of them grant special abilities beyond simple protection, such as Athena's Shieldnote  and the Shield of Vengeancenote .
  • Hearthstone: The Unidentified Shield, aside from giving the player +5 Armor, can also turn into one of four different shields when drawn. One of these is the Runed Shield, which can further summon a Golem.
  • Iji: the Resonance Reflector can send back attacks with the correct timing.
  • Kingdom of Loathing: many, many examples, which are also being Played for Laughs, even if this game is somewhat generous for what counts as a "shield":
    • Some shields increase the player's stats, like the Arm Buzzer, the Astral Shield, the Barskin Buckler, the Barrel Lid, and the Battered Hubcap.
    • Some shields lower the chance for the player to catch negative Status Effects, like the Ancient Stone Head, the Ox-Head Shield, or the Meteorite Guard.
    • Some shields increase the player's elemental, weapon, or critical damage, like the Autumn Debris Shield, the Clownskin Buckler, the Brass Dorsal Fin, the Glass Pie Plate, the Heavy-Duty Clipboard and the Ghast Iron Heater Shield.
    • Some shields damage the enemy after blocking an attack, like the Baloon Shield, Oscus's Garbage Can Lid, and the Hot Plate.
    • Some shields increase the drop rates of enemies, like the Basaltamander Buckler, the Flimsy Clipboard, the Meat Shield, the Peanut Brittle Shield, the Pilgrim Shield, and the Fake Washboard.
    • Some shields restore the player's hit points or Mana after each turn, like the Ceramic Centurion Shield, the Fleshy Lump, the Padded Tortoise, and the Giant Penguin Keychain.
    • Some shields increase the player's speed in battle, like the Hors d'Oeuvre Tray, the Party Crasher, and the Tortobbagan Shield.
    • Some shields increase the efficiency of Familiars, like the Old School Flying Disc, the Ouija Board, and the Shield of the Skeleton Lord.
    • Dinsey's Radar Dish damages the opponent each turn, and it grows more powerful after each hit.
    • The Operation Patriot Shield increases the Stat Grinding rate and has different effects depending on the player's class.
    • The HOA Regulation Book lowers the enemies' defenses and level.
    • The Ancient Calendar gives the player 1 Extra Turn per day.
    • The Antique Shield is one of the few Special Ability Shields to have a negative effect: it's very sturdy but lowers one of your stats when equipped. Oh, and it's also one of the few Breakable Weapons. The BRICKO Bulwark and Mushroom Shield also decrease some of your stats.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Quite a few games, beginning with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, have the Mirror Shield as a late or post-game acquisition. Not only does it have the increased defensive capabilities which would be expected of the equipment (at worst, its defence against melee attacks / in close combat being the same as the next best shield), it also is capable of reflecting or absorbing magic projectiles. In the 3D games, the Mirror Shield is also used to reflect light, which is used for many puzzles and against certain enemies.
  • Mega Man Battle Network: Reflect (a program) and Guard (a chip) are two types of Attack Reflector.
  • Monster Hunter 4: The Charge Blade comes with a shield capable of storing energy. The player is supposed to fill the weapon's gauge by slashing at enemies in Sword Mode, then enter Axe Mode to channel the stored energy and deliver explosive attacks.
  • Pokémon: Almost all Pokémon can learn the move Protect, which shields the Pokémon from opponents' moves for one turn. However, a select few Pokémon can learn protection moves with the additional effect of harming opponents who make contact with the shield, such as by inflicting a small amount of damage on them, lowering one of their stats, or inflicting status ailments like poison or burns.
  • Prayer of the Faithless: The Rune Shield gives its wearers the magical skill "Resonant Shield", which "Casts a veil that reflects all magical attacks for 2 turns" on 1 Ally.
  • Ragnarok Online: There are shields in the form of actual equipment that have damage reflection effect or preventing knockback, or further boost stats (including offensive stats), and there are shields in the form of skills that cast "ethereal shield" with various protection effects depending on the skill.
  • Ruphand: An Apothecary's Adventure: Some shields grant effects to Brill upon blocking, like one of the shields that can be made out of a Simple Shield, the Life Shield gives Brill +2 Hit Points/Turn.
  • Sonic 3 & Knuckles: As well as protecting Sonic from hazards, the three elemental shields each let Sonic perform a special action when in mid-jump: the Fire Shield lets him do a mid-air dash, the Water Shield lets him rapidly descend and then bounce higher, and the Electric Shield lets him double-jump and also attracts nearby Rings.
  • Spiral Knights: all shields in the game can deploy a bubble, which can have differing effects:
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Pit's Down Special is the Mirror Shield, which reflects projectiles.
  • Titan Quest: shields of at least Magical rarity can increase the player's stats and skills.
  • A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky: The Paladin's Shields boost the Spirit stat, responsible for magic damage.
  • Warcraft 3: The campaign-only Shield of the Deathlord increases armor, health, and Mana, and also gives the wielder a Permanent Immolation aura that damages enemies.
  • Warriors Orochi: In the fourth installment, Athena’s weapon is the Aegis shield from Classical Mythology. While her standard attacks are a simple Shield Bash, her charge and magic attacks entail firing yellow petrifying beams, and red beams that forcefully thaw the petrified opponents, causing massive damage.

    Web Animation 
  • RWBY:
    • Leonardo Lionhart's shield can shoot out flaming rocks.
    • Jaune Arc's shield: at first it's used to store his sword, then it gets upgraded to also combine with the sword and turn it into a BFS, and finally it gets further upgraded into deploying Deflector Shields and offering control over gravity, qualities which also turn it into a usable glider as well.

    Web Comics 

    Western Animation 
  • Dragons: Riders of Berk: Not only is Hiccup's Gronckle Iron Shield nigh-indestructible, it has also a grappling line, a bola launcher and a catapult build into it. Furthermore, it can transform into a crossbow.
  • In the animated adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, Eric's magic shield can project a force field that can cover all of his friends if they huddle close. He's used it numerous times to save them from rockslides and enemy attacks, often to the surprise of his compatriots, as he's the Cowardly Lion of the group.
  • Justice League: During the "Starcrossed" arc, the Thanagarians are shown to possess shields that absorb green light and shoot it back as a beam of yellow energy. They developed such weapons specifically to exploit Green Lantern's vulnerability to yellow objects.
  • Triple Z: Zero and Zanzibar's shield has the power to travel through time.

    Real Life 
  • There are recorded cases of using shields to store swords, and it's even an old trope: various Nuragic figurines from Bronze Age Sardinia show round shields with 3 short swords sheathed inside, making this Older Than Dirt. Even better, some of the figurines are Multi-Armed and Dangerous and dual-wield shields, for a total of 6 spare swords. This kind of shield use was also known to the Vikings, the ancient Greeks and Romans, and medieval knights.
  • The lantern shield from the 15th to the 16th century of Italy, is a buckler with a small lantern inside. It was mostly meant for City Guards patrolling the streets at night, although there are some recorded codes of European martial arts using the lantern shield as a weapon. And some lantern shields had also spikes and gauntlets combined with the shield itself as well, on top of the lantern, probably meant more for its use as a weapon.
  • The buckler's unique advantage is its versatility: while it was useless outside of close-range combat, its reduced size and mobility allowed it to block weapons like a normal shield, act as an iron boxing glove, cover the wielder's movement and even grapple the opponent and impede their movements. When most shields became obsolete after gunpowder became widespread in large-scale conflict, the buckler still continued to be used in duels after that.
  • Believe it or not, gunshields have at one point existed in history. Some of Henry VIII's bodyguards carried round shields outfitted with matchlock firing mechanisms inside. While a novelty, gunshields never became practical weapons, for the obvious reason of the having problems with aiming a gun that's part of a large heavy shield.

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