OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a shield based on the Roman Scutum, complimenting past designs that resembled the shields of Greek hoplites. While a strong defence, its advantages are balanced by weight, lack of agility and very limited availability.
- Image Source: Here. Photograph of a modern reconstruction of a Scutum, found in a Wikipedia article.
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A. Firemane is a tier 6 company with a phrik specialisation.
- Primary Source: Taegis Battle Shield, Seraph Battle Shield, Aliit'ordo Litnr.
- Manufacturer: Firemane Industries & Technology
- Model: Alesia Combat Shield
- Affiliation: Order of Fire, Firemane, Metal Lords.
- Modularity: No
- Production: Semi-Unique. PC use only.
- Material: Phrik.
- Classification: Multipurpose
- Weight: 10 kg. This corresponds to the weight of the heaviest shield ever used in Earth history.
- Quality: 8
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Very resistant to lightsabres and blasters
- Can cover almost the entire body and be used offensively.
- Group of soldiers can utilise the shield in a tortoise-like manner to protect themselves from projectiles.
- Phrik offers good protection against lightsabres, conventional melee weapons, blaster bolts and ballistic projectiles.
- The Alesia is light enough to be held in one hand and its large height and weight can offer comprehensive coverage for the wielder. The metal boss also makes it an auxiliary punching weapon.
- Heavy weight and lack of agility. Despite being phrik, the shield is still heavy. Its weight and bulk are its greatest weakness.
- Heavy weapons can still crack or damage the shield. An attack might not damage the shield, but kinetic impact can tear it from the wielder's hand or even slam into them. This makes the shield more vulnerable to high calibre projectile weapons than blasters.
- Shield provides no protection against Force attacks that ignore conventional armour, e.g. Force Drain.
DESCRIPTION
The Alesia Combat Shield represents the evolution of the Eldorai's traditional Taegis shield and the Firemane-designed Seraph Shield. Both have been employed by Eldorai and Firemane forces across various battlefields. The Alesia is a large rectangle curved shield made out of phrik, a very tough metal alloy that Firemane favours when it comes to equipping its elite forces. It is very durable, thick and large enough to provide comprehensive protection for its wielder. This makes it a potent barrier against ranged and melee attacks. Phrik is a far tougher materiel then Cortosis, which was used for the Seraph shield, though as a tradeoff the production of the Alesia shield is far more limited.
In addition to its strengths as a barrier, the Alesia can be used as an offensive device to a limited degree: The metal boss, in the centre of the shield makes it useful for punching opponents. However, the shield is too heavy to be thrown around through sheer muscle. This means that unfortunately anyone carrying the Alesia will be unable to imitate Captain Corellia and toss it around to hit bad guys. The approximately 10kg heavy shield is carried by holding its horizontal grip with the left hand. Unlike the Taegis, the Alesia is not able to project an energy field. Projectiles that hit the shield are blocked or bounce off, but it is not possible to actually reflect them back at the enemy. In addition, the shield can be used to obscure a soldier while crouching.
While holding the Alesia in one hand, the wielder is free to thrust a blade or pike towards an opponent or to utilise a sidearm at short or medium-range. Obviously the wielder is limited in their choice of weapon, since carrying both the shield and a heavy weapon or a rifle such as a boltgun or a repeating blaster would be highly impractical. However, it does not impede the use of wrist-worn weapons.
Ideally, several soldiers carrying Alesia shields would use them in formation, creating an overlapping defence. However, this is less easy than with the Taegis and Seraph shields because the extreme costs involved in creating a single Alesia shield dramatically limit production. Firemane intends to create a variant that uses a more common alloy to ensure broader availability, but the Alesia itself will only be given to select elite soldiers amongst the Order of Fire, the Angelii or trusted allies.
The Alesia's greatest weakness are its bulkiness and weight. While the shield can cover virtually the entire wielder, this comes at a price. It is extremely hard to penetrate, but a soldier equipped with the shield will be in trouble if an enemy manages to get to the side or behind them, as the shield reduces the wielder's agility.
Furthermore, while heavy weapons fire or explosions might not destroy the shield, kinetic impact can still ruin the day of the person carrying it. For instance, it can cause the shield to slam into the wielder or make it fall out of their grasp. In that regard, the shockwave caused by say a grenade or missile explosion or telekinesis remains an issue. A close explosion might not break the shield, but it can damage up the body that is hiding behind it. Likewise, the shield cannot protect the wielder from esoteric Force attacks that cannot be blocked by conventional armour, such as Force Drain, Force Light or mental attacks.
