# Shield
A shield is a form of armor that appears in NetHack. It is carried in the off-hand.
Wearing any shield increases spellcasting failure rates, although the penalty is lower for a small shield.[1] When using a shield, you are unable to wield two-handed weapons or use the #twoweapon skill.

Contents

1 Generation and usage
2 List of shields
3 Strategy
4 References

Generation and usage
Valkyries start with a +3 small shield, and Priests and Knights start with a +0 small shield.
Many humanoid monsters are generated with shields, and will pick up and use them; of specific note are Archons, Angels and Aleaxes. All Archons are generated with a shield of reflection, whereas Angels and Aleaxes have a 25% chance of having one.[2]

List of shields

Shield

UnidentifiedDescription

Cost

Weight

AC

Material

Special properties

Uruk-hai shield
white-handed shield
7
50
1
iron

Orcish shield
red-eyed shield
7
50
1
iron

Large shield
large shield
10
100
2
iron

Dwarvish roundshield
large round shield
10
100
2
iron

Elven shield
blue and green shield
7
40
2
wood
can be enchanted to +7

Small shield
small shield
3
30
1
wood
low spellcasting penalty

Shield of reflection
polished silver shield
50
50
2
silver
provides reflection

Strategy
Shields get in the way of two-weaponing and spellcasting, making them a poor choice for some late game characters. However, in the early and middle game a few extra points of armor class can be very beneficial. Even in the late game, there are some characters that only need to spellcast in situations where they can take off their shield. There are some roles that cannot two-weapon such as Cavemen and Rangers. Additionally, some conducts may make it difficult to find good armor. In these cases, there are three shields that are worth the weight.
The shield of reflection is often a candidate for ascension kits, and is paired with a source of magic resistance. Reflection is a crucial property, but other sources of reflection would be preferable for most characters. The shield of reflection is also a good choice for pets that can equip a shield.
The small shield is a good choice for spellcasters and characters with low carrying capacity.
The elven shield can be enchanted to +7 and is still lighter than most other shields, though it still penalizes spellcasting as a large shield.
The various other shields in the game are usually inferior choices because they are heavy and do not provide any special properties.

References

↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 1802: extra shield penalty doesn't apply for small shields

↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 340