A medium shield is carried in the same manner as a small shield (i.e., on the forearm). Unlike the small shield, however, its weight prevents the character from using his shield hand for anything other than carrying the medium shield. Medium shields are usually made of metal, range from 3'-4' in diameter, and can be of any shape, from round to square to a spread dragon's wings. A typical medieval shield resembles a triangle with one point facing downward.
With a medium shield, a character can defend against any number of frontal or flanking attacks in a given round. In this instance, the character applies the +1 armor class bonus (not including magical bonuses) for the shield to his overall armor class rating, providing he remembers to disregard the shield bonus during the occasional attack from the rear.
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