First thing. Shield spec warriors. After watching the 300 preview for about the 300th time, and reading a couple of books about the Spartans recently, what about a shield spec for warriors? They would be able to use spears with one hand, maybe even two-handed swords with one hand(might be a stretch). Their skills would be centered around spear/shield and sword/shield combos. Couple skill ideas.

Thrust: Similar to swordspec jab, except the "hoplite(instead of swordsman, spearmen, etc)" give a quick shield jab which lags his opponent for a round and then a powerful thrust. A more powerful skill than jab, but it gives two rounds of lag to the thruster.

Angelswing: Make a new name for it, but the same skill.

Shield Mastery: Except better, make them super defensive. Maybe take away one attack while shield speccing to compensate.

OK, I got some more, but I'm at work and someone needs to use this computer, so I'll get the others later.

Second thing. More IMM fights. I remember those as the coolest things ever when I was a super noob.

This has come up a few times, but we're not interested in making a "shield spec" if it's more or less identical to the paladin dedication. The fact that your suggestions actually use the phrases "shield jab", "angelswing", and "shield mastery" suggests you're not really going in a new direction there.

As is, warriors focus on specific weapons, whereas paladins focus on general styles (weapon/shield or two-handed weapon). I suspect we'll continue to respect those lines in the future. We do have another idea on this front around the corner, that's probably about one skill short of being ready for coding, but there's no ETA on that yet.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

I do SCA and fight a fair amount with a shield so here are my ideas from my personal experience of actually trying to fight with a shield.

Hidden strike
Shields are big and a warrior who is well trained with them can hide their own weapon and make it much more difficult for opponents to anticipate their attacks. Basically make you harder to parry and dodge.

arm block
using their shield a person can push it out against the body of an opponent. This effectivly prevents the opponent from using one of their arms at the expense of not being able to block the other with their shield. this would not work on pole weapons but otherwise basically make both of you one handed.

shield pull
when locked in combat with another warrior using a shield a skilled fighter can use the edge of their shield to periodically tug and push on their opponents to cause them to loose balance or make a bad movement. Basically a chance for part round lag or a feint or free hit.

honestly I don't see making shields a spec but could be cool for some edges, instead of making them commands just make them automatic.