...after watching these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbK7m3w9FXI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnpqod5sRI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-FyB9O-kcs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJjZbVBkwSc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXTULeBYVLk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FEdriMoeIo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FbKYdJpCPM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7dsFIlPj8

Granted, I knew they (like most shields, weapons and armor in the vast majority of fantasy games) were over the top insane unrealistic. But watching these videos just hammered the fact home in a way that's disrupting my Skyrim joy. And yes, yes, I'm well aware that in a world populated by elves and cat people who shoot fireballs, one has to temper his expectations of realism. But to me, if it's in the lore, it's "realistic" for the purposes of the game. Last I checked, the official lore never said anything about the citizens of Tamriel having freakishly strong shield arms able to whip a massive metal Dwemer shield around all day long. Not to mention, the video above showed how tedious it was just to make a simple wooden shield with a rawhide covering. Compare that to a Skyrim glass shield and ask yourself how it---or any of the gear we find---could in any way, shape or form be considered practical to make or use.

As a PC user I'm of course aware of the many mods that come to our rescue. One such mod that adds realistic looking shields is http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12689 which, indeed, I use. But I can't get it out of my mind that these other shields exist in the game and can be found from time to time.

How do you folks "role play" the existence not only of the shields in Skyrim but also the other gear that if placed in the possession of a real soldier would either weigh him down, be lopsided and unwieldy, be off balance or just get him killed?

I actually think the sword and board combat in Skyrim is realistic notwithstanding the fact that it takes little to no stamina to swing your weapon or block an attack.

Yes, I like that type of fighting too. Though many reviewers and players alike have criticized Skyrim's combat, I happen to love it and it's one of the biggest draws for me, including shield bashing. But it's one thing to bash with a shield that's realistic and relatively light. But Dwemer, glass, Daedric, dragon bone, steel, banded iron, etc. just don't seem like they could be effectively wielded.

I know how you feel. I did a bit of historical european swordfighting a few years ago, including some sword and buckler and sword and targe, and it makes me sad that there are a great many myths and misconceptions about historical weapons and fighting styles that continue to be perpetuated through the media and gaming industries. However I see some recent changes such as the inclusion of shield bashing not just in Skyrim but some other games as a sign that things might slowly be changing. There's still a long way to go, but I do have hope for more realistic depictions in the future.

As for how do I role play? Well, some things I'm able to fix through the CK (like the horribly slow speeds of the greatswords and hilariously heavy weights), but others I just have to pretend and play within certain rules I set for myself.

I clicked a couple of the links...all of the videos are titled "Weapons that Made Britain."

Um...okay.

Is there a point, otherwise, to this thread?

This is fantasy RPG. People casting firebolts, frost magic, shock magic, healing themself, conjuring weapons and raising corpses.
There are giants, mammoths, werewolfs, vampires, falmer, necromancers, undead..
On top of all, there are Dragons, mighty creatures who breathe fire and frost in your face, land down and shatter the world.

Don't you think complaining about heavy shields and wielding those effectivly is kinda.. Not the biggest problem, if you want this to be -realistic-?

Yes,


To show how unrealistic Skyrim's shields are.

Honestly, are you that stupid or did you just forget to read my post? See below.

If you didn't understand my point then you're utterly hopeless. You and the other guy I quoted both need to go back to rudimentary reading comprehension.

Seriously, it's a game.

GET OVER IT.

Okay, but unrealistic shield mechanics are the least of Skyrim's problems.

My reading comprehension is fine, Mr. Insult.

Someone is majorly butthurt over fantasy shield mechanics. Hahaha!

It's a fantasy game.

Yes, I am not brightest person nor smart, but I suppose I can read. And yes people are mostly talking about unrealistic shields on this thread. And I've put my opinion about shield being unrealistic in general. If I ment to point out this straight to you, I'd quote you first, and I would put more effort and actually click all of them links and try to get your point completely. And i wouldn't say something what you already pointed out, if it was ment for you.

Indeed.

So we're not allowed to talk about games in any detail whatsoever? We're not allowed to discuss what we like or dislike, what's realistic or unrealistic?

And by the way, what leads you to believe that I need to "get over" anything? I find it much harder getting over the fact that such mindless replies and forum cliches come in the wake of some honest questions about a game we all dump many hours into.

You insulted me first when you asked "what's the point" of a post where I made the point very clear. Were you never taught enough manners to know that "what's the point" isn't exactly considered "nice" decorum?

I find it absolutely amazing that I come here to write a post about how I just watched a video showing real shields from history and how they stand in diametric opposition to most of the shields in Skyrim, I ask for other peoples' opinions and aside from a couple nice replies, I get this steady influx of claptrap by people without a shred of curiosity or interest in anything, and zero tolerance for anyone who dares to criticized their beloved game. The irony being that I've probably played this beloved game series long before they have.

Those shields are sixay.

Your over-anolyzing the game, just relax

Oh, and by the way it's kind of silly how you keep calling everyone stupid when your the one saying that skyrim is flawed because it doesn't have ultra realistic game mechanics which in itself is quite silly seeing as how the game is meant to be completely fictional.

Am I really? Go back and read. I actually said I loved the shield mechanics. It was the shields themselves which I said were unrealistic.

As for being butthurt over them, where's your evidence? As I said, I'm more "butthurt" over what this forum has become. Replies like yours being a large reason.

Your too sensetive, quit whining.

I called two people stupid because (a) one offered the typical "it's a fantasy game" reply even though I took great pains to explain why that doesn't cut it for me, and ( because a guy asked what my point is. How do you like it when you post a question or a comment, make your intentions very clear and then are asked "what's the point?"

Or else you'll...?