A shield may be a simple wooden board, or it may be an ornate and finely decorated thing – layers of wood, leather and resin trimmed and faced with beaten metal and finished with carefully painted symbols and heraldry. Whatever form it takes, shields are carried by warriors of all races.

A model that carries a shield improves its armour value by 1. For example, a model equipped with light armour has an armour value of 6+. Should that model also carry a shield, its armour value would be improved by 1 by lowering the target number from 6+ to 5+.

Note that if a model uses a weapon that has the Requires Two Hands special rule in combat, it cannot also use a shield.