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Anyone have any idea why Psi Shields can't parry projectile/ energy blast? It just seems to me, if you were holding it in front of you, it should protect you from that direction, close combat or ranged attack.

Even some limits like the one magic shield I could deal with, but no chance to parry ranged attacks with a psi shield doesn't seem right to me. I'm I alone on this?

It depends on where you look for the description of Psi-Shield. Both HU2E and PF2E versions of the power allow it to parry those attacks at -3, but Rifts (UE/MB) doesn't.

As for why it might not in certain settings (like Rifts) several ideas:
-the shield may look solid, but is porous enough to allow ranged attacks through due to their small size but not larger melee attacks
-the "energy shield" is an illusion, the real work is done via TK, sub-consciously, which can't parry these same attacks
-the speed of the attack is such that you can't move fast enough to parry (also keep in mind the size of the projectiles to can make it harder to see them)

Because Palladium consistently devalues shields as cover objects?

(Fun fact: It is easier for a PF monk to parry an arrow with a stick than it is for anyone to block an arrow with 4 square feet of wood).

Palladium doesn't really understand the difference between a parry and a block.

I blame Hollywood. Every Chuck Norris movie where Chuck teaches some kid to "parry" is really teaching a block. A whole generation of American action movie watchers need to be re-educated because of this.

I say house rule it

Thank you all for the input, after consideration, I'll definitely be running that Psi Shields can block ranged attacks in my game. Shields should be viable, like in Hackmaster. Taking cover behind a shield should be a thing, if it covers most of your body from a direction, I think you should get cover/protection from that direction.

I'll have to read up on the Savage World rules, maybe give them a try.

Jerell wrote:Anyone have any idea why Psi Shields can't parry projectile/ energy blast? It just seems to me, if you were holding it in front of you, it should protect you from that direction, close combat or ranged attack.

Even some limits like the one magic shield I could deal with, but no chance to parry ranged attacks with a psi shield doesn't seem right to me. I'm I alone on this?

Because 'parry' means something slightly different. In PB's context, Attacker Bob swings his axe at Defender Joe who moves his sword into the axe's path to block it. The parry is an active motion in response to the swinging axe.

With an incoming energy blast, Defender Joe is not watching the blast move towards him and trying to place his shield in front of it... it happens too fast for that. Rather, he covers himself with the shield prior to Attacker Bob firing the attack. Defender Joe's mainbody is now the shield, not his torso. Which means that Attacker Bob will have to make a Called Shot to hit somewhere other than the shield (a leg, head, etc.). So it's not a parry at all.

I see what you mean. That makes sense.

However, I also find it interesting that the same book says Magic Shield can parry energy blast, with a negative modifier.

I may also look at Robotech Southern Cross, I seem to remember (though it's been a long time since I looked at it) that they could 'parry' energy blast with the shields on their armor. Just to see how they handle it in that book.

Holding a decently-sized shield in front of your torso isn't a parry: it's cover.

Killer Cyborg wrote:Holding a decently-sized shield in front of your torso isn't a parry: it's cover.

Nothing says you can't get both...
Well other than your GM deciding if they want to use the cover rules for shields or not.
I mean its not like there is any rule anywhere that say "Thou shalt not usest a shield as cover for thy shalt parry and parry alone with thine shield"

Killer Cyborg wrote:Holding a decently-sized shield in front of your torso isn't a parry: it's cover.

But is the object already in position to take the shot or does it have to be moved into position. I would argue that if it is already in position it qualifies as cover (or if you move to it), but if you have to move the object to intercept it counts as a parry.

ShadowLogan wrote:

Killer Cyborg wrote:Holding a decently-sized shield in front of your torso isn't a parry: it's cover.

But is the object already in position to take the shot or does it have to be moved into position. I would argue that if it is already in position it qualifies as cover (or if you move to it), but if you have to move the object to intercept it counts as a parry.

Agreed.
If on your attack you put the shield into position to be used as cover, that's not a parry.
If you're trying to react to somebody else's attack AT you, then that's a parry.

It looks like the RUE text for Psi-Sheild was just C&P'ed from the RGMG which was C&P'ed from the RMB.

What I think they mean is that, in rifts, the psionic can't activate the to parry an energy blast or projectiles (or with a -3 in HU2 & PF2), the way that can be done with the TK-FF. Once activated it would follow the standard rules for using a shield to parry stuff.

Jerell wrote:I see what you mean. That makes sense.

However, I also find it interesting that the same book says Magic Shield can parry energy blast, with a negative modifier.

Umm... It's magic! (That was a really cheesy answer... like leftover Velveeta cheesy.)

Also, RUE p346 has the following tidbit: "Bullets and energy attacks cannot (as a rule) be parried!" So Psi-Shield follows the normal practice while Magic Shield is an exception. (Less cheesy answer, more like chili-con-queso.)

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:It looks like the RUE text for Psi-Sheild was just C&P'ed from the RGMG which was C&P'ed from the RMB.

What I think they mean is that, in rifts, the psionic can't activate the to parry an energy blast or projectiles (or with a -3 in HU2 & PF2), the way that can be done with the TK-FF. Once activated it would follow the standard rules for using a shield to parry stuff.

Hm.
"Activate to parry" is an interesting angle.
I won't say that's what they meant, but I will say that it makes sense.

Mack wrote:

Jerell wrote:I see what you mean. That makes sense.

However, I also find it interesting that the same book says Magic Shield can parry energy blast, with a negative modifier.

Umm... It's magic! (That was a really cheesy answer... like leftover Velveeta cheesy.)

Also, RUE p346 has the following tidbit: "Bullets and energy attacks cannot (as a rule) be parried!" So Psi-Shield follows the normal practice while Magic Shield is an exception. (Less cheesy answer, more like chili-con-queso.)

Sounds like an example of the special abilities of spells at play.
Invisibility Superior can magically tell if an action is hostile
Chromatic Defense can tell if your being attacked, and 'knows' what your primary sense is
Plenty of spells have differential effects on different things, or grant unusual abilities.
Magic Shield simply grants the ability to parry bullets as one of its features. It even goes so far as to say that it grants this ability in its description.

In general I just use the version from HU2/PF2 of Psi-Shield for all palladium systems. It makes more sense that Psi-Shield could block energy blasts/projectiles at a penalty rather than not at all.

Psi-Warriors are fun because they get a bunch of special bonuses tiered per level to their psi shield...

But when they parry energy with it, only PP counts, not experience. Why even go beyond 2?

Jerell wrote:Anyone have any idea why Psi Shields can't parry projectile/ energy blast?

An individual projectile or blast can be parried, see page 19 of Conversion Book Revised.

What can't be parried are multiple bullets/blasts, such as a burst or a twin shot.

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:It looks like the RUE text for Psi-Sheild was just C&P'ed from the RGMG which was C&P'ed from the RMB.

What I think they mean is that, in rifts, the psionic can't activate the to parry an energy blast or projectiles (or with a -3 in HU2 & PF2), the way that can be done with the TK-FF. Once activated it would follow the standard rules for using a shield to parry stuff.

This is an interesting take on it, and I like it. After all, the power creates a shield out of thin air... but it doesn't necessarily say that in doing so the shield is immediately in hand / on forearm / readied to make a parry.

Although it is possible to spend an action on a parry as a defensive maneuver, an action to create a shield isn't the same thing.

Mack wrote:RUE p346 has the following tidbit: "Bullets and energy attacks cannot (as a rule) be parried!" So Psi-Shield follows the normal practice while Magic Shield is an exception. (Less cheesy answer, more like chili-con-queso.)

Normal practice is of course: you may not parry Xs, but you may parry an X.