Quote Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen View Post
It's, like... just going medieval with the simile, normally when warriors with swords and shields fight, a warrior might drop their shield when they've run out of strength to hold it, or when an overwhelming strike breaks their shield arm, because shields themselves are damn sturdy by design. The idea of a single blow just straight-up skewering the shield and its wielder doesn't usually come up unless someone walks onto the battlefield brandishing a ballista.
A light crossbow can do that, and usually crossbow troops are armed with arbalests. Well-trained archers can do it with a longbow. There's a reason for the Italian proverb "A cut wounds, a stab kills".