[armakh]

I haven't used a shield since I found my first hammer. I really built up dual wield with my fighter with demonsbane and that hammer. I wasn't able to get a lightsword, but I stopped dual wielding when I found excalibur. Then I found diamond eyes, but didn't have a good primary. Even after I got the ivory blade, I still found that I did more damage with excalibur. But a lot of that is personal preference. Some people really don't like two-handed weapons, or the -5 initiative. But I've never used a shield, and none of my front-line guys have had ANY problem staying alive since the Arnika road outside of the monestary. (I'm just heading to Ascension Peak tonight) Just be sure to have that full-powr magic screen and armorplate up at all times, and you should be ok, and dealing a significant amount of damage.