Seelah and her Steel shield

[Talonius]

Hello all.

This is in regards to the Steel Shield and Seelah's ability to recharge heavy armors when using her add 1d6 skill.

Would the Steel Shield be considered a heavy armor even though it isn't one of the attributes listed?

The reason I ask is the shield benefits from heavy armor proficiency but it isn't one...

Thanks!

[Andrew L Klein]

It is only a Heavy Armor if the traits list includes Heavy Armor.

If it benefits from HA proficiency but doesn't have it as a trait, it sounds like maybe it's a missing trait in error.

[Hawkmoon269]

This is pretty common on armors that have the "Shield" trait. They tend to not have either the "Heavy Armor" or "Light Armor" trait. But, many of the shields still have powers that care about proficiency. Spiny Shield for instance:

Spiny Shield wrote:

If you played a weapon that has the 2-Handed trait on this check, you may not play this card.

Discard this card to add 1d4 and the Ranged and Magic traits to your combat check.
Reveal this card to reduce Combat damage dealt to you by 2. If proficient with light armors, you may play another armor on this check.
If proficient with light armors, you may recharge this card when you reset your hand.

The thing that is a bit unique about Steel Shield is that it has a power related to Heavy Armor proficiency. Most of the shields care about Light Armor proficiency.

So, not having the Heavy/Light Armor trait but still interacting with with being proficient with that armor isn't a new thing.