I’m putting this here under the “why a rule does or doesn’t exist” clause of this forum’s description, not in houserules (it’s easily solved via houserules, I’m curious on the meta-theory behind this).
The Defend exploration activity gives you the benefit of having raised your shield at the start of an encounter. It makes no mention of being usable with weapons with the parry trait (like a main gauche, for example) which are similar to a shield in that if you interact with a parry weapon (in lieu of raising a shield) you get a bonus to AC until your next turn.
Do you think that omission is just an oversight? Is there some balance reason for it? Is there some horrifically overpowered combination that might result if the Defend activity had been broader?
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I feel like one of the reasons the rule was written the way it was is that it's easy to imagine a warrior walking through a dungeon with their shield held in a defensive position even if they're not engaging in combat at the time.
It's more difficult to imagine someone holding a parrying dagger or a bo-staff or some tonfa in a defensive position while just walking around. Parrying is more of an active defense than "keeping the shield between you and things that might hurt you."
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I'll propose a different answer, by looking at the GMG;
EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
As described starting on page 479 of the Core Rulebook, PCs will undertake exploration activities while they explore. The purpose of these activities within the game is to clarify what a PC focuses on as they explore rather than being able to unrealistically do all things simultaneously.
IMPROVISING NEW ACTIVITIES
The list of exploration activities isn’t exhaustive. More appear in special subsystems and adventures, and you’ll often need to create your own. When making your own, it’s usually fine to just consider whether the amount of effort the PC has to put in is comparable to the other exploration activities and go from there. If you’re having trouble, try finding a comparable activity. For example, if the PC are Swimming as they explore, consider that travel speeds are based on the equivalent of 1 action per 6 seconds, and that other exploration activities the PCs can keep up without getting tired are generally based on alternating between 2 actions per 12 seconds, averaging to 1 action per 6 seconds. (Defend, for example, is based on using 1 action to Stride then 1 to Raise your Shield, which is why the PC moves at half Speed.) Hustle is a good example of an activity that can’t be done indefinitely, so you can use it as a model for strenuous activities where the PCs are using the equivalent of 2 actions every 6 seconds. When improvising an exploration activity, have in mind some advantages and disadvantages of that activity to inspire you. What else might the PC be neglecting while doing this activity? How does it interplay with activities the rest of the party uses? If the new activity seems like it’s a better option than other activities all or nearly all the time, chances are you might want to adjust it so it’s more balanced. Eventually, you’ll start to find which exploration activities your group enjoys the most.
I think these paragraphs do a lot to explain what exploration activities are. It's not at all intended that people are always using exploration activities per se - "walk normally" is perfectly acceptable. Rather, they're intended to help the GM streamline and adjudicate what happens when a party is moving through an area somewhat intently, for example someone says "I search for traps along the way" or "I try to stay out of sight" or "I want to be ready for trouble" or "I use detect magic regularly so that we spot magic before we walk into it/past it". Those were all things that in 1E could lead to arguments about how to run rolling a Perception check every 10 feet or how slow a party would be if they constantly used Detect Magic. This is the system to streamline it.
so the tactics listed in the CRB are not a closed list engraved on stone tablets. They're a starting point, a base for comparison. Shields are more common than parry weapons, so the Defend example was necessary. Working from that, a GM could easily decide that keeping your tonfa raised could be done with Defend too. (Making up a new tactic for it seems redundant since it'd work very much the same as Defend.)
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I'll propose a different answer, by looking at the GMG;
EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
As described starting on page 479 of the Core Rulebook, PCs will undertake exploration activities while they explore. The purpose of these activities within the game is to clarify what a PC focuses on as they explore rather than being able to unrealistically do all things simultaneously.I think these paragraphs do a lot to explain...IMPROVISING NEW ACTIVITIES
The list of exploration activities isn’t exhaustive. More appear in special subsystems and adventures, and you’ll often need to create your own. When making your own, it’s usually fine to just consider whether the amount of effort the PC has to put in is comparable to the other exploration activities and go from there. If you’re having trouble, try finding a comparable activity. For example, if the PC are Swimming as they explore, consider that travel speeds are based on the equivalent of 1 action per 6 seconds, and that other exploration activities the PCs can keep up without getting tired are generally based on alternating between 2 actions per 12 seconds, averaging to 1 action per 6 seconds. (Defend, for example, is based on using 1 action to Stride then 1 to Raise your Shield, which is why the PC moves at half Speed.) Hustle is a good example of an activity that can’t be done indefinitely, so you can use it as a model for strenuous activities where the PCs are using the equivalent of 2 actions every 6 seconds. When improvising an exploration activity, have in mind some advantages and disadvantages of that activity to inspire you. What else might the PC be neglecting while doing this activity? How does it interplay with activities the rest of the party uses? If the new activity seems like it’s a better option than other activities all or nearly all the time, chances are you might want to adjust it so it’s more balanced. Eventually, you’ll start to find which exploration activities your group enjoys the most.
Right on the money. What A mentioned here is important.
