A Fire Shield burns attackers, if their melee attacks hit.

Fire Shields do their listed strength in Magical Armor-Piercing Fire Damage, and never miss (of course). The base Damage (before DRNs) dealt is reduced by the Length of the attacker's weapon, however.

• Your generic Fist attack has no listed length, so you'll take the full brunt of a Fire Shield.
• Your Short Swords and Long Swords both have Length 1, so you'll take 1 less Damage than you could have from a Fire Shield.
• Your Great Swords have Length 2, so you'll take 2 less Damage than you could have from a Fire Shield.
• Your Pikes have Length 5, so you'll take 5 less Damage than you could have from a Fire Shield.
• If you're Size 4 or greater, your weapon attacks get +1 Length, so that's another point of Damage you're spared from.

Some troops, Commanders, and Pretenders have an innate, persistent Fire Shield. This can be boosted by Empowerment or by giving them additional levels of Fire in Pretender Design; the Damage boost is +1 for every level of Fire more than what they started with.

• For example, the Baphomet has a Fire Shield with a strength of 16, but giving him 6 elevates its strength to 20, since he starts with 2.

The Fire Shield Spell gives the caster a Fire Shield with a strength of 9, +1 for every level of Fire they're overcasting it by. It's a Level 3 Enchantment that requires 1 and zero Gems to use.

• For example, an Adon with 2 would get a Fire Shield with a strength of 10.

Then there's the Fire Shield Bless; this provides a Fire Shield with a strength of 7, +1 for every level of Fire the blessed subject has.

• For example, a Witch Hunter with 2 would get a Fire Shield with a strength of 9.

Last-but-not-least, there are a few Items that provide a Fire Shield with a strength of 9; these Items are the Charcoal Shield (Construction 4, 21, 105), the Carmine Cleaver (Construction 6, 21, 105), and the Crown of the Fire King (Construction 8, 4, 25).