Shields are the first lines of defense against attacks from other Vampires and also various Awakened people. Many people are aware of only one or two types of shielding. In reality there are many main types and countless variations of shields that can be used in a variety of situations. Each has their uses, strong points and weak points. It is also common for people to have preferred types of shields they will use all the time.

Shields can be used to filter the energy that goes through them, to keep out unwanted energy, to keep in energy, and to defend against someone else's energy. Shields can also be used to define a boundary in the physical world, which people will avoid crossing. The edge of a shield can be used like a psi alarm; when someone physically crosses it, the person using the shield gets a psi warning someone else is nearby. A similar method can be used to warn you if someone is attempting to breach your shields.

Boundary shields tend to be simpler and are often the first ones learned by any vampire. Absorption shields are a little more complicated, however they are also fairly easy to learn. Transference shields expand on the knowledge gained from the first two types and unique shields are variations of many types of shields.

This list of shields is not meant to be complete, as new types or variations are constantly being developed and adapted by people.

Boundary Shields

Basic Boundary Shield

Fire Shield

Mirror Shield

Warp Shield

Dynamic Warp Shield

Absorption Shields

Basic Absorption Shield

Drain Shield

Healing Shield

Magnetic Shield

Transference Shields

Basic Transference Shield

Confusion Shield

Variation Shield

Unique Shields

Externally Powered Shield

House Shield

Layered Shield

Offensive Shield

Spinning Shield

Other Techniques

Cloaking

Filtering

Invisibility

Boundary Shields

Boundary shields are the most common types of shield. Anyone can learn how to form a boundary shield. They typically require less power and concentration skills, and eventually you will be able to maintain one without concentration. Because most boundary shields are rigid in nature, they are more likely to be breached. However the more energy used to maintain them and the more time spent constructing them, with careful attention to detail, the less likely a breach will be successful.

Basic Boundary Shield

The simplest shield is the basic boundary shield. This can be visualized as a globe of energy completely surrounding yourself. The colour of the globe can be set by whatever mental/emotional attachments you have to specific hues. Beginners should start with purple, gold or white, however the colour is not overly important. The intent is the crucial factor in shield construction, and the colour of it can be any single colour, or multicoloured, as long as they fit with the desired intent. The basic boundary shield stops incoming energy, blocking it much like a physical wall. This is an adaptable type of shield, and the other boundary shields discussed here branch off from the basic boundary shield. It has a very low power requirement, however it is the easiest shield to breach, and should not be the only shield used in defense. It can be effective when used as a psi alarm, warning you when people cross a certain boundary or begin to attempt a breach. A subconsciously maintained basic boundary shield is extremely effective if layered with a stronger shield used for actual defense against attack.

"In an instant I can change my aura color and hardness. I just picture it as if a white light comes out of me and then covers me and hardens into a glass colored energy field." Drackell

Fire Shield

The fire shield has the highest power consumption of the boundary shields. It can be visualized as a halo of blinding light. Beginners should start with white, blue or red, however like the basic boundary shield, the intent is more important than the hue. This light should surround you and destroys incoming energy like falling stars are burnt when entering the Earth's atmosphere. The fire shield requires the ability to not only detect the incoming energy, but also the ability to destroy any energy that is unwanted, while still allowing desired energy through the shield. It is good for quick shows of skill and power, if intimidation is desired. The high power consumption of the fire shield does not make it the best shield for prolonged battles.

"Try the blue flame visualization, It just takes discipline...If you feel the need to shield, picture a cold blue flame engulfing you and completely burning away anything that tries to enter that space..." Paleman666

Mirror Shield

The mirror shield is a commonly used shield. This is a mental mirror used to form a reflective boundary completely surrounding yourself, causing all incoming energy to be reflected back out without affect/effect to your own subtle body. If you plan on sending energy out while using this shield, it is a good idea to configure the energy so it may not re-enter, due to the possibility of the person you are protecting yourself against also making use of a mirror shield. This shield can be used as a filter, allowing only desired energy past it. Colouring the shield in a hue best representing what you want to be filtered does this. One disadvantage of mirror shields is the danger of reflected energy between two of them, a common technique for taking this type of shield down. This shield is easily breached by those with skill, and it is easy to spot the shield with a scan. While it has combat disadvantages, this shield is good for non-conflict situations, especially when shielding is necessary for preventing scans from getting past the mirror or for blocking others emotions from overwhelming you. Some practitioners separate mirror shields into outer mirror shields and inner mirror shields. The type of mirror shield discussed here is the outer one. The inner one is described under cloaking. Mirror shields are low in energy requirement, and are excellent choices for basic defense.

"When shielding, my aura is pulled tight around me. I visualize it as a molten substance which pours over me starting at the head. It quickly hardens and feels like a metal shield. Stuff bounces off it." WaterLillies

Warp Shield

The warp shield is a slightly more complex type of boundary shield. This is a variation of a mirror shield, and is good to use when there is more than one attacker present and few or preferably no other mirror shields in use. Incoming energy is altered by the shield and is reflected back out in random directions. The warp shield can be visualized as an extreme example of a carnival mirror (those ones that warp your appearance). It has a high power requirement, and using one for permanent defense is not suggested when first beginning to learn shielding. The shield is hard to breach, due to the difficulty others have in predicting how energy will be reflected back.

Dynamic Warp Shield

A warp shield can be changed slightly to form a dynamic warp shield. It is identical to a normal warp shield with one important difference; the facets and irregularities in the mirror of the dynamic version are in constant change. This causes a great deal of confusion both for reflection of energy and to anyone scanning. The dynamic warp shield is even harder to breach than the normal warp shield, as the random energy reflection makes any weaknesses in this shield difficult to detect. This shield has an even higher power requirement than the warp shield.

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All absorption shields use very little energy. They accept incoming energy and alters it, making the energy a compatible type which can be absorbed by the shield, allowing it to power itself. Although some energy is necessary to make absorption shields, they should take in enough energy from attacks and scans to sustain the shield afterwards as long as the amount of energy coming in is high. The concentration needed for all these shields is very high, and a strong ability to focus must be perfected before any absorption shield can be used properly.

Basic Absorption Shield

The basic absorption shield uses incoming energy to power the shield. Incoming energy needs to be detected and split into wanted and unwanted. Wanted energy can be admitted entry, whereas unwanted energy can be used to power the shield. This can be done subconsciously, however it will still result in a lowering of your ability to concentrate on anything else. For this shield, it is important to have a high level of skill; due to having to detect and identify the incoming energy necessary to power it and splitting it into wanted or unwanted. The basic absorption shield's low power requirement makes it a decent choice for permanent defense if you don't need to concentrate on anything else.

Drain Shield

A variation of the basic absorption shield is the drain shield. It functions much like its cousin the basic absorption, however you allow the energies to actually feed you as opposed to the shield itself. Doing this requires having tendrils of energy connecting your shield to your subtle body, allowing incoming energy to flow into the shield then into you. The power requirement for the drain shield is extremely low and is a favourite of many vampires.

"I used to shield myself by visualizing myself incased inside an impervious crystal shard (probably because I learned to meditates using a crystal). Since then I've learned to create an "offensive void" as I call it. I visualize and actuate it and I reverse the flow of their drain, thereby draining them. Kind of like a psychic mirror, and I get the benefits." LordDenihilist

Healing Shield

A healing shield is much like a drain shield. The main difference however, is instead of simply feeding from energy sent into the shield, you use the energy to heal yourself. Again, energy tendrils are necessary and must be connected from your shield to the areas you wish to heal. It is important to know how to ground after using this shield. The concentration needed for this shield is fairly high, and you also require an ability to heal. Power requirements are a little higher than the other absorption shields, however they are still low in comparison to other types of shielding.

Magnetic Shield

Creating a magnetic shield is done by modifying a basic absorption shield. The goal is to change the form of the basic absorption shield enough to allow it to attract certain energies. The entire shield surface can be used to attract ambient energy in subtle reality for feeding, much like a drain shield but an active rather than passive one, or to attract a certain person's energies to make linking with that person stronger and more focused. Detection and awareness of various energy types is essential for successful use of this shield and grounding after using it is important.

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Transference shields

Transference shields are different from boundary shields because they form a layer around the vampire that is made to be breached a small amount by any incoming energy. They are different from absorption shields because they don't actually absorb or use the energy to power themselves. The concept of transference shields is based on the inescapable tendril of energy formed by any breach attempt. All transference shields are made to take advantage of the tendril created by attempted breaches, which can be traced back to their origin. These shields are not commonly used, and are hard to identify if you are unfamiliar with them. They are better for defense than boundary shields and about equal in defense to absorption shields. Transference shields are more effective when combined with a boundary shield (layering), or combined with a shield to disguise your presence (cloaking). They are also useful in non-combat situations due to the difficulty other practitioners have in scanning someone using a well-formed transference shield. All need a fair amount of skill and experience, and should not be used by an inexperienced vampire as the main defense. Transference shields are low in power requirement, making them desirable as a defense, however they have an inherent weakness in that they will not provide a strong defense against an attacker who uses brute force.

Basic Transference Shield

The basic transference shield requires some skill with empathy. Instead of attracting (magnetic), reflecting (mirror), blocking (boundary), absorbing (absorption), or destroying (fire) incoming energy, it diverts the energy and sends it back out again. This diversion often causes people to mistake this shield for a mirror shield. To use this shield properly, the outer layers of the subtle body need to be altered to allow the energy diversion to occur. It differs from the mirror shield because it can be used to give the incoming energy a slight shift to disguise its initial source or its nature. This is helpful if the attacker is using a mirror shield and it is configured to keep out his/her own aggressive energy. The original energy pattern remains, allowing a breach, however the part of the energetic pattern identifying the energy as aggressive will be changed which prevents filtering.

Confusion Shield

The confusion shield is a variation on the basic transference and variation shield. It should not be confused with layering, as this variation is an actual fusing of the two shields, not a layering of the two. This shield accepts and diverts incoming energy like the basic transference shield while at the same time constant change in the outer aura is used to produce a stunning amount of signals to anyone who scans or attacks it. The shield can be boosted in strength by putting all your random thoughts from the surface levels of your mind into the shield. The effects of this shield on the attacker are mental confusion, headache, emotional distress, and loss of energy or even involuntary retreat depending on the strength of the confusion shield.

Variation Shield

The variation shield alters the outer layers of the subtle body pattern on a constant basis, making breaches and scanning difficult at best, and virtually impossible if the shield is constructed properly. Attempting to breach a properly constructed variation shield usually causes headache, confusion and blurred vision. Since changes in the outer layers of the aura occur naturally, the shield just requires for the changes to be increased in how often they are. The more often you are able to alter your pattern, the harder it is for someone to breach the variation shield. Awareness of your own normal energy sig and aura is necessary, as well as the ability to manipulate them. The variation shield has a low power requirement and with practice, very little concentration is needed for its use.

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Unique Shields

Unique shields are not unique in that you will only encounter one, however they are usually heavily modified boundary, absorption or transference shields, each with a slightly unique twist. Some are more common than others, although most are used in one form or another by more experienced Vampires.

Externally Powered Shield

This type of shield is unique only in that it uses an external power source to fuel it, rather than the practitioner's own energy. This is often confused with the absorption shield, however it is different. Whereas the absorption shield is maintained from the volume of energy sent to it from an attacker, the externally powered shield is maintained from a totally outside source regardless of a combat situation. Examples of outside sources include ley lines, nexus points or an entity. Any shield mentioned here could be modified to be an externally powered one.

"I shield a number of ways, sometimes I turn my "aura" into a bubble, and harden it...that seems to work most of the time...But it's become so automatic I don't think about it anymore, to tell you the truth, in the beginning, I used My own energy *which was really stupid considering the amount I was losing*, but it was the only way that I could shield" Vanne

House Shield

House shields are commonly basic boundary shields, however they can be any types of shielding discussed here. They operate on the same principle, just on a much larger scale. Some house shields also use layering, or even an external power source to maintain them. If an external power source is not used, the amount of energy to keep a house shield up is considerable. Because of this, house shields are used more often to dissuade wandering entities from entering, as opposed to a realistic or effective defense in attack.

Layered Shield

Generally shielding is more effective when you combine two or more types of shields into a linked defense system. You should be skilled with the shields you intend to layer. The more skillful you are, the less you will need to concentrate to layer them effectively. Eventually you will be able to maintain a layered defense system without concentration, although this takes practice. Some thought is required when choosing the shields to be layered. For example, an outer basic boundary shield layered with a mirror shield is a good choice and quite a common one, having a confusion shield layered on the inside of an inner mirror shield will reflect the effects of the confusion shield back at yourself. Common sense is important for effective and safe shield layering.
A common layering technique is to use an attraction shield, then outer mirror shield then inner mirror shield. This allows for a self-healing and powering outer shield, a secondary reflective one and a tertiary cloaking one.
Another common technique is using a basic boundary shield as an alarm, then an outer mirror shield combined with either a variation or basic transference shield to divert any breach attempts that get past the first two shields.

"The best way I can describe them is a wetsuit made of a semi-permeable membrane: It actively filters good stuff through it (both directions) and keeps selected stuff in and bad stuff out. Most of the time people either get lost in the shield (imagine sticking your fingers into chocolate mousse -- no resistance, but nothing to get hold of) or simply slide off it. In really "dangerous" situations I add a pair of mirror-finish Raybans" DarkEros

Offensive Shield

Offensive shields tend to be a combination of some type of absorption shield and something else. Really, any shield that is designed to hurt the attacker or affect them can be considered an offensive shield. The drain shield is an example of a more passive offensive shield. Other offensive ones are triggered to explode if they are breached, releasing a huge amount of energy and severely damaging an attacker's subtle body. These shields require a high amount of skill and have a high energy requirement. Thought should be given before employing this type of shield, due to the damage you can cause to another person.

Spinning Shield

Spinning shields are modified versions of other shields. This type of shield when done properly has fairly low energy consumption. Our outer energetic pattern shifts constantly, and with a gentle twist we can make it shift more quickly. The most common spinning shield is a basic boundary one, although mirror shields are commonly found as spinning shields too. This shield is a good way to practice before attempting a confusion shield. It is useful both for combat and defense, as the rapidly spinning shield makes not only breach attempts on the same spot difficult, but also scans. Others easily spot spinning shields, however the relatively low power requirement still makes them desirable for use.

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Other Techniques

Cloaking is the ability to hide what you are. There are many techniques for doing this, ranging from cloaking your sig to look like an unawakened person, to looking like some type of otherkin such as a were. A cloak can be used to hide from someone, causing them to believe you are something you are not. It can also be used for infiltration of groups for short periods of time. There are three main types of cloaking:

1. The unawakened cloak resembles a wetsuit that you attach to your subtle body. The intention is to keep all of your energy inside of it. Many of us cannot make this cloak for long as it feels confining.
2. Other types of cloaks involved studying what you want to become. Once you have a firm image of what you want to use as the cloak in your mind you transfer the image to your own subtle body.
3. There is also a variation of the mirror shield, which you can use to cloak yourself. Instead of picturing the reflective surface on the outside of the shield, picture it on the inside, thereby reflecting any energy you may have back at yourself. Be forewarned, this isn't an advisable practice if you are radiating negative energy or emotions at the time. If used improperly it will not only keep your energies in, but also reflect them back at you and amplify them.

Almost any shield can be modified to filter only certain energies. It should be noted modifying a shield with filters adds an inherent weakness to the shield. Filtering your shields is achieved by visualizing what energy you want to enter and which energy you will filter out. Visualize the filter effect, or energy you wish to allow through your shields. This modification adds weakness to the shield, however it can also lower the energy required to maintain the shield because it no longer has to stop all energy from approaching you. Combined with the absorption shield you can feed any energy coming in directly to your shields to maintain them. Filters generally have very low power requirements.

Invisibility

Invisibility (making your sig invisible not your physical body) is difficult and requires large amounts of energy. It involves refracting the light around you. A partial form of this is sometimes called shadowing, where you become mistlike in appearance to someone else's psi sight. Difficult to explain, I find I can achieve it by simply thinking of being 'not there' and slowly fading away. It is not perfect but seems to work rather well.

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