Shielding Circumstances

[The Devil's Advocate]

The question for discussion:

Under what circumstances do you find it neccissary to maintain shielding? Specifically:
1) Under what circumstances do you maintain your personal minimum of shielding? Is this minimum NO shields what so ever?
2) Under what circumstances do you maintain the tightest of shields?
3) Under what circumstances do you maintain the tightest of shielding that is sustained over a long period of time? (ie for longer than a few minutes.)
4) What is your 'average' shield density? (ie do you maintain only a light bubble shield usually, no shield, a tight matrix of shielding.)

I will answer with my own specifics after a few people have given theirs.

~The Devil's Advocate

[innerfire]

My level of shielding remains constant, the one factor is I will usually attempt to move up to a more powerful defense after it has been breached, but then it goes back to being a constant consistency (besides decay anyway, I do have to refresh them from time to time)

[lunin]

I personally usually have to keep up an empathic shield at very least, though I sometimes drop that if I'm in the middle of nowhere or if I have burned through my reserves.

As for tightest shields, most of my shields have a flexible aspect to them, so when something starts to push, I tighten up the farther it gets in (not breaching, but the closer the edge gets to me). I also usually throw some shields under it the moment I feel something brush it just in case I need to push back away or divert it out of the way.

Long tight shields I keep up if I'm around a lot of emotionally charged people or if I'm around an area where I have been psionically attacked before. I have also started work on a kind-of temperature shield that helps in cold or hot weather provided you can keep enough focus while you do stuff (not a back-burner shield by any stretch, its more of a projection or field than a shield really but thats what its most like to keep up) Also as stated, empathic shield almost always up.

My average shield density is not super thick but its solid and flexible on the outside, the inside is much less so as the energy is frequently moving or standing in wait to re-enforce wherever needs re-enforcing or to divert anything that manages to pierce the outside.

[wolfdancer]

devilsadvocate said:

The question for discussion:

Under what circumstances do you find it neccissary to maintain shielding? Specifically:
1) Under what circumstances do you maintain your personal minimum of shielding? Is this minimum NO shields what so ever?

My minimum shielding is usually two to three rather strong shields--though compared to some they would be considered of only medium strength. These stay up constantly and consist of a specific type of cloaking wall shield and general mind blocks-- sometimes just telepathy sometimes empathy or sometimes one that combines the two.

2) Under what circumstances do you maintain the tightest of shields?

When I'm in a crowd where people are on average no more than two feet from each other. Particularly one of potential intellectuals such as may fill a college student union----oh wait that's the party crowd, my mistake.

3) Under what circumstances do you maintain the tightest of shielding that is sustained over a long period of time? (ie for longer than a few minutes.)

Oh, well that depends on how long I'm in the crowded environment. Other times include when there is a substantial increase in the population of the town I'm in and when I feel particularly vulnerable after fending off attacks or knowing people close to me have been attacked.

4) What is your 'average' shield density? (ie do you maintain only a light bubble shield usually, no shield, a tight matrix of shielding.)

Oooo, that's a hard one. It is not an incredibly tight matrix, no. However, it is of moderate to med.-strong density for each shield. I don't remember the last time I actually used a simple light bubble shield. They no longer add enough reinforcement to really impact the situation for me.

I will answer with my own specifics after a few people have given theirs.

~The Devil's Advocate

I look forward to it. This can be so subjective. I hope I have made my answers reasonably clear. Please let me know if they are not. Thank you.

Wolfdancer

[ryakoth]

i always have about the same except when i need more, and it is usually a matrix, i have at times helped my friends, one in specific who is hypersensitive but doesnt want to learn psi as he believes it will open up more problems for him by shielding him as well, as well as others, i have no problem maintaining rather strong shields on myself but when i shield three people it starts to bug and all three deteriorate much quicker

[The Devil's Advocate]

My shielding:

1) The minimum shielding I have maintained are two coexisting shields: One against empathy, one against what is commonly called the "Astral Plane". These are maintained no matter where I am, (including places where there are litterally no people for a hundred miles or more.

2) Cities and emotionally charged situations involving many people are where I maintain my tightest sheilding.

3) College town, game night... College town period, basically any time I'm at home and school is in session. My normal 'tight shielding' is several coexistant shields, some matrixed some just habiting the same location, and a tightly woven external shield.

4) The above is my 'normal' shield for about 3/4ths of the year. The rest of the year it is the same except I keep the external shield for spot ussage, rather than constantly up.

~The Devil's Advocate

[yokusa]

1) Usually, if I'm shielding at my minimum, it's when I'm practicing or when I'm no where to be found.

2) I'm almost always tightly shielded when I attend a gathering of more than five people. Also, if I'm practicing with several people at once, I'll use a stronger shield, but still leave it open for scanning games.

3) Similiarly to #2, I usually have a stronger shield on around a large group for a large amount of time depending on how long I'm around them and how noisy (mentally) the particular environment is. Obviously the more I would receive without a shield, the stronger my shield is.

4) When I make a shield, depending on the length of time I'm using it, I usually like to make it worth my effort. I wouldn't make my shields the strongest they can be, but I prefer a tight dense shield over a light bubble shield any day. It's definitely more comforting to know that your shield is extremely dense than knowing it's extremely light and more easily accessible.

[wolfdancer]

Good answer, Yokusa. That was very clear and precise.

~Wolfd@ncer~

[The Devil's Advocate]

Based on these responses, a new question:

What circumstances affect the TYPE of shield you employ? Do you always employ the same types of shields?

For myself, as mentioned, I always have a rather complex Empathy shield up, as well as a dense shield against the Astral Plane. My circumstnatial shields are usually woven style shields, but I have employed an IFF/shred shield (IFF= Identify Friend or Foe). In this case the structure is more fractured glass, it perments known friendly sigs through, and shreds everything else. It is not something I use constantly in this form. One of my other regular shields has some similar characteristics, but this one is much more agressive. It's typically one I put up when being attacked.

~The Devil's Advocate

[wolfdancer]

The circumstances do not usually affect the shield I put up except for in the strength density and fine-tunedness of filtering/blocking/whatever.


Did that make sense?

~Wolfd@ncer, who is starting to get sleepy and lose her common sense thought processies

[The Devil's Advocate]

It does make sense, though I may have to refine the question a little more. I'm not sure it asked everything I want it to. It'll work for now.

~The Devil's Advocate

[ryakoth]

mostly the same type