Shields

There are several types of shields in RuneScape, including other items that can be worn in the shield position, but the most common are the metal square and kite.

Shields can be made with the Smithing skill and some can be purchased or sold to the shield shop identified with a shield icon on the map.

Square shield
Square shields are actually rectangular in shape, and may be smithed in all metals and also found in black. It is weaker in all areas than the kite shield, but has lower magic penalties. The smithing level required is 8 above the base level for any metal, and the highest shield available in free-to-play region stores is the mithril square shield.

The Anti-dragon shield also has the same shape as a "square" and is an excellent shield for the pure mage, since it has no penalty to magic attack and a small amount of magic defence, otherwise comparable to an iron square shield.

Kiteshield
Kiteshields are better in all areas than the square shield, other than the magic penalty. Getting hold of a good kite shield in free-to-play requires a high smithing level, or trading with other players who are either members or accomplished smiths of high level. The smithing level required is 12 above the base level for any metal, and at 62 for a mithril kiteshield, the gap between levels is already becoming large.

Shield Trim
There once was a time when the brown trim on the shields was red.

Other shields

 * Wooden shield
 * Training shield
 * Anti-dragon shield
 * Broodoo shield
 * Elemental shield
 * Mind shield
 * Granite shield
 * Crystal shield
 * Toktz-Ket-Xil
 * God books (technically not shields, but worn in the shield slot)
 * Holy book
 * Book of balance
 * Unholy book