Lol as if cruches can block dragon flame. My guy's dragon slaying days are long gone due to a lowby killing mechanism
I'm pretty sure you can wield a crutch and a shield at the same time...
You can hold dozens of items at the same time because of the way [r]emoving items from the inventory is bugged in this version.
10 shields + 2 of each weapon, get an opportunity attack on every turn and be invincible, if you don't mind abusing bugs.
Having more shields doesn't make you more likely to block attacks, the only benefit is having a backup in case you lose one for whatever reason. Of course, most of the time a PC loses a shield it's because they lose the ability to grip anything with that hand, meaning there's no point in having more than one per hand.
I just tested in the arena and found that having more shields equipped does increase the rate of skill gain of
shield user and
fighter, so it is useful as a training method.
Also, having 30 adamantine shields equipped won't save an unskilled dwarf from a hydra.
EDIT: The dwarf's right hand was bitten off, but he never suffered any other injuries, and is now a legendary shield user who is blocking every attack the hydra makes, as well as beating it to death with shields. I guess adventurers who want to use the "way of the dozen shields" should select
shield user skill at character creation.