"With the Force Shield active, no physical or mundane weapon can damage my person. A powerful armor, yes, but a temporary one, and one fueled by my own energy."
Force Shield was a spell that was intended for inclusion in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain which was used to briefly protect against physical attacks. Ultimately the spell was cut from the final game for unknown reasons and the Repel spell ended up being the only one of such protection spells that remained in the released version of the game.
Force Shield was a protective spell originally intended to be gained by Kain in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. It was included in alpha versions of the game but was removed from the game before the beta stage of development, with no traces of it left to be found in the retail version.[Blood Omen][1][2]
In the earliest versions of the game the Force Shield was to be gained in the same dungeon as the similarly cut Magic Absorb spell – a dungeon which ultimately became the Repel Dungeon – with Force Shield gained first on the lower level to protect against physical attacks. These would be tested shortly after as Kain was confronted by various physical attacking enemies and obstacles, before being able to loop around and ascend to the higher level where he could reach the Magic Absorb spell.[Blood Omen][1][2][3][4][5]
Like Magic Absorb, the icon of the Force Shield spell was represented by an image of Kain standing with arms raised (similar to the repel icon) and surrounded by a hexagonal curtain of red light which raised up to his torso. The effects of the spell were visually similar to the icon with Kain temporarily surrounded by a quickly fading red hexagonal light which protected against and absorbed the force of each particular attack.[Blood Omen][1][2][3]
Force Shield in use
Both Force Shield and Magic Absorb were ultimately removed from the release game and the Repel Spell – which was originally gained from an apparently unfinished dungeon later in the game – was moved into its place: with the Force Shield/Magic Absorb dungeon becoming the Repel Dungeon and the unfinished Repel Dungeon being removed from the game. The reasons for the removal of the spells are ultimately unknown but the similar usage and icons could suggest that there was a perceived clash with the usage of the Repel Spell.[Blood Omen][1][3][4][5]
The existence of both the Force Shield and Magic Absorb spells was unknown to the general public until 2018 when discoveries of alpha and beta versions of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain exposed the dungeon reshuffle that had occurred and the previously unknown spells that were originally intended to be gained.[Blood Omen][1][2][3][4][5]
The dungeon area where Force Shield and Magic Absorb (and later Repel) were found
Notes[]
In the Developers' level select found in the retail version of the game has the Repel Dungeon listed under the somewhat unusual abbreviation "SH" - presumably related to its shield like nature. The discovery of the removed spells and reshuffled dungeons in the alpha somewhat explained the designation, with the the Force Shield/Magic Absorb dungeon originally listed under the abbreviation "SHAB" - referencing the spells found within (with the separate original Repel Dungeon listed as "REPL"). In the final version the new moved spell simply inherited a modified version of the designation for the previous spells.[Blood Omen][2][4][5][6]
A second level select found in the alpha hints that in builds prior to the alpha Force Shield and Magic Absorb had separate dungeons, with the presence of an extra "SHLD" doorway prior to the "LUPO" doorway. In this version the "REPL" door for Repel appears in the same position as the regular alpha level select and the "SHAB" door is labelled as "SA?".
Although the spells themselves were removed from post-alpha versions of Blood Omen, some beta versions still contain graphical assets relating to the Force Shield and Magic Absorb spells.[Blood Omen][1][3]
Force Shield at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
