Parry

Take a look at Chapter Nine of the Dungeon Master's Guide, page 61, at the Parrying

optional rule.

That's one way to simulate a fighter going on the defensive; the optional Parry maneuver presented here is done a different way.

To perform this Parry, you must announce before initiative is rolled that you're going to Parry. (If you have more than one attack per round, you must announce how many of them are going to be Parries.)

Then, during the round, the first time an attacker strikes at you (even if it's before your turn to strike), you roll your Parry. Roll to attack rolls your attacker, and roll vs. his AC (including all bonuses for shield, magical items, etc.). You can use your weapon at its normal chance to attack rolls, or your shield at a +2 to your chance to attack rolls (plus any magical bonus the shield confers). If you hit, his attack is parried and does you no damage.

You can Parry thrown weapons, but not missile attacks (quarrels, arrows, sling stones, magic missiles, etc.).

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