ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

I am a total noob to Tome4. This dumb question has probably already been asked but a forum search turned nothing up. What does "missing dependency" mean?

Specifically, I have a dwarf berserker that seems unable to use any kind of shield, which doesn't seem to make any sense since he is a fighter type.

Thanks

Shields (and armor) require investingpoints into Armor Training, a General Talent. For shields specifically, that happens to be two points.

It is possible that you either didn't meet the prerequisites when your character was generated, and couldn't afford it (one of the prerequisites for the talent at that level is being level 4...) and could therefore not equip shields.

Thanks. You are correct. Another dumb question successfully parried!