I completed D2 with the Barb, using a 1h weapon and shield. In D3, the crusader has the pick of the better shields, leaving the general pool for the other classes and Kormac.
Is it possible for a Barb to use a 1h weapon and shield, with any of the current sets? Or, will I gimping the hell out of myself?
That probably won’t matter much to me, unless the handicap is so bad to the point it would prevent me from doing the set dungeons.
Yes, it will gimp you big time. Better or for worse, damage in D3 comes from multiplier. There is no shield that supports barb in that department, unlike it is with crus. Dual wielding on the other hand provides an addition multiplier in place of the shield slot. Shield not being able to use as ‘weapon socket’ gimps it further.
If your focus with barb is just to do set dungeons, you might get away with using a shield. It is still gimping yourself though, a hand tied behind your back kinda thing.
The stickied H90/Frenzy guide at the top of the forum contains details of the Sword+Board variant of the build either using Stormshield (for mitigation) or Lidless Wall (for damage output) and this is 2-3 GRs below dual-wield variants.