Armorer workshop

[TheElf]

There are a lot of traditional armor listed in various products, but most of them are used in real world armies, the rest is just made of fantastic materials. But what is realy good for armies, is not necesarily good for an adventuring band. We know this difference, from various other espects of the game, but we haven't seen any armor designed for adventurers. How one should design his own armor? How a DM should provide rules for these special designs? How someone can use, maintain or just buy a such armor? The question isn't so easy.

For an adventurer, versatility is an important trait, even if it would have little or no value on the battlefields. Sometimes a light armor is better, sometimes an adventurer needs more protection instead, sometimes he has little time, sometimes a hidden compartment, or some hidden weapons would do wonders, and perhaps he wants all the above combined into one complex armor. A good armor has multiple layers, and multiple pieces, that can work independently. It is even better if it can offer reliable protection in short time.

Wire shirt something like regular clothing, two layers of weave made of wires with some slight paddign in between. It is light, and doesn't restrict movements, yet it provide a decent level of protection. The only drawback is the cost of the armor, and the high amount of maintenance needed. Repairing any damage is a hard task. It can have some attachment points for attaching some plates for additional protection.

The four plates Two small shouder plates, a front, and a back plate offers some protection. It is easy to maintain or make a such armor, but it offers only a limited level of defense, but one can don a such armor realy quickly and easily. Its huge drawback, that it offers only a weary limited protection: If someone atttack at the sides of the weaarer: No protection, and since it can be just lifted from the protected area, its protection can vanish in short time.

Side panels offer a solution for the above problem, two side panels attached to the above armor help to defend against side attacks, and make it hard to remove the armor or circumvent its protection. With proper design, it is still easy to don a such armor. It is a quite effetive protection, similar to a plate mail armor. But since it has many "attachment" points, it can be complemented by a battle skirt (made of smaller plates), some additional protection for the arms, and more. Additional plates can be attached quickly.

With these composite armor components, one can have an efficient armor for a lot of different situations, and some such pieces can have compartments, and hidden weapons, and other such surprises. They are less powerfull than specialized protections, but yet, they are far more versatile, and can have multiple advantages. And it is just one example for the armor designs an adventurer can use easily. A full set of such armor can be equivalent to a field plate, and with only the basic layers worn, it is equivalent to a chaim skirt, and can have any level of protection between the two, but it costs 1.5 times more than a full plate armor. But it is worth the price.

[UncleDave]

Well, like so many things, this depends on your style of play. If you prefer 'realism', then you won't find many styles of armor other than those used by the armies. Don't forget that armies have always had scouts, and sappers, and the like. If a type of armor was never used by any army, then there's probably a very good reason for it.

However, most armies didn't include elves or orcs either

In a fantasy game, we need to realise that people would develop new technology to cope with the different situations such a world would create. We would see people develop fire-resistant armour if they intended to battle a dragon or a fireball-throwing mage; the armies might also keep a stock of armour coated in tree sap or something, to deflect magic lightning bolts. Perhaps we would see a town beset by kobolds developing partial plate mail that only went as high as the stomach!

So if you want a dash of realism in your equipment, all it takes is to think of the cause and effect of some of the things the game features.

Cheers!

[TheElf]

The reasons behind this armor is easy: We need light yet metal armor for many people in a fantasy setting. It should be light enough for rogues, etc. yet it should have enough protections for them when they need it, it should have flexibility by being modular. In a fantasy setting costs, and tech levels are different, and work differently. Say why do you need railroad when you have portals? But metal wires are needed even as spell components and they were available only after armor vanished on earth, etc. This is where you work on a realistic world with its own laws, etc.