New Rules
The following armour rules are based on the assumption that Toughness is not being used in the damage calculation. This allows the leeway to increase armour values to levels where it is a more realistic factor in reducing the severity of blows. As a side benefit, using larger numbers for armour also makes it possible to include a more diverse range of types.
The following terms are used to describe pieces of armour:
Coif/Helm – Protects the head
Shirt/Breastplate – Protects the body
Sleeved Shirt - Protects the body and arms
Coat – Protects the body (and legs unless mounted)
Sleeved Coat - Protects the body, arms (and legs unless mounted)
Vambraces – Protects the arms
Leggings/Greaves – Protects the legs
The following armour types are available:
Padded armour - AP1. This consists of various forms of thick cloth armour and also in less advanced cultures armour woven of densely packed cord or reads. The cloth types may be layers of felt or a similar heavy material stitched together, or cotton padding or the like sandwiched between two layers of cloth. It is particularly effective against impact weapons but far less so against a blade or point. As a result it is often worn beneath other types of armour. Padded armour is used for coifs, shirts, sleeved shirts, coats, sleeved coats and leggings.
Reinforced armour - AP2. This is flexible leather or thick cloth, reinforced by the addition of pieces of metal. Included are studded (also known as pourpoint) which has metal studs riveted through the material, bezainted which is similar but using coin like metal discs rather than studs, and ring mail where metal rings are stitched to the outside. These types are light and flexible but offer limited protection. Reinforced armour is used for shirts, sleeved shirts, coats and sleeved coats.
Scale armour - AP3. Most commonly this is jazeraint, where small plates of metal or hard boiled leather (or in primitive cultures bone, horn or hardwood) are riveted or stitched to a leather or heavy cloth backing, often in an overlapping scale pattern. A variation is brigandine which is the same but with an additional layer or leather covering the outside so the plates are sandwiched inside. Lastly is lamellar, where the small plates are connected to each other by metal rings, wire or chord rather than being attached to a backing. Scale armour is used for shirts, sleeved shirts, coats and sleeved coats.
Chainmail - AP3. Effectively a fabric made of interlocking metal rings. Chainmail varies in the thickness and tightness of it’s links and sometimes has strips of leather passed through to provide additional strength. Chainmail is flexible and strong but heavy and is vulnerable to piercing attacks such as arrows, bolts and spear thrusts. It’s thinness allows it to be worn underneath other types. Chainmail armour is used for coifs, shirts, sleeved shirts, coats, sleeved coats and leggings.
Plate armour - AP4. Consists of metal plates strapped to the outside of the body, or connected to each other by laces, buckles and rivets. Plate armour is very effective but tiring to use, not because of it’s weight (it is in fact no heavier than chainmail), but because it doesn’t ventilate well and so gets very hot and sweaty. Plate armour is used for helms, breastplates, vambraces and greaves.
No more than three layers of armour may be worn on the same body location and reinforced, scale and plate may only be used as an outer layer. The innermost layer will generally be padded armour and the GM may impose penalties to reflect the discomfort of not doing so.
The GM may allow left or right arm only vambraces (useful with the shield rule above), or front only greaves, breastplates, scale shirts or scale coats. Scale shirts and coats armoured only to the front will have a back of some sort, while greaves and breastplates will have only straps at the back. These provide no AP to the unarmoured side but are half encumbrance.
Optional rule: All armour, with the exception of padded, is ineffective against impact weapons such as hammers, flails maces and staffs. Against these weapons padded has 2 AP and all other types have 1 AP. To balance this change blunt weapons have a -1 to their current damage ratings.
Optional rule: Chainmail is particularly vulnerable to piercing attacks including bolts, arrows, spears and halberds. Against these weapons chain provides 1 AP.
Armour Durability
Armour is damaged if a hit on that location is severe (a critical hit) or lucky (a double such as 00, 11, etc. on the to hit roll). The damaged piece provides no protection until it is repaired but will encumber normally unless removed. Where armour is layered both layers will be damaged if the cause was a critical, or if a lucky hit only the uppermost layer will be affected. If a shield or weapon was used to successfully parry the blow and a critical nonetheless results then the shield or weapon is also damaged.
Magical armour, shields and weapons are far more durable than normal. If damage is indicated roll 1d6, on a 1 it is damaged as above, otherwise it is unaffected.
Metal armour, shields and weapons may be repaired by a character with the Metallurgy and Smithing skills and leather armour by a character with the Tailor skill, assuming the relevant tools and facilities are available. Magical equipment requires the above skills as well as Magical Awareness and Manufacture Magic Items. These skills could be provided by more than one person but all must be present for the duration of the repairs.
Optional rule. Acid, lightning, magical missiles, dragon breath, gunpowder explosions and large fires can all cause damage to equipment at the GM’s discretion. If the attack allows an initiative test to avoid or reduce damage and that test is successful then there is no need to check for equipment damage. Otherwise, if the attack is an area effect then all armour pieces may be affected, other wise roll d100 to determine the hit location as normal. Roll 1d6 for each piece of equipment affected, on a roll of 1-4 it is damaged. Magical equipment will only be damaged on a roll of 1.
Restricting Armour Use
Both for purposes of game balance and believability it is undesirable for everyone to be wearing full plate over chain and padding. Rigorously enforce encumbrance penalties to discourage over use of heavy armour. Also, heavily armoured characters inevitably cause a fair amount of noise when moving. Reflect this by increasing the ease with which the party are detected in proportion with how much armour they wear. Skills such as the Silent Move Rural and Silent Move Urban should also be penalised if not impossible at the GM’s discretion.
There are other problems with wearing battlefield armour for every day use. Most settlements large enough to be walled will have regulations they try and enforce about wearing armour and carrying weapons. The details will vary but as a general rule anything above Reinforced Armour will cause trouble. Most Militias and Watches will not be heavily armoured themselves due to both the cost and inconvenience for every day use and will not look kindly on well armoured potential trouble makers.
Also, it should be remembered that good armour is very expensive and as a result assumptions are likely to be made about the social standing of someone wearing gleaming full plate. However, unless the person wearing it makes a convincing nobleman or military officer the effect is likely to be negative if anything. Questions will be asked, or at least suspicions raised, about where the armour came from and how they came to be in possesion of it. They may even be assumed to be outlaws.
Lastly, as much as the players would like you to believe they wear their armour at all times this simply isn't practical. Even in the wilderness where few questions are likely to be asked there are times when the characters can be assumed to have taken all or some of it off for their own comfort. Most likely is they at least strip of any outer layer of plate, scale or reinforced to sleep and when they can chain too. When in safer places such as waystations some or all is also likely to be stowed. If the players insist their characters wear full armour at all times start imposing stat penalties due to fatigue and chaffing!