Armor Info

[Casey Goddard]

Hi all.  I did a little research on armor and though I would post my findings here.  I also added some info on how I feel the armor should apply gamewise in tRoS.

Helm
Helmets come in all sorts of shapes and styles but these can be divided into two basic types.  Those with a visor and those without.
*Protects: Zone V (and zone VIII if Full Helm)
*CP Modifier: -1 for Open Face,  -2 for Full Helm
*Armor Value: 3-4 for an Open Face, 5 for a Full Helm

Gorget
The Gorget is a piece of armor which protects the throat from puncture attacks.
*Protects: Zone VIII
*Armor Value: 2-5

Breast Plate
I'm sure you guys all know this one.
*Protects: Zone III, XI, and XII
*CP Modifier: -1
*Armor Value: 2-6

Eander
A metal plate which sticks out from the shoulder and protects the head and neck from slashing attacks.
*Protects: Zones IV, and V
*Armor Value: 4-5

Pauldron
A fancy name for "Shoulder Plate."
*Protects: Zone IV
*Armor Value: 2-5
*CP Modifier: -1

Rerebrace
An upperarm guard.
*Protects: Zones VII, and XIV
*Armor Value: 2-4

Vambrace
A piece of armor that guards a forearm from attack.
*Protects: Zones VII, and XIV
*Armor Value: 2-4

Bracer or Gauntlet
A guard for the wrist and hand.
*Protects: Zones VII, and XIV
*Armor Value: 2-4

Tassets or Tasses
Armor guards made of narrow, overlapping plates strapped below the breast plate forming a sort of metal kilt.
*Protects: Zones VI, and X
*Armor Value: 2-6

Cuisse
A piece of armor that guards the hip and thigh.
*Protects: Zones II and IX
*Armor Value: 2-6
*CP Modifier: -1

Jamb, Jambart or Greave
Esentally a shin guard.
*Protects: Zones I, and VIII
*Armor Value: 2-4

Espauliere
An ankle and calf guard.
*Protects: Zones I, and VIII
*Armor Value: 2-4

Solleret
An armored version of a boot or shoe.
*Protects: Zones I, and VIII
*Armor Value: 2-4

In the event of armor overlap (two pieces of armor protecting the same zone) I take the highest AV for the zone and add +1 for each addition piece of armor covering that same zone.

[Jake Norwood]

Casey-

Very well done. This is pretty close to what we were looking for for the Flower of Battle. I would like to note concerning hit locations (I, II, IV, etc) that those cover broad places, and that a helm will protect against some attacks to IV, but not others. I have no doubt, Casey, that you know that. I just wanted to clear it up. The plan is to have body sillouettes with the protected areas shaded in, so that you can shade it in on your own character sheet.

Pretty cool stuff. Good job.

Jake

[Lance D. Allen]

The plan is to have body sillouettes with the protected areas shaded in, so that you can shade it in on your own character sheet.

::blinks:: Awesome idea! That would work perfectly, Jake.

A question for you.. Will the FoB include barding (horse armor) or are you lacking someone knowledgeable about such things? If the latter, I know someone who is a real horse person, and can probably give some ideas or even facts about barding, though I'd have to ask to be certain.

[Brian Leybourne]

A question for you.. Will the FoB include barding (horse armor) or are you lacking someone knowledgeable about such things? If the latter, I know someone who is a real horse person, and can probably give some ideas or even facts about barding, though I'd have to ask to be certain.

I'm not sure what Jake has planned for FoB, but I have been working on info for animals for the bestiary, including hit location tables for horses and have covered barding as well.

My research into all forms of barding isn't complete yet, but there is a lot of info and I have been compiling it. For example, a crinet covers the horses neck (lobstered plate or chain), a chanfron covers the face/head (a half helm of plate, basically, with eye holes), a peytral hangs down from the neck and covers the breast (plate or chain), a crupper covers the hindquarters (usually chain, draped over the rear of the horse and attached to the saddle), a flanchard fills the gap between the crupper and the paytral (along the flanks),  and so on.

Brian.

[Lance D. Allen]

Excellent and awesome, Brian, thanks. Just wanted to know if any help was needed on this topic, if I might be able to contribute.. But you seem to have things well in hand.

[Brian Leybourne]

Excellent and awesome, Brian, thanks. Just wanted to know if any help was needed on this topic, if I might be able to contribute.. But you seem to have things well in hand.

Actually, it's a lot of fun. I know a little about animal physiology, having lived on a farm and worked with a vet for several years, and I know a tiny bit about armour etc from years of a misspent youth reading books when I should have been playing football or something :-)

It's been really interesting researching barding in all it's forms etc. I'm also trying to find any kind of historical reference to any form of barding that might have been used on war dogs and the like. Spiked collars were pretty common, since the neck is the most vulnerable part of a dog, but I want to find out if there is any historical precident for dogs being strapped into Chanfrons or Peytrals.

Similarly, I'm building up a small repertoire of combat "maneuvers" animals might use. Having treated fight-injured cats and dogs, and having seen them fight a lot, I know the kinds of attacks they make, and how they defend themselves (and particularly, how they work together "undisccussed" to bring down a foe). I have on a couple of occasions been "taken down" by large dogs, it's not a pleasant experience, and bloody hard to guard against even when you suspect it's coming. Horses are a little trickier, I know a fair bit about them, but have little experience in how they fight, and more especially how they might be trained to fight with a knight on their back. I'm not really going seriously into this side of it, because Jake has mentioned in the past that he has never seen any indication that the "horse rearing up in combat to strike an opponent" thing is really historically accurate, and I bow to his superior knowledge. On the other hand, I have seen Stallions fighting over a mare, and that's exactly what they do, so it's certainly part of their natural instinct. Maybe I'll put some of this in there, but with a note explaining that individual Seneschals milage may vary and such matters may not be accurate historically. I'll email Jake and see how he wants to handle it I guess.

Brian.

[trevayne]

Hello all,

I have just played my first game of tRoS last night.  Great game and I am trying to get a copy, but I did have a question about armor.  

Where is the description of exactly what is and isn't covered?  I looked on page 85 (Table 4.5), and saw relatively generic descriptions.  I can figure out that a sleeveless chain shirt covers the torso, but others are less obvious.

In the combat example on pp 87-89, Stefan dies because his pot helm provides no protection to the face.  Where in table 4.5 does it say a pot helm provides no protection to the face?

I suppose I could have researched what a pot helm was and guessed, but imho it would have been nicer if it was indicated with a footnote.

Also, several of the tactics tips suggest striking at unarmored portions of the body.  Are there any if a complete suit is worn?  

I guess complete suits are few and far between, so most people have chain shirts and their legs are unarmored.

Donald

[Lance D. Allen]

Hi Donald,

A lot had to be left out of the core book due to content and page count issues (at least, this is what I remember someone saying) and a lot of it will be covered in the upcoming supplement The Flower of Battle. Until then, you're going to have to either do some research, or simply make a common-sense judgement call and be consistent with it in your games. Some of us know a little bit about real armor, but for the most part, what we know is based on the various games we've played, so you're not the only one with these questions.